Deputy Field Building Director

About Us

Heavy industry is the foundation of modern society. We need materials like cement, steel, and aluminum more than ever to rebuild our bridges and roads, construct wind and solar projects, and manufacture electric vehicles and heat pumps that will undergird our future. But we also need a new social contract with industry. Heavy industry made the middle class and ushered in a remarkable era of prosperity for many; it also threatens our climate, reinforces environmental racism, wastes valuable materials and energy, and leaves communities and workers behind.

At Industrious Labs, our mission is to set into motion unstoppable policies, people power, and analysis to make a triple impact on climate, justice, and jobs that drastically reduce dangerous emissions, make industry accountable to communities and workers, and develop a circular economy. Because industry needs a second revolution.

About the Position

Guided by an inspiring vision, strategic plan, and significant early financial investment, we seek an entrepreneurial Deputy Field Building Director to join our team. Industrious Labs is fully remote, and this role reports to Partner and Field Building Director Dominique Thomas. 

The Deputy Field Building Director is a highly skilled relationship builder with a proven ability to establish, grow, and sustain movement infrastructure. They are charged with field-building strategies for the internal Industrious Labs team to transform industry across climate, justice and jobs. From strategy development to execution, the Deputy Director bottom-lines capacity building and regranting, collaboration with key external partners, coalition coordination, and other duties as deemed necessary to win. The Deputy Director also holds key responsibilities within the Field Building Department, and supports the Field Building Director in designing and leading the development and management of intra-department systems and projects. 

The Deputy Field Building Director will focus on Industrious Labs’ field-building initiative (The Arc) to map the landscape, which involves power analyses to identify strengths, current players, and gaps.  The following are key areas of responsibility: 

1. Supporting overarching Industrious Labs field-building needs and playing a leadership role in the Field Building Department, which may include
1. Coaching, mentoring and/or managing other Field Building staff;
2. Fundraising, managing budgets, and supervising contractors and vendors;
3. Assisting with onboarding and supporting incoming Field Building staff;
4. Driving cross-sectoral power building and managing Industrious Labs’ campaign field-building activities across the organization;
5. Managing systems and projects, as mutually determined with Field Building Director, that cut across and serve the entire department; and
6. Other leadership responsibilities as needed or required.  
2. Developing and implementing the movement infrastructure to support long-term capacity building and launch a national industrial decarbonization network:
1. Assisting with the continued development and implementation of our regranting strategy across the organization;
2. Developing and implementing a national power analysis and community mapping project that clarifies the type of power we need to build to win and which communities, advocacy groups, etc. are critical to industrial transformation and;
3. Supporting the continued development of our Industrial Equity Mapper, helping to shape the long-term trajectory of this project, and developing case studies and relationships with those in the field.

The Successful Candidate

The Deputy Field Building Director is driven by their belief and commitment to Industrious Labs’ vision, mission, and values. Through their track record and expertise as an organizer, movement and field builder, the successful candidate helps solidify Industrious Labs as a leader in industrial decarbonization and advances both our and our external partners’ goals. The Deputy Field Building Director builds authentic and lasting relationships with communities impacted by pollution from the industrial sector, as well as grassroots organizations, labor, industry representatives, policymakers, and others to engage them as partners in our mission. They bring a mindset that considers capacity building and power building as the foundations of creating a shared future that transforms and dismantles systems of oppression. 

The Deputy Field Building Director joins a deeply committed team with a track record of success in movement building, campaign strategy, data analysis, and communications, focusing on climate and clean energy. The successful candidate is entrepreneurial and excited about the prospect of building something new in the climate movement from the ground up. They have the experience of being part of setting vision, establishing, and scaling successful programs with an ethos of creativity, humility, and an expectation of continual learning. 

Despite enormous obstacles in decarbonizing heavy industry, the Industrious Labs team operates with a spirit of possibilities. We seek a Deputy Field Building Director who shares the belief that we can all do things we’ve never done before and can stretch ourselves to achieve incredible results.

