Jobs

We offer paid positions and internships that provide strong experience in policy, litigation, development, and communications.

Riverkeeper is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage women and people of color to apply and provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, military status, or status as a Vietnam-era or special disabled veteran.

Please read the below descriptions and send application materials to the appropriate person listed. Thank you for your interest in working with Riverkeeper.

• Associate Staff Attorney

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  Position Overview
  Riverkeeper seeks an entry level attorney for its Legal Program, reporting to the Legal Program Director. The Associate Staff Attorney will expand Riverkeeper’s presence and effectiveness in the mid to upper Hudson River watershed and the New York City drinking water watershed through litigation, advocacy, public education, and public outreach in order to advance Riverkeeper’s policy goals of fishable, swimmable waterways. The position requires significant travel throughout the Hudson River Valley, and a commitment to attend meetings and appointments that may be outside of normal business hours.

  Riverkeeper is looking for a qualified environmental attorney with an exceptional commitment to the environment and a strong academic and experiential-learning record.

  Requirements
  All candidates must:

  • Be admitted to practice law in New York State, or be qualified to be admitted upon
    motion, or sit for the next administration of the New York State bar exam if necessary;
  • Have a strong commitment to Riverkeeper’s mission and goals and possess a general
    familiarity with non-profit environmental organizations;
  • Demonstrate familiarity with federal administrative and environmental law;
  • Have at least 1-3 years of relevant legal experience;
  • Have excellent writing, research and communication skills;
  • Be energetic, creative, well organized, independent, hard-working, personable, and have a sense of humor; and
  • Be able to maintain a flexible work schedule, be willing to work some evenings, and frequently travel throughout the Hudson Valley for meetings.

  Candidates will be preferred who also have:

  • Training or experience in environmental policy and/or litigation;
  • Training or experience in public oral advocacy;
  • Training or experience with the Clean Water Act, RCRA, NEPA, NY SEQRA,
    CERCLA, and/or the Atomic Energy Act.

  Compensation and Benefits
  Competitive and commensurate with experience.

  Application Procedure:
  Please submit your résumé, cover letter and writing sample, not to exceed ten pages, to humanresources@riverkeeper.org. Please write ASSOCIATE STAFF ATTORNEY in the subject line. Phone calls will not be accepted.

  Riverkeeper is AA/EEO employer.
  People from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

  Riverkeeper, Inc.
  Position Announcement
  Associate Staff Attorney

  Title: Associate Staff Attorney
  Program: Riverkeeper Legal Program
  Reporting Relationships:

  • Reports to: Legal Program Director
  • Supervises: Interns, periodically
  • Geographic Work Area: mid to upper Hudson River watershed and the New York City Drinking Water watershed (the “watersheds”)

  Tasks

  Legal Work & Enforcement
  • Enforce Environmental Laws
    • Strategize and develop cases with program directors and Riverkeeper attorneys to protect and restore the watersheds
    • Investigate Clean Water Act and other violations in the watersheds
      • Develop cases on your own or based on watchdog reports or from boat program, etc.
      • Support boat program with cases/investigations
      • Research, secure, and coordinate necessary outside counsel and expert witnesses
      • File local, state and federal information requests
      • Review site specific legal documents
    • Commence and advance enforcement lawsuits with support from senior counsel, from Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic and/or on your own
    • Lead settlement negotiations, and monitor post settlement compliance
  • Policy Development and Strategic Planning
    • Maximize Riverkeeper efficiency and achievement in the watersheds
    • Establish and enhance Riverkeeper presence and effectiveness in the region by:
      • Leading policy initiatives to support water quality, fisheries, enforcement, superfund, access, etc.
      • Reviewing bills, lobbying, testifying at public hearings, developing policy papers, etc.
      • Initiating, maintaining and expanding strategic relationships with constituency groups, environmental organizations, private advocates and funders
      • Participating in government and administrative process to develop awareness of issues and advocate and advance Riverkeeper priorities
      • Reaching and actively engaging the public through meetings, public events, and public speaking
      • Extensively traveling within the watersheds to organize and attend meetings with elected officials, law enforcement, regulators and the public
    • Work with development department to create and expand relationships with donors and foundations.
    • Work with communications department to develop relationships with the public, reporters, coordinate earned media efforts, and invite media and other officials on Riverkeeper boat
    • Serve as spokesperson for campaigns, represent Riverkeeper at regional and national conferences, forums
    • Administrative
      • Monitor Environmental Notice Bulletin, state administrative rules, county, town and local notices, and Army Corps Notices, etc.
      • Oversee interns, volunteers, and Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic students
      • Attend case review at Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic when in session
      • Coordinate with the Program Director and President to brief and explain legal actions to the Board for approval
      • Develop, with assistance from team members, quarterly reports
      • Work with development team to draft grants and grant reports for foundations

