About the Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Established in 1966, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is the largest regional nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to saving the Chesapeake Bay, its rivers and streams, and the wildlife that call it home through education, advocacy, litigation, and restoration. Since 2010, CBF has engaged in a focused effort to defend and implement the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint, a binding federal and state collaborative agreement aimed at reducing pollution to the science-based, legally-affirmed levels established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Blueprint is expected to be fully implemented by 2025. If the states and the federal government achieve Blueprint goals, the Bay will finally—after decades of failed efforts—be removed from the Clean Water Act's impaired waters list. Successfully implementing the Blueprint depends on a well-informed, engaged, active, and diverse constituency of members, advocates, and volunteers who speak up and take action to save the Bay.
CBF has a staff of approximately 230 employees working in offices in Annapolis, Maryland; Richmond and Virginia Beach, Virginia; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Washington, D.C. as well as 15 field education program locations. Our staff and volunteer corps work throughout the region educating students and adults, advocating for clean water policies, restoring waterways, and litigating when necessary.
CBF's headquarters office in Annapolis, Maryland is the Philip Merrill Environmental Center, the world's first U.S. Green Build Council's LEED platinum building. In 2014, CBF opened the Brock Environmental Center—one of the world's most energy efficient, environmentally smart buildings—in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
CBF has 200,000 members and supporters and an annual budget of approximately $30 million. For more information on CBF, please visit our About CBF page.
About the Hiring Department
Environmental Protection and Restoration (EPR)
CBF's Environmental Protection and Restoration department defends and restores the Chesapeake Bay by protecting the Bay's natural resources from pollution and other harmful activities by fighting for strong and effective laws and regulations; restoring the Bay's essential habitats and filtering mechanisms; and involving citizens in CBF's environmental efforts by recruiting, training, and incorporating them as effective partners and leaders.
Context of the Position
The Virginia Events Coordinator supports the CBF EPR-VA Office and organizes events for the team in Virginia.
Essential Functions
1. Organize events for the CBF EPR-VA team, including overseeing all logistics; communicating with staff, partners, and event participants; ensuring CBF is entering into contracts and has appropriate insurance coverages for all events; acting as the point of contact onsite for events; and reporting appropriate data for event tracking and management. This will require cross-departmental organization and coordination, as well as working on weekends. This includes events such as Clean the Bay Day, our annual statewide litter clean-up; legislator open houses and receptions; Slurp and Learn/oyster tasting community events; Rod and Reef, our annual fishing tournament; Blue Planet Forum, our lecture series; and others.
2. Assist outreach team in a broad range of logistical responsibilities, including helping to organize and order supplies and other resources for volunteer restoration events, answering inquiries from volunteers, attending weekend and weeknight events as needed (the position will work at least one Saturday per month and on occasion, 2-3 Saturdays per month), ensuring we promote our activities to diverse constituencies, and other activities.
3. Help plan logistics for a variety of internal events including monthly internal staff meetings, overnight staff retreats, offsite external events with donors, etc. This can include travel arrangements and lodging for staff members, as well as taking notes/minutes and distributing them to staff.
4. Train Virginia staff and act as a resource for them on use of all modules in our volunteer and event tracking database system, including queries, reports, events, and registration.
5. Support the Richmond Office and Virginia staff during the Virginia General Assembly by managing outreach to legislators, including coordinating small and large-scale events, such as our Oysters on Capitol Square event, volunteer lobby days, etc. (as mentioned in #1 above). This also includes scheduling meetings between staff/volunteers and legislators, delivering correspondence, printing materials, coordinating meals, and other duties.
6. Advance CBF’s mission by engaging with the public and targeted audiences at CBF events. Establish strong and productive relationships with vendors. Ensure that events run smoothly and efficiently, to show CBF in the best possible light.
Professional Experience and Qualifications
We are seeking an enthusiastic and committed person to support our office staff and engage our local communities. This position will primarily work in the office and, on occasion, will be required to work some evenings and weekends (we estimate the person will work at least one to two Saturdays per month).
One year of experience in events planning and/or administrative setting, including interacting with the public and experience coordinating events. Ability to learn and apply CBF’s procedures and to become familiar with CBF’s issues. Excellent oral and written communication skills needed. Proficient in MS Office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook).
Salary Range: $43,000 - $45,000
How to Apply
Using the link below, please submit a cover letter and resume no later than October 13, 2024.
Apply NowCBF offers a 36-hour work week, a flexible telework policy, and for full-time staff, a comprehensive benefits package to include: 20 vacation days, 10 sick days, 2 floating holidays, health, vision, dental, life insurance, and a 403(b) retirement plan with matching contribution. Learn more about CBF Benefits.
