Public Health Campaign Associate

The Public Health team with PIRG is seeking a Campaign Associate to help stop the overuse of antibiotics.

Livestock producers are routinely giving antibiotics to animals to help them survive overcrowded, stressful and unsanitary conditions. Overusing these drugs—in humans or animals—breeds bacteria resistant to the antibiotics, threatening the future effectiveness of these medicines, and putting our health at risk. Every year, millions of people get sick, and one estimate says 160,000 die from antibiotic-resistant infections in the United States.

Given the stakes, we shouldn’t allow even one large-scale farming operation to overuse antibiotics in this way. And yet nearly two thirds of medically important antibiotics sold in the U.S. are intended for use in meat production.

That is why we’re working to pass federal and state legislation to ensure our life-saving medicines are only used to treat sick animals, not as a substitute for good animal husbandry.

Entry-level candidates are encouraged to apply; we provide training on advocacy and organizing skills, as well as oversight and on-the-ground training by an experienced advocate. Ideal candidates will have leadership experience, top-notch written and verbal skills, an eagerness to learn, and be ready for a challenge. We value organizing experience, including building campus or community groups.

TYPICAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Build powerful coalitions: Reach out to like-minded organizations and affected constituency groups to demonstrate support for our campaign goals.
• Earn traditional media and social media attention: Organize news conferences and write opinion pieces. Build a following on Facebook and Twitter for your campaign.
• Lobby elected officials: Coordinate strategy with champions in Congress. Make a convincing case to legislators who are undecided on a particular vote. When a critical vote is happening on your campaign, work to demonstrate the support you’ve been building on the ground to help line up the votes needed to win.
• Research and write reports: Catalogue and analyze data relevant to the issue and our policy proposals to help influence public debate and earn media attention for our cause.
• Identify and cultivate donors: Reach out to foundations and major donors and ask them to fund your campaign.
• Recruit new people to your team: Help build your team recruiting volunteers, interns and full-time staff.
• Run a grassroots campaign office each summer: Run a campaign office for the summer to raise money to support our campaigns, build our organization and membership, and help build critical and timely grassroots support to win key campaigns while honing your organizing and management skills.