Senior Director, Climate and Rights (12-month position)

ABOUT GREENPEACE
Greenpeace is a global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest, creative communication and people power to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. In just the past year, we’ve secured a Global Oceans Treaty to protect wildlife and people who depend on healthy oceans. We persuaded the Biden Administration to phase out single-use plastics from federal operations. And we safeguarded healthy spaces, from national marine sanctuaries to bans on seabed mining to stopping liquefied national gas terminals poisoning Gulf Coast communities. Our work spans more than 50 years of fights and successes.

As an independent campaigning organization, Greenpeace does not accept funds from any corporations or government entities. The global Greenpeace network is headquartered in the Netherlands, with offices around the world in over fifty countries. Greenpeace USA is headquartered in Washington, DC.

POSITION SUMMARY
The United States is at a historic crossroads. Climate impacts are accelerating, democratic institutions and civic rights are under sustained attack, and corporate power continues to undermine both environmental progress and people’s ability to shape the future. The decisions made in this moment will reverberate for generations.

Greenpeace USA seeks a dynamic, strategic, and values-driven leader to serve as Senior Director, Climate & Rights—a senior role responsible for leading and integrating our climate and democracy campaign portfolios as a unified, coordinated body of work. This role recognizes a core truth of our time: a livable climate depends on a functioning democracy, protected civic space, and the right to dissent. The Senior Director, Climate & Rights is a highly visible leadership role within the Programs Department, and will collaborate in close partnership with the Senior Oceans Campaign Director and other senior program leaders across GPUS's Program, Legal, Communications, Engagement and Development teams. This position will also manage two direct reports - the Democracy Campaign Director and the Climate Campaign Director.

The Senior Director, Climate & Rights is a highly visible leadership role within the Programs Department and reports to the Chief Program Officer. The Director manages the Climate Campaign Director and Democracy Campaign Director, and works in close partnership with the Senior Director of Oceans and other senior program leaders.

The Senior Director, Climate & Rights is a 12-month contract full-time, exempt, benefits-eligible, hybrid, position, preferably based in Washington D.C. Candidates in other GPUS-authorized locations (CA, NY, NJ, MA) will be considered. This role reports to the Chief Program Officer.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Leadership and Integration

• Provide senior leadership and strategic direction for Greenpeace USA’s integrated Climate & Rights portfolio, in partnership with the Chief Program Officer and Executive Director.
• Ensure that climate and democracy strategies are aligned, coordinated, and mutually reinforcing, with clear priorities and outcomes.
• Translate organizational strategy, risk appetite, and capacity constraints into focused, executable campaign direction.
• Identify opportunities where democracy and rights strategies strengthen climate outcomes—and vice versa.
• Provide leadership for our work to defend speech and peaceful protest against SLAPP lawsuits.
• Partner with Development and senior leadership to support fundraising efforts, helping translate Climate & Rights strategies and impact into compelling donor narratives, funder briefings, and strategic opportunities that advance Greenpeace USA’s revenue and growth goals.

Management of Senior Campaign Leaders

• Directly manage and support the Climate Campaign Director and Democracy Campaign Director, serving as a coach, thought partner, and accountability point.
• Ensure Directors and their teams are aligned on strategy, timelines, resourcing, and ways of working.
• Support Directors in navigating complexity, tradeoffs, and decision-making in a high-risk and fast-moving environment.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, learning, and shared ownership across the Climate & Rights portfolio.
• Ensure best practices are applied to budget management, reporting requirements and other internal processes.

Campaign Cohesion &Organizational Alignment

• Ensure campaign strategies are developed with strong integration across legal, communications, engagement, fundraising, and operations.
• Partner closely with the Senior Director of Oceans to ensure alignment across program priorities, shared narratives, and organizational sequencing.
• Work with program leadership to assess tradeoffs, sequencing, and resourcing across issue areas.
• Support consistent evaluation, learning, and iteration across campaigns.