• Request for Qualification Statements- Aquatic Connectivity Projects

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  Riverkeeper is seeking qualification statements from consultant engineering firms interested in performing aquatic connectivity projects – specifically dam removal, culvert modifications, and fish passage projects – throughout the Hudson Valley. Project types and needs will vary depending on the dam or culvert, but can include preparation of design, engineering and construction/deconstruction plans, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling and reports, permitting documents; and cost estimates, among other tasks.

  Interested consultant engineering firms should submit qualification statements, inclusive of client references, detailing their experience in designing dam removal projects, culvert modifications, and fish passage projects. The statements should include resumes of current staff that would be involved in the project(s) and any subcontractors that may be utilized, as well as a rate sheet with staffing categories. Experience in the environmental permitting process for dam removal projects and an understanding of fluvial geomorphology as applied to river restoration projects should also be included. Firms with proven experience utilizing a design-build teaming approach for dam removal will be considered favorably.

  Minimum qualifications required:

  Interested firms should have completed design and construction oversight for the following within the last five years, and should provide a listing of current staff involved in each:

  • At least three dam removal projects
  • At least two culvert modifications
  • At least one fishway project

  Qualification statements should be submitted by email to gjackman@riverkeeper.org with the subject “Aquatic Connectivity Qualification Statement,” by April 11, 2018.

• Advocacy and Engagement Summer Internship

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  Riverkeeper is looking for a graduate student or an exceptionally qualified undergraduate junior or senior to assist the Advocacy and Engagement program with community outreach, public affairs, research, communications and administrative support. The intern will work closely with Riverkeeper’s program team of scientists, communications team, advocates, and lawyers. Interns will gain firsthand experience in grassroots environmental campaigns at an internationally recognized environmental non-profit. We seek independent and motivated students with a commitment to environmental protection and an ability to handle diverse assignments. Strong research and writing skills and organized work habits are a must.

  • Training: The intern should expect training and onboarding the first week of the internship followed by ongoing mentorship and supervision from one intern supervisor. The intern should also expect regular check-ins with their supervisor and the Advocacy & Engagement team. Intern will receive training and relevant written materials to become versed and comfortable about the range of Riverkeeper’s campaigns, initiatives, and mission in addition to training for using the website, email, and text message platforms.
  • Commitment: Starting late May/early June to August. Commitment of 25-35 hours a week.
  • Location: Ossining, NY and occasionally remote throughout the Hudson Watershed.
  • Compensation: Candidates must receive funding from their college/university/grant program or receive credit towards their degree.

  Internship Duties

  • Intern will work in the Riverkeeper office and develop an understanding about the Hudson River Estuary, pollution threats, environmental policies, and local governmental agencies;
  • A primarily responsibility will be to staff and assist organizing Riverkeeper’s summer tabling program, including assembling materials, to advance membership and advocacy goals;
  • Intern may also occasionally participate in hearings, meetings with government officials, trainings, investigations, and boat patrols;
  • Develop campaign materials such as fact sheets, powerpoint presentations, and social media/email/text message platform communications;
  • Assist in organizing and participate in advocacy events;
  • Recruit new volunteers and members;
  • Attend various meetings across the region with Riverkeeper staff or independently on behalf of Riverkeeper;
  • Maintain events calendar on Riverkeeper’s website;
  • Assist in maintaining contact lists for public officials;
  • Drafting blogs, letters to the editor and op-eds supporting Riverkeeper’s campaigns.

