Biotechnology Innovation Organization - Attorney for Agriculture and Environment

Washington, D.C.

Description:

• Provide regulatory counseling and litigation management regarding legal, policy, and regulatory matters for the Agriculture and Environment groups at BIO. This advocacy counseling primarily involves any litigation and regulatory activities related to USDA, EPA and FDA, as well as any related legislative and advocacy activities. 
• Also serve as in-house counsel providing legal services for the organization, including supervising compliance and contractual matters, as well as training for BIO attorneys and staff.

Duties:

• Provide legal assistance, training and supervision, as needed, on contracts and compliance, as well as state, federal, and international legislative, regulatory, and trade-related matters for BIO on non-health matters, including evaluating and developing comments on regulatory proposals, proposed legislation, and other documents.
• Serve as legal counsel to the Agriculture and Environment groups at BIO, including regulatory counsel and support, litigation management and support, antitrust counsel, corporate legal support, and advice and support on governance and compliance issues.
• Serve as counsel to section Boards for Agriculture and Environment, and all related staff-level committees, work streams and working groups.
• Provide legal assistance on voluntary industry self-regulatory initiatives (e.g., product stewardship and transparency) and communication campaigns related to Agriculture and Environment. 
• Manage the efficient use of outside counsel within all of the above subject matters.
• Assist with other legal activities of the organization, as requested by the General Counsel (GC) and/or the President, Advocacy, Law and Public Policy Division. 
• This attorney position will report to the Division President for all policy, regulatory and legislative matters, and to the GC for administrative, contract, legal compliance, and any litigation matters.

Requirements:

• Knowledge of trade association-specific law (including antitrust and consumer protection), as well as contracts, compliance, and general legislative and regulatory advocacy laws.
• Knowledge of the regulatory and legal framework for agricultural biotechnology, and/or industrial biotechnology (including renewable fuels, bio-based products, and/or bio-based chemicals) under the Plant Protection Act, the relevant Food and Drug laws, the Clean Air Act, TSCA, FIFRA, and any other relevant environmental laws.
• Knowledge of state and federal regulatory/legislative processes, including administrative law principles and procedures, and experience with environmental or other litigation involving government entities.
• Knowledge of the biotechnology industry strongly preferred.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively and accurately with other BIO staff, member companies, Board members, regulatory agency personnel, and internal and external counsel for other entities and organizations.
• Strong inter-personal skills, and the ability to build consensus and foster compromise among sometimes competing interests.
• The ability to work efficiently under tight deadlines.
• Excellent academic credentials, including J.D. degree.
• Admission in good standing to the District of Columbia (DC) bar or, alternatively, admission to the bar of another U.S. jurisdiction and ability to gain admission to the DC bar as needed.
• At least five (5) years of relevant legal experience required, preferably including, or in addition to, experience in a trade association, member company, government regulatory agency, or similar organization.
• Experience interacting with Boards of Directors and senior executives strongly preferred.

For more information, click here.

Congressional Research Service - Analyst in Agricultural Policy

Washington, D.C.

Description:

• The Resources, Science and Industry Division is seeking an Analyst in Agriculture Policy. The analyst will cover agriculture policy with a focus on domestic agricultural policies and markets with an emphasis on crop insurance and/or farm income support programs. The ideal candidate will have knowledge of the history, trends, economics, and current status of domestic agricultural policies and markets and demonstrate ability to develop expertise in new areas.

Duties:

• The Resources, Science and Industry Division (RSI) of the Congressional Research Service (CRS) is seeking an Analyst in Agriculture Policy. The analyst will conduct analyses that inform congressional deliberations on agriculture policy with a focus on domestic agricultural policies and markets. The ideal candidate will have knowledge of the history, trends, economics, and current status of domestic agricultural policies and markets with an emphasis on crop insurance and/or farm income support programs, as well as associated legislative, economic, and regulatory issues and interrelationships with other key agricultural policy areas.
• This position requires the ability to utilize analytical methods and techniques to analyze policy issues for the U.S. Congress. Applicants should be comfortable with quantitative approaches in research and familiar with issues related to domestic agriculture policies and markets with an emphasis on crop insurance and/or farm income support programs. Strong writing and presentation skills, including the ability to synthesize complex analyses into easy-to-understand language for a non-technical audience, are required. The analyst will provide objective, expert policy analysis and consultation to congressional committees, Members, and staff, including preparing objective, authoritative, non-partisan, and innovative analytical studies on policy issues of national or international significance; providing personal assistance as a national expert on public policy issues throughout the legislative process, including analyzing and evaluating legislative proposals; and planning and leading multi-disciplinary team research projects and seminars.
• CRS works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy and legal analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS has been a valued and respected resource on Capitol Hill for more than a century.
• CRS is well known for analysis that is authoritative, confidential, objective, and nonpartisan. Its highest priority is to ensure that Congress has immediate access to the nation's best thinking on public policy issues of interest to its Members and Committees.
• Analyst duties include:
• Preparing a variety of objective, non-partisan analytical studies and descriptive background reports, memoranda and other written materials on subjects or public policy issues of national significance that are within the employee’s area of professional knowledge.
• Providing personal consultation and assistance to congressional committees, Members and staff on public policy issues throughout the legislative process by providing information and analysis, and applying professional subject-area knowledge.
• Participating in CRS seminars, workshops, and/or outreach programs for congressional committees, Members and staff.
• Participating in or leading team research projects and seminars.
• Locating and providing information requested by Members and committees of Congress and their staff.
• The employee is also expected to develop over time the skills necessary to provide public policy and legislative analysis and consultation to congressional committees, Members, and staff at increasingly sophisticated levels.
• The Congressional Research Service, within the Library of Congress, is part of the Legislative Branch of the federal government. As such, all positions are in the excepted service.