This role requires a deep commitment to environmental and climate justice principles, proven collaboration skills, and the ability to design and execute coordinated strategies that will generate change in a deeply entrenched and seemingly intractable aspect of the climate movement. The Deputy Field Building Director demonstrates initiative by diving right in to take a concept from idea to implementation, navigating through internal and external barriers as they arise without getting stuck, and finding and deploying resources creatively to solve problems. The selected candidate will also possess most of the following Core and Preferred qualifications:

Deputy Field Building Director Core Qualifications

• At least 10 years of increasing responsibility in robust coalition development, power building,  and capacity/field/movement building, with a track record of accomplishment. 
• Experience assisting/leading strategy development in coalition spaces and with diverse people/perspectives.
• Experience designing/implementing organizing efforts in local, state, regional, and national settings that build long-term sustainable power to win.
• Experience providing high-level support and expertise in the direction of campaign and field building efforts to partners and executives.
  
  
• Experience supervising and directing the work of colleagues and/or direct reports.

• Strong analysis of movement theory, implementation, and the intersectionality of racial capitalism and other systems of oppression, to be applied in the implementation and execution of power building efforts. 
  
  
• Mastery of relationship-building skills and strong existing relationships with a wide range of diverse external constituencies, from big greens, labor,  environmental justice communities, etc.
  
  
• Experience developing and implementing a power analysis, community mapping, and/or landscape assessment. This includes the ability to get up to speed on complex information, analyze and articulate key findings and patterns efficiently and effectively. 

• Proven track record of creating a clear vision with attainable goals that build power centered around equity and justice.

Deputy Field Director Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience and content knowledge in climate, clean energy, public policy and/or the industrial sector, including manufacturing and labor.
• Entrepreneurial drive to build an organization from the ground up; prior start-up experience as an early team member in a growing organization.
• Experience re-granting and subcontracting with local partners and moving resources equitably.
• Experience in the climate movement or another social justice movement.

Industrious Labs Core Qualifications

Below are the qualifications expected of all Industrious Labs staff. 

• Strong commitment to the mission, vision, policies, and goals of Industrious Labs.
• Highly collaborative work style with the ability to operate as a peer and thought partner to colleagues and external partners.
• Commitment to continuous learning, hunger for knowledge, and willingness to ask questions and self-correct; a curious, self-directed, and entrepreneurial approach.Exceptional oral and written communication skills with the ability to break down a complex issue into manageable and clear decision points that drive the desired campaign outcomes.
• Excited rather than intimidated by the challenge of what's unknown about this role.
• Proven leadership skills with clarity of vision and a commitment to the highest levels of integrity, quality, and collaboration, developing strong team cultures, promoting and enhancing equity, diversity, and inclusion, performance management, and professional development.
• Demonstrated experience working across lines of race, class, gender, and geography and an analysis of how climate change intersects with historically oppressed and marginalized communities.
• Proven ability to prioritize and be flexible in a fast-paced, constantly evolving, and collaborative environment, where working on a team and working individually are all required.
• Commitment to giving and receiving direct, compassionate feedback.

Salary and Benefits:

The salary for this position is $128,000. Industrious Labs has a policy not to negotiate salaries. Historically, negotiations reward those who have the skill, privilege, and confidence to ask for more money; and because not everyone has those skills, allowing for negotiations undermines the economic equity we strive for as an organization. Rather than use negotiations to drive competitive salaries, we endeavor to pay people well and establish a transparent salary scale based on the experience, competencies, and responsibilities required to thrive in this role.

Industrious Labs offers a competitive set of benefits, including 100% comprehensive health care coverage for employees (medical, dental, and vision), a work-from-home stipend, up to a 5% employer match to 401k, and 11 paid holidays plus unlimited vacation, starting with a minimum of 15 business days.

 Our Commitment to Racial Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Climate Justice:

We believe that diversity in our team isn’t just a value but brings different experiences and perspectives essential to solving the climate crisis. If you’ve read this job description and are excited by it and can see yourself happily filling this role and making a difference on climate change, we hope you apply. Industrious Labs is an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to transparent and equitable recruitment, hiring, and promotion processes that foster inclusion and belonging. If you need reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please email Heather at heather@industriouslabs.org.  

Application Procedure: 

To apply, please submit a resume and cover letter answering the following:

1. How do you describe power? How have you built power with others in the past?
2. Tell us about when you were building movement infrastructure to move forward shared goals. How did you create a shared vision? 
3. Briefly share an advocacy campaign you played a key role in organizing people around. How did you build up a diverse coalition of people to work on a shared vision and theory of change?

This position is open until filled. Candidate review and phone screens begin immediately and will continue throughout the search. We anticipate several steps of mutual exploration, including a preliminary screening interview, panel interview(s), and thought exercises for finalist candidates. Our search processes generally take 3 - 4 months.