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Application Deadline: 3/5/2024

Ideal Start Date: April 2024

Location: remote, some travel will be required

About NPNA and the Climate Justice Collaborative

The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is a national network that unites more than 60 of the most powerful state and local immigrant and refugee justice organizations with reach across 40 states. Our mission is to advance immigrant equity and inclusion through policy advocacy, narrative change, powerbuilding, and service delivery. Founded in 2010, NPNA has a proven track record of working with our member organizations to strengthen their capacity and to win transformative victories at the state, local, and federal level.


Founded in 2022 as a program of NPNA, The Climate Justice Collaborative (CJC) works with NPNA’s membership network to organize immigrant communities for climate justice – both as frontline communities in the United States and as people increasingly forced to migrate across borders due to climate impacts.

The Climate Justice Collaborative envisions a world where all people, including immigrants, are protected from the worst impacts of the climate crisis. We believe that all people deserve a chance to stay safely in their homes and we advocate for aggressive emissions reductions and equitable investments in resilience and adaptation strategies—both within the United States through local and federal investments, and globally through mechanisms like climate finance including loss and damages.

Climate Change and extreme weather are rapidly becoming a major driver of displacement, and act as a force multiplier on other root causes of migration. Addressing the climate crisis necessarily means protecting the rights of people to build resilience and stay in their homes, and the right to migrate with safety and dignity when that is no longer possible. 

However, most U.S. Immigration Policy does not recognize the realities of climate change, leaving many displaced people with little to no recourse for safety. At the same time, authoritarian movements are attempting to exploit climate disruption to further nativist policies and politics. Far right movements take advantage of narratives of “waves” or “floods” of climate migrants at our Southern border to shift attention from the threat of climate change itself, stir up fear, and propel and popularize authoritarian “solutions” to the climate crisis, like increased border militarization or dismantling the right to seek asylum.

In the face of these challenges, NPNA’s Climate Justice Collaborative is working to build a collective response to the climate crisis that can instead strengthen multiracial democracy and increase prosperity for all. As an immigrant-led network we believe that for this movement to be successful it must be led by Climate Displaced People, their stories and experience. 

Position Description

The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is hiring a Program Manager to support our work to build an organized base of Climate Displaced People in the United States, and shift the narrative and policy landscape about climate, migration and displacement. 

The Climate and Migration Program Manager will work closely with NPNA members and partner organizations to identify Climate Displaced People in their membership. They will design and organize training and gatherings to develop the leadership of this new base. With support from the Director of Climate Justice and Migration and other NPNA staff, this role will represent NPNA in Climate Migration and Displacement narrative and policy spaces with a broad range of stakeholders, and identify opportunities to leverage the power and leadership of NPNA’s members.

Areas of Responsibility

Base Building and Organizing 

  • Support staff of NPNA member organizations to identify and cultivate climate displaced leaders within their membership through popular education training, legal service intake, one-on-one’s, and other creative tactics.
  • Convene training, skillshares and learning tables to develop the understanding of climate displacement among NPNA Member Organizations, and build skills for organizing this constituency.
  • Build a network of partner organizations from the immigrant, refugee and climate movement engaged in organizing climate displaced people. Create trainings and resources for partners to further this work. 
  • Design and lead training, programs, convenings and other leadership development opportunities for grassroots leaders who identify as Climate Displaced People, including a convening at NPNA’s National Immigrant Inclusion Conference.

Communications and Media

  • With the support of NPNA staff, consultants and partners, cultivate a powerful roster of Climate Displaced People who can act as media spokespeople.
  • Work with the Director of Climate Justice and Migration and NPNA media team to identify powerful opportunities to feature the voices and stories of NPNA members in media coverage of climate displacement.
  • Identify creative opportunities to create powerful media moments that feature NPNA Members and climate displaced people. 

Policy and Narrative Development and Advocacy

  • Participate in Climate Displacement policy tables, and identify opportunities to uplift the leadership of NPNA’s members. 
  • Identify powerful opportunities for Climate Displaced People to participate in shaping policy campaigns about Climate and Migration. 
  • Engage narrative stakeholders and partners in the development of narrative strategies, with a particular focus on the voice of NPNA’s base of Climate Displaced Leaders.
  • Work with narrative partners and consultants to create powerful narrative moments that shift the story about climate and migration. 
  • Provide narrative and communications trainings on climate and migration to immigrant, refugee and climate partners. 

Organizational Development

  • Participate in fundraising efforts through the development of materials, funder meetings, reporting, etc. 
  • Support major NPNA events like the National Immigrant Inclusion Conference, Member Summit, staff retreats, etc. 
  • Help craft a Climate Justice Track for the National Immigrant Inclusion Conference
  • Support with other core operational duties as necessary. 

What Success Looks Like

In this role, success will be measured by the ability to:

  • Effectively Build and Mobilize a Base of leaders: You have successfully identified and cultivated a network of climate displaced leaders among the NPNA membership, providing them with the training and support needed to advocate for themselves and their communities. To this end you have cultivated a network of staff in NPNA member organizations committed to this work and provided them with the training, resources and support to do it.
  • Shift the Narrative: Through strategic communications and media engagement, you’ve contributed to a significant shift in the public and political narrative surrounding climate displacement, recognizing the human rights of displaced individuals.
  • Advocate for Policy Solutions: Your efforts have directly contributed to advancing understanding and support for policy solutions that recognize and address the needs of climate displaced people, both at the national and local levels, through education, research, and public discourse.
  • Strengthen Organizational Partnerships: You’ve built and maintained strong partnerships with a diverse range of stakeholders in the immigrant, refugee, and climate movements, leading to collaborative and impactful initiatives.
  • Develop Organizational Capacity: Through your work, NPNA and its member organizations have enhanced their understanding and capacity to organize around climate justice issues, contributing to the overall resilience and effectiveness of the immigrant rights movement.

Qualifications

  • At least three years of organizing experience in community based organizations, labor unions, advocacy or electoral campaigns, etc. 
  • Experience working with and/or managing diverse coalitions and building consensus and common purpose with diverse organizations
  • Familiarity and comfort working with and organizing immigrant communities from diverse backgrounds, and ability to work effectively with people of different cultures and backgrounds
  • Experience with popular education models and practice 
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills
  • Ability to produce consistent, quality work in a fast-paced environment
  • Experience supporting organizing staff desired but not required

Supervision: The Climate and Migration Program Manager will report to the Director of Climate Justice and Migration.

Salary & Benefits: Salary commensurate with experience in the range of 74,000-85,000. NPNA offers a generous benefit package that includes healthcare, dental insurance, and a SIMPLE IRA retirement plan with an employer match. All full time, exempt employees receive 12 paid sick days, 16 paid holidays, two weeks paid vacation days and an additional week of paid time off December 24-January 1st.

How to apply Include the job title in the subject line and email a resume, cover letter, two writing samples,  and three references to hr@partnershipfornewamericans.org. 

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The National Partnership for New Americans is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing a work environment that is free from discrimination. We comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding nondiscrimination in employment. We prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law. Employment decisions will be based on merit, competence, performance, and organizational needs. We strive to build a diverse workforce that is representative of those we serve.