Requirements:

• Knowledge of agriculture policy.
• Ability to analyze public policy issues.
• Ability to write in a public policy context.
• Ability to convey analysis and information orally through briefings, consultations and other presentations.
• Ability to lead collaborative research tasks.
• Ability to exercise objectivity in all phases of analysis and consultation.
• Ability to communicate effectively other than in writing.
• Although it is the Library's policy to afford the maximum pay benefit to employees when setting rates of pay, a new appointee who has had no previous Federal service will generally be paid the minimum step of the grade.
• The Library of Congress is an equal opportunity employer. Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities who meet eligibility requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Applicants must submit a complete application package that is received by the closing date of this announcement.

For more information, click here.

Publisher’s Platform - Food Safety Advocate

Seattle, WA

Description:

• For those of you who read these fine pages of Food Safety News produced by Dan, Coral, Joe, Jonan, Cookson, and our many contributors on a daily basis for the last ten years, I try not – well, at least – not too often, to interject my legal side with my publisher side. Here is an exception – Marler Clark needs help. Well, more precisely, consumers of food around the world need help.
• Since 2017 there been over 500 people in the U.S. and Canada who have suffered E. coli O157:H7 illnesses linked to leafy greens grown in the U.S.  Of these, nearly 200 have been hospitalized with 50 suffering hemolytic uremic syndrome (acute kidney failure).  There have been seven reported deaths.
• Looking for someone who is willing to think of this not as a job, but more of a calling.  I want someone who will happily work besides some of the finest lawyers, doctors, nurses, epidemiologists, paralegals, experts and staff in the food safety business.  We are dedicated to our clients 24/7/365 and I expect applicants to feel the same.  This is NOT a 9-5 gig.
•  If you have been out of law school 2-5 years, send your cover letter, resume and writing sample to bmarler@marlerclark.com or bclark@marlerclark.com before the end of the year. 

For more information, click here.

Vermont Law School - Food and Agricultural Staff Attorney

South Royalton, VT
Description:

• The Environmental Advocacy Clinic at Vermont Law School (formerly known as the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic) is hiring a Food and Agricultural Staff Attorney to work on litigation and legal advocacy matters related to our food and agricultural systems to ensure positive and sustainable outcomes that protect people, water and natural resources, and habitat.  The Environmental Advocacy Clinic offers students the chance to apply what they learn in the classroom by working in on real cases that have a positive impact on our world.  Vermont Law School has been one of the nation's top ranked environmental law schools for decades.  The position will work on ensuring large farm operations, such as CAFOS, are operated in a manner that accounts for pollution, protection of water and other natural resources, and public safety.  It will also focus on litigation aimed to advance and defend policies that promote sustainable agricultural practices that protect key natural resources and habitat areas.  An applicant should have an enthusiasm for working with law students who are eager to learn practice skills.
• The Environmental Advocacy Clinic is an in-house, law school clinic that operates as a public interest law firm, teaching students how to be lawyers by representing clients in need. In August of this year, the Clinic launched an exciting partnership with the National Wildlife Federation, one of the nation's largest and most influential conservation organizations, to represent the Federation on its national legal advocacy work.  The Clinic staff and students serve as the lead attorney representing the National Wildlife Federation, other leading conservation organizations, and local community groups to advance important environmental and natural resources issues.
• The Clinic has a mission to provide a high-quality, skills-based educational experience for law students who learn how to become competent, ethical attorneys with expertise in the field of environmental and natural resources law; to provide pro bono representation for individuals and organizations who could not otherwise afford legal services; and to ensure that laws protecting health, wildlife, and the environment are properly interpreted, implemented, and enforced to protect people and places for the benefit of this and future generations.  The clinic, while a distinct law firm, works in coordination on certain issues with Vermont Law School's broader initiatives on food and agriculture including the policy, academic, and scholar based Center for Agriculture and Food Systems.  This position will be critical in advancing that collaboration.
• The National Wildlife Federation has a robust program that is committed to ensuring that cropland, pastureland, or rangeland are managed sustainably to protect critical habitat for our nation's fish and wildlife, protect our water resources, and help mitigate climate change.  In addition to its collaborative work to encourage sustainable farming practices, National Wildlife Federation uses litigation and legal advocacy to ensure that key national policies such as the Farm Bill, protections for species and habitat, and the Clean Air Act's Renewable Fuel Standard are implemented and enforced in a manner that promotes sustainable farming practices and protects habitat.  This position will also play a role in forwarding many of those initiatives.

