Southwest Organizer

Wisconsin Conservation Voters is excited to add a passionate, energetic, and effective community organizer to our team. This person will lead regional campaigns that will hold our state and federal lawmakers accountable to protecting Wisconsin’s air, land, water, and democracy, and fight for climate justice. This is a full-time, temporary position through mid-December 2026 and will be based in or near La Crosse, WI. There is a possibility of extending the position beyond December 2026, dependent on funding.

Our work has never been more urgent, with climate change impacting communities across the state, our democracy in peril, and thousands of Wisconsinites living without safe drinking water in their homes. To take on this challenge, we are looking for somebody who is motivated to engage with voters, members, and partners to help build a movement to meet this moment.

In order to support our team to do their best work, we offer a strong benefits package that includes a 36 hour work week, generous paid time off, parental leave, quality health and dental, and more – details below. We also utilize a transparent pay structure in order to ensure we are equitable and competitive in our salaries.

Reports to: Deputy Director

Location: based in or near La Crosse, WI

Status: full-time, temporary position through mid-December 2026

Download job description here.

Who We Are

Wisconsin Conservation Voters engages voters to protect Wisconsin’s environment. As Wisconsin’s largest environmental political organization and a policy powerhouse, we elect pro-environment champions to public office, advocate for strong environmental laws and policies, and hold elected officials accountable for their votes and actions. Learn more about us at conservationvoters.org.

What You’ll Do

This position will join our team of organizers who work statewide to build deep relationships and sustainable programs in local communities to win protections for our water and air; fight climate change; and protect our democracy. This role includes work both on public policy and in elections. A major focus of this role will be holding federal elected officials accountable for their decisions to gut clean energy and climate justice investments and on other federal issues that are negatively impacting the people of western Wisconsin. This role will also focus on state level policy issues.

We know there are great candidates who may not have all of the following experience or check all of the boxes, and we also know you might bring important skills that we haven’t considered. If that applies to you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself.

Areas of Responsibility

At its core, this role has these areas of responsibility:

• Developing and strengthening relationships with volunteers, community organizations, coalitions, and community leaders;
• Increasing our volunteer base and building infrastructure to support those volunteers in taking action on our shared values;
• Mentoring, training, and building organizing skills in our fellows and volunteers to win campaigns in their communities and in the state;
• Recruiting and facilitating teams of volunteers to win on local, state, and national issues and policies related to clean energy and climate justice, clean water, and voter access;
• Possibly manage short-term part-time paid fellows and/or volunteer interns;
• Planning, recruiting for, leading, and participating in phone and text banks and door-to-door canvasses to engage voters on conservation issues;
• Engaging in consistent communication with WCV members, volunteers, and partners through phone, email, text, and one-on-one meetings;
• Developing and implementing local issue campaigns in partnership with staff, organizational partners, WCV members, and community members based on our core issues of clean energy, clean drinking water, and democracy;
• Identifying opportunities to attend and represent WCV at community events, partner organization meetings, and within various coalitions;
• Monitoring and reporting local news and developments that affect our core issues and present opportunities to address emerging issues;
• Working with other WCV staff and board members to continue to build a more powerful, cohesive, and equitable organization committed to racial justice;
• Collaborating with the Development Department to build relationships with donors and engage in fundraising;
• Collaborating with the Government Affairs and Civic Engagement departments to analyze local policy and strategize local campaigns;
• Collaborating with the Communications Department to promote events, communicate quickly with members, and tell stories publicly about the issues we work to solve;
• Consulting with the Deputy Director as needed when identifying endorsement opportunities for local elections;
• Building WCV’s brand, reputation, and goodwill with members, activists, volunteers, local leaders, and partner groups; and
• Recording and tracking data and reporting progress in a timely manner

Who You Are

To be successful in this job, you will be enthusiastic about building relationships and connecting with people about environmental issues in their community.

More specifically, you are:

• A people person and connector. You are genuinely interested in fostering relationships and understanding people’s interests, stories, and motivations to build community.
• Comfortable speaking to new people in different settings, such as in public to groups and crowds, at people’s doors, over the phone, and in one-on-one meetings.
• Have excellent interpersonal skills. You are able to work well in a team and manage projects that require input from multiple staff and across departments in a fast paced environment.
• A resilient problem solver in the face of challenges and seek multiple viewpoints to come to a decision.
• Able to prioritize multiple projects at once and are adaptable to changes in real time.
• Understand the value of lived experience and are adept at working with people and groups from different backgrounds than your own, such as racial identity, gender identity, age, political ideology, and socio-economic background.
• Creative and ambitious, always seeking out new ways to expand WCV’s base of support and engage community members in its programs.
• Value learning, are curious, and like to seek out new ideas and opportunities for personal growth and improvement.
• Excited to engage voters to protect Wisconsin’s water, air, land, and democracy.
• Have a personal commitment to anti-racism and achieving racial and social equity in your community, region, and Wisconsin.
• Enthusiastic about WCV’s mission of engaging voters to protect Wisconsin’s environment, committed to racial equity, and share our commitment to centering the voices and experiences of those most impacted by climate change and environmental degradation.

What You Should Know

Work experience: 2-3 years of issue, electoral, or other community organizing with at least once cycle of electoral organizing preferred. If you have fewer years of experience but a high level of comfort with community organizing and meet the skills needed, we encourage you to apply.

Racial justice and equity competencies: Demonstrated awareness of how one’s life experiences influence one’s biases and assumptions. Demonstrated commitment to continual learning. Commitment to equity and inclusion as organizational practice and culture. Understands how environmental issues intersect with racism, economic and social inequality in the U.S. and has a passion for working to dismantle these systems. Read more about our commitment in our Guiding Principles here.

Conditions: Position is based in or near La Crosse, Wisconsin. Candidates must be willing and able to work remotely and in community as well as travel occasionally within the state, especially throughout Congressional District 3 and western Wisconsin. A valid driver’s license is required. This position is full-time, salaried, and classified as exempt. This temporary position is funded through the end of 2026. Position extension is dependent on funding.

Salary and benefits: We utilize a transparent and equitable pay structure to determine salaries across the organization. The salary range for this position is $59,000-$74,000 depending on experience. We value employee health and work/life balance and offer the following benefits:

• 36 hour work week
• Generous paid time off including vacation, holidays, and one week of communal rest in summer totaling 39 days of PTO per year plus 12 sick/personal days per year
• 12 weeks paid parental leave
• Paid medical/emergency leave policy that is straightforward and trust-based
• Health and dental insurance with a generous employer contribution
• Flexible Spending Account (medical, dependent care, and transit)
• Life insurance and short-term disability insurance
• Phone stipend
• Flexibility in working hours
• Professional development support

Reports to: Deputy Director 

Please note that as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, Wisconsin Conservation Voters employees are not eligible to participate in the Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.