  Qualifications

  • Available on a regular schedule for at least 2-3 months;
  • Comfortable in an office setting working with computers, websites, online databases, and complex research topics;
  • Familiarity with google drive software such as Google sheets and docs;
  • Resourceful, self-starter, excellent problem solver;
  • Online research experience;
  • Experience with wordpress, email platforms (like mailchimp) and HTML is a plus;
  • Enthusiasm for the Riverkeeper mission and for helping the Advocacy and Engagement team reach its annual goals;
  • Requires some availability beyond regular office hours for events on evenings and weekends;
  • Bilingual/multilingual is a plus but not a requirement (indicate on application)

  .

  Requirements

  • Access to a vehicle for attending outreach/tabling events on semi-regular nights and weekends
  • Ability and willingness for travel throughout NYC/Hudson Valley/Capital Region

  How to Apply
  Application deadline is April 20th. Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume to: Robin Meadows, Director of Finance & Operations via email at humanresources@riverkeeper.org. Please write “Summer 2018 Advocacy & Engagement Internship Application” in the subject line.

  Riverkeeper is an equal opportunity employer and provides opportunities to all employees and applicants, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, and military status.

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• FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fellow

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  About Riverkeeper
  Riverkeeper is New York’s premier water quality advocate. Our mission is to protect the environmental, recreational, and commercial integrity of the Hudson River and its tributaries, and safeguard the drinking water of nine million New York City and Hudson Valley residents. With an annual operating budget of $4.5 million, Riverkeeper is a mid-sized not-for-profit operating in the Hudson Valley. This is an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic organization experiencing significant growth.

  Riverkeeper is pleased to partner with the FAO Schwarz Family Foundation to offer a full-time, two-year fellowship position at Riverkeeper. The FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fellow will be employed by Riverkeeper, but also will be a part of the larger FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fellowship Program and receive ongoing support from the Foundation.

  About FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fellowship Program
  The FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fellowship program, established in 2006, is a special initiative designed to strengthen high-quality, non-profit organizations and train future leaders in the social impact sector. The Fellows will work within established non-profit organizations providing both direct service to children/youth as well as initiating new projects, research, or programs that may involve public policy, organizational replication, or sustainability efforts, or other new initiatives to strengthen the host organization. The goal is for the Fellows to contribute significantly both through their direct service (tutoring, mentoring, teaching, etc.) and through their special project work. At the same time, it is the Foundation’s hope that the Fellows receive experiences, training, and mentorship that launch them on successful careers as leaders in the social impact sector.

  Riverkeeper was the previous recipient of a 2015-2017 FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fellow. That Fellow developed and expanded our youth-oriented programming by educating elementary through high school aged students on water quality issues facing their local waterways, engaging them on stewardship of their waterways, coordinating participation of youth groups in our shoreline clean-ups, and facilitating data collection of types of marine debris in conjunction with high schools. We are excited to have another FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fellow join our team and build on the great work of our first Fellow.

  Position Summary
  The FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fellow will be a part of a four person team working to build advocacy and engagement with communities up and down the River. The FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fellow will work on a direct service project of educating the next generation of river advocates and stewards and a capacity building project, which includes supporting the coordination of the Riverkeeper Sweep, our annual day of service where volunteers clean up shoreline debris in over 100 locations.

  The FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fellow will report to the Director of Advocacy and Engagement and will work alongside the Outreach Coordinator (and former FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fellow) and the Advocacy Coordinator. They will also coordinate as needed with other internal departments.

  Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Educate elementary, high school, and college students about water pollution and issues facing their waterways by visiting classrooms and making presentations. The FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fellow would continue working with existing schools with which we have built partnerships and will also conduct outreach to 10 schools to strengthen existing and build new partnerships, making 5-10 classroom visits per year.
  • Coordinate with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and local schools and participate in DEC’s sponsored annual “A Day in the Life of the Hudson River.” This event brings together students and educators from New York City to Troy to gather along the banks of the Hudson River to participate in a day of hands-on learning including seining, fish identification, soil sampling, water testing, and recording basic weather data.
  • Recruit high school science classes to run data collection projects at particular Sweep sites. Two years ago, the FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fellow piloted a data collection program at select Sweep sites. Last year it grew to seven sites and was a particularly successful collaboration with high schools. Schools collected extended data for us to understand what debris is on the shores, so we can begin to determine steps to reduce the flow of debris as part of our broader work with the Trash-Free Hudson campaign. The new Fellow will aim to expand this data collection project to six new schools over the course of the two-year fellowship.
  • Develop youth tabling activities at our outreach events in collaboration with community partners and attend events and community meetings.
  • Work closely with the Outreach Coordinator to coordinate the Sweep, held every year the first Saturday in May. The event requires organizing more than 2,000 volunteers at 100 plus sites, coordinating and training our Sweep leaders who run the individual sites, and liaising with roughly 200 community organizations and municipalities. With some sites remaining clean after several years of “Sweeping,” our goal is to serve more of the river and recruit more key constituency groups as partners. Sweep coordination activities ramp up significantly between January and May.
  • Other duties as assigned.

  Ideal Qualities and Characteristics
  The ideal candidate will be proactive, detail-oriented, reliable, and flexible with a strong ability to meet deadlines and multi-task. The candidate should thrive in a fast-paced environment, managing multiple priorities and projects. They must have excellent computer, written, and oral communication skills and enjoy collaborating with a wide variety of people and situations.

  Qualifications

  • Recent college graduate (2017 or 2018).
  • Proficiency in the use of current Microsoft Office and Google software applications.
  • Strong organizational skills; ability to manage projects and workflow, using time and resources effectively. Ability to handle various projects on an ongoing basis while addressing daily needs for the office.
  • Enthusiasm for the Riverkeeper mission and for helping the Advocacy and Engagement team reach its annual goals.
    Sense of humor, dependability, and collaborative spirit required.

  Working Conditions

  • Requires some availability beyond regular office hours for events on evenings and weekends.
  • This position is full-time at 40 hours per week with full benefits.
  • Salary for the fellowship is $29,000 for the first year and $30,000 for the second year.

  Location: Riverkeeper is located in Ossining, New York, on Metro-North Hudson line.

  Riverkeeper is an equal opportunity employer and provides opportunities to all employees and applicants, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, and military status.

  To Apply: Please send cover letter and resume to humanresources@riverkeeper.org with “FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fellow” as the subject line. No phone calls please.

• Summer 2018 Legal Internship Positions

  Riverkeeper’s Legal Program is seeking two summer 2018 legal interns to work in our offices in either Ossining or White Plains, New York. Our legal interns are involved in every aspect of our program and gain hands-on experience conducting legal research and drafting litigation filings, participating in legislative and administrative advocacy, reviewing proposed development projects, and investigating pollution reports. Legal interns participate in weekly team meetings and case review sessions and often present orally at meetings and public hearings with government agencies, elected officials, and/or local community groups. While beginning and end dates are flexible, the term of the internship is ten weeks.Qualifications
  Riverkeeper welcomes applications from first and second year law students. We seek independent and motivated students with a commitment to environmental protection and an ability to handle a diverse caseload. Familiarity with environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act and the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act is a plus, as is a background in science or environmental policy. Strong research and writing skills and organized work habits are a must. Riverkeeper provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.

  How To Apply
  Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume, unedited writing sample, and names and contact information for two references to: Michael Dulong, Staff Attorney, via email at intern@riverkeeper.org. Please write “Summer 2018 Legal Program Internship Application” in the subject line.