Duties:

• Develop litigation strategies to advance sustainable agricultural and food production practices that protect water and air quality, as well as wildlife habitat.
• Have primary responsibility for litigating complex cases under federal statutes such as the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, Farm Bill, National Environmental Policy Act, and other statutes applicable to the environmental regulation of agricultural and food systems.
• Supervise and teach student clinicians on cases and in a clinical learning environment.
• Work with a team of staff attorneys and clinical professors/instructors to develop and teach practical legal skills to student clinicians.
• Collaborate and work with technical experts as needed.
• Develop and manage positive relationships with co-counsel, clients, and partners.
• Help develop and execute media strategies for cases, including being a potential spokesperson for the clinic, clients, and partners.
• Be an active participant in a dynamic law school environment, including collaboration with other law school programs and occasional educational and other committee assignments and meetings.

Requirements:

• Juris Doctorate (JD) degree.
• 3-5 years or more of litigation experience.
• Admission, or willingness to apply for admission, to the Vermont bar.
• Knowledge of or experience with core environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act, NEPA, Endangered Species Act, with a knowledge of law or policy concerning agriculture and food systems preferred.
• Excellent research, writing, and oral advocacy skills.
• Initiative, good judgment, and a solid work ethic.
• Ability to manage multiple litigation dockets, lead a litigation team, and manage partners, students, and co-counsel effectively without extensive supervision.
• Ability to develop and maintain relationships with diverse partners.
• Ability to supervise students.
• Clinical or teaching experience preferred.
• Good interpersonal skills and a sense of humor.

For more information, click here.

W.K. Kellogg Foundation - Program Officer for U.S. Southern Programs

Jackson, MS; New Orleans, LA

Description:

• The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), a leading national philanthropy helping communities create the conditions children need to thrive, is seeking nominations and applications for a Program Officer for its U.S. Southern Programs, serving communities in Mississippi & New Orleans. In recent years the foundation has sharpened its focus on improving conditions for vulnerable children, concentrating on three key factors of success and their intersections: education and learning; food, health and well-being; and family economic security. WKKF partners closely with community stakeholders and policy makers to co-create a network of organizations working together to advance economic stability, racial equity, and community and civic engagement, while increasing access to quality education, healthy food, and medical care for children and families in need.
• Working in partnership across the two team offices for U.S. Southern Programs led by Director Rhea Williams-Bishop and with WKKF national staff, the Program Officer will provide leadership and oversight for on-the-ground execution of program efforts that nurture opportunities for achieving positive systemic change for better education, health, and economic outcomes for children and their families throughout Mississippi and in New Orleans. The Mississippi & New Orleans team works from base offices in Jackson and New Orleans and is a critical place-based team at the foundation for the region. Particular areas of interest for this role include economic development along the Gulf Coast; food systems, food access, and food entrepreneurship in rural and urban communities; and how these focus areas intersect with local industries (e.g., shipping, chemicals, energy, tourism, and seafood), environmental concerns, local entrepreneurship, and employment equity. 

Duties:

• The new Program Officer will leverage deep expertise in food systems and economic equity to screen and recommend grants for funding, conduct site visits, manage and monitor a portfolio of grant programs aligned with the foundation’s strategic framework, and collaborate within the programs team and across the foundation to develop a more interdisciplinary approach to grantmaking. The Program Officer will maintain strong, authentic relationships with grant seekers and grantees and act as a spokesperson for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, effectively communicating the foundation’s goal of partnering with communities to improve the well-being of children and their families.

Requirements:

• The ideal candidate will be committed to the values and mission of the foundation and have expertise and leadership experience in food systems, policy, and/or economic development. She/He/They will be knowledgeable about the intersections between food systems and food-based entrepreneurship, labor markets, and workforce development. The Program Officer will also have an understanding of and appreciation for the impact of the private sector and the role of the public sector in alleviating racial and economic disparities in urban and rural economies. Familiarity and experience with grantmaking is a plus, but is not required. She/He/They will have a deep and comprehensive understanding of program execution and development. The Program Officer will have both cultural fluency and networks in the Deep South, the Gulf Coast, the Delta region, and on the national level. The Program Officer will curate a portfolio that is reflective of, and responsive to, the needs of communities and grassroots leaders along the Gulf Coast, including Biloxi and New Orleans, and in rural areas in Mississippi and Louisiana as well. She/He/They will possess a strong team orientation, a high tolerance for ambiguity, the ability to adapt quickly to change, and a record of success in working effectively with persons from diverse cultural, social, and ethnic backgrounds.  