People-Centered Leadership and Culture

• Model and reinforce Greenpeace USA’s values of justice, nonviolence, and people-powered change.
• Support healthy, sustainable workloads and clear decision-making structures across teams.
• Foster transparent, consistent, and fair management practices that support trust, accountability, and effective collaboration across teams.
• Champion inclusive leadership and equitable outcomes in both internal operations and external campaign work.

External Representation & Movement Leadership

• Represent Greenpeace USA externally, as appropriate, with partners, allies, funders, and movement leaders.
• In partnership with the Chief Program Officer and issue Campaign Directors, serve as a key connector to program and campaign leaders across the global Greenpeace network, supporting alignment between U.S. climate and rights priorities and broader organizational efforts.
• Maintain awareness of political, legal, and movement trends related to climate, democracy, civic space, and rights.
• Support Directors in cultivating strong relationships with allies, coalitions, and funders.

Other Duties

• Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Other duties and responsibilities may be assigned as organizational or team priorities arise and/or shift

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

Knowledge and Experience:

• 10+ years of senior leadership experience in climate, democracy, human rights, or movement-based organizations.
• Demonstrated experience managing senior leaders or directors and leading complex, multi-issue portfolios.
• Experience working across functions (campaigns, legal, communications, engagement, development).
• Proven ability to lead collaboratively, manage risk, and operate effectively amid uncertainty.
• In-depth knowledge of US politics and culture, social movements and socio-economic environment
• Experience developing and managing campaign budgets and high priority projects and campaigns
• Strong strategic campaigning experience using varied approaches,  including a strong commitment to non-violent direct action as a means of affecting change
• Proven track record in public/supporter engagement, mobilization and organizing, including familiarity with  tools and systems  to bring supporters into the work of the organization 
• Experience integrating climate and democracy or rights-based strategies, preferred.
• Familiarity with nonprofit governance, unionized workplaces, and global federated organizations, preferred.
• Experience working in coalition with grassroots, frontline, and movement partners, preferred.

Skills/Attributes/Competencies;

• Strategic integration and systems thinking
• Strong strategic judgment with the ability to prioritize and make tradeoffs in constrained environments
• Senior-level people management and coaching
• Clear decision-making and prioritization
• Strong communication skills, including serving as an external spokesperson
• Political judgment and risk awareness
• Strong political analysis of corporate power, civic repression, and climate justice, preferred.
• Collaborative leadership and influence
• Commitment to equity, justice, and people power
• Deep commitment to social, racial, and environmental justice and to Greenpeace USA’s mission and values

Other:

• Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally, sometimes for significant lengths of time, as needed
• Ability and willingness to work across time zones and frequently outside of normal business hours, as needed

COMPENSATION

Greenpeace offers a competitive benefits package including medical, dental and vision coverage with low contributions from staff. We have options for pre-tax flexible spending accounts for medical and dependent care costs. Greenpeace employees enjoy generous 401K matching and time-off for vacation, sick, personal, and parental leave. After five years, staff are eligible for a paid sabbatical. To encourage public transportation use and biking, we offer subsidies for staff who choose to bike or ride mass transit to work. Greenpeace is committed to the growth and development of staff and fostering a creative workplace culture. For more information, check out our benefits plan. 

This role is a graded at a level 6, and a starting salary within the range of $144,000 to $165,600 is anticipated to be provided to the successful candidate having met the minimum requirements for this position consistent with reflecting our commitment to maintaining competitive and fair compensation practices.

If you want to save the world from climate change and believe in environmental and social justice, please submit an application on our careers page. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and will conclude once we have found the best candidate.

Greenpeace is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, class, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, family/marital status, religion or other protected classes. We strongly encourage applications from marginalized communities. If you require assistance applying to this opportunity, please contact usa-resumes@greenpeace.org. 

Only applicants eligible to work and live in the United States without any legal restrictions need apply for this opportunity.