For more information, click here.

Land Stewardship Project - Executive Director

Minneapolis, MN

Description:

• We are seeking an experienced leader who is deeply committed to building power in rural areas, has a proven interest in environmental stewardship of the land, and has a dedication to economic justice and gender and racial equity. As the ongoing farm crisis is destroying rural communities and small- and mid-sized farms all over our country, we seek someone who can drive our bold five-year plan and our efforts to align our program areas and expertise in a way that expands what we’re doing well, but also addresses the serious challenges our members and communities face. 2 The current executive director is retiring after a number of years with the organization, three of them in his current role. He is planning to work with the next executive director to support the transition, and LSP’s board is committed to providing support, including executive coaching, if desired. Our search is being led by a transition committee of five board members, and supported by a search consultant. The executive director will lead the board, a staff of more than 30 working in three offices across the state, and a strong membership and donor base. The executive director will also serve as the director of the Land Stewardship Action Fund (LSAF), a 501(c)4 organization that was formed in 2018 to allow us to directly engage with political candidates and issues to advance our agenda. Please note that while we are posting the position seeking one executive director, the transition committee is open to considering applications from two or more individuals seeking to co-lead the organization. 

Duties:

• Organizational Vision and Board Engagement 
• Lead the strategic direction of the organization in coordination with the LSP (and LSAF) board, member-leaders, and staff. 
• Lead the implementation of LSP’s Vision for the Future, our 2019-2024 five-year plan, including the alignment, development, and innovation of our programs and resources. Combat the ongoing farm crisis through building grassroots people power in rural areas. 
• Staff Management and Development 
• Oversee the organization’s hiring, supervision, development, and retention of staff members, and the coordination, communication, management, support, and leadership development of said staff members. Directly supervise a leadership team, supporting them to direct and develop our outstanding staff. 
• Oversee internal systems around communications/social media, human resources, fundraising and financial operations, administration, reporting. 
• Lead the organization’s internal and external efforts to promote gender and racial equity. 
• Work with managers/directors and the staff as a whole to support the critical member and leadership development work happening on the ground, and to help staff prioritize their work effectively. 
• Fundraising and Budget 
• Lead the organization’s fundraising work. Work with staff who carry significant fundraising responsibilities to ensure dollars are raised, and that financial resources are utilized effectively, powerfully, and appropriately to advance our mission. 
• Develop new relationships with funders and major donors to LSP, and support and oversee the work of the staff who are currently maintaining such relationships. Support the work of building out our dues-paying membership. Leadership and Program 
• Ensure that LSP continues to be a leader in the Upper Midwest and on a national level in organizing for change on critical issues and building partnerships and alliances that reach across geography, race, gender, and political lines. 
• Work as part of our leadership team to advance initiatives that reflect our commitments to lifting up small farmers and combating factory farms, protecting our soil and water, and meaningfully impacting local and statewide policies. Advance our work on these issues alongside those of racial, economic, and gender equity in Greater Minnesota. 
• Drive the organization’s agenda and relationships with allies, and work to ensure they are aligned around building power for the organization, our members, and our allies.

Requirements:

• Candidates for the position should be able to: 
• Express and articulate their commitment to building long-term progressive power in rural communities. 
• Display how their leadership and management experience prepares them to drive and lead a team and organization, and how they would prioritize staff development. 
• Demonstrate their experience advancing racial and gender equity and economic justice.
•  Show a passion for grassroots and coalition organizing and developing member-leaders, and communicate the power and impact that a member-led people’s organization can have in empowering rural communities. 
• Demonstrate an understanding of the impact and importance of public policy and explain how policy can be shaped to better support family farms and environmental stewardship. 
• Demonstrate outstanding communications skills, including verbally, visually and in writing, across different types of media, commensurate with leading a broadbased organization. 
• Effectively ask people for money with skill and comfort. Demonstrate an ability to create long-term relationships with donors, funders, and partners. 
• Articulate their passion for healthy rural communities and working people, democracy, and stewardship of the land. 

Interested candidates should e-mail a resume, three references, and a cover letter that explains

why they want the job to James Haggar, consultant to the Land Stewardship Project, at

jobs@landstewardshipproject.org by December 23, 2019. Interested candidates may also direct

questions to James at that e-mail address.