About Alaska Institute for Justice

The Alaska Institute for Justice is a non-profit organization headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska. Our mission is to protect the human rights of Alaskans.  The Alaska Institute for Justice (AIJ) includes three programs: Alaska Immigration Justice Project dedicated to providing legal representation to Alaska’s immigrant and refugee communities; Language Interpreter Center dedicated to training bilingual Alaskans to work as interpreters in the medical, legal and social service professions and provide an interpreter referral service for state and federal government agencies and non-profit organizations; and Research and Policy Institute focused on social and climate justice issues. As an agency we uphold certain basic values. These include:

• Commitment to equity and justice, and respect for the rights and dignity of others
• Integrity, responsibility and accountability in all our work
• Pursuit of excellence, in an environment characterized by principles of shared values and team engagement

About the Research and Policy Institute

The Research and Policy Institute includes a small team of people dedicated to social and climate justice research to inform public policy at the local, national and international level.

About the Position

The successful candidate plays a critical role in leading AIJ’s effort to forge meaningful, sustainable relationships with Alaska Native communities. The Research and Policy Institute Tribal Liaison Director will be supervised by the Executive Director of the Alaska Institute for Justice and located in AIJ’s Anchorage office. The successful candidate will work with tribal communities across Alaska to improve their capacity to prepare for and respond to climate- related environmental impacts. This involves elevating Alaska Native voices, values, and priorities throughout ongoing community-based environmental monitoring and climate adaptation policy development. This is an excellent role for a person who enjoys meeting new people, planning exciting events, nurturing authentic relationships and meaningful partnerships, is passionate about our work, and can lead innovative opportunities and administrative aspects of the work.

This position has both external and internal-facing leadership responsibilities. Externally, the successful candidate represents the Alaska Institute for Justice as liaison to Alaska Native communities and state and federal government agencies. The successful candidate must possess the ability to effectively advocate on behalf of Alaska Native communities, and engage in conversations on a range of topics related to climate adaptation.  Internally, the candidate will primarily be responsible for communicating to the staff of the Research and Policy Institute the climate adaptation issues affecting Alaska Native communities.  In addition, the successful candidate will be required to:

• Collaborate with the AIJ team to develop and implement strategies to promote AIJ’s Research and Policy priorities among key leaders, coalitions, policymakers and other stakeholders and build relationships with the same; and
• Represent AIJ with state and federal government entities and other local, state, and national organizations to advance AIJ’s Research and Policy Institute priorities.

Position Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in ethnic studies, environmental studies, social psychology, or a related field that includes coursework and/or experience communicating and working with Alaska Native communities
• Strong written and oral communication skills, and ability to build lasting relationships
• Strong knowledge of Alaska Native policy, cultures, histories and government relations, including concepts of sovereignty and self-determination
• Minimum two years of experience working with Alaska Native communities
• Ability to communicate across cultural lines to include interpretation of policy between tribal and federal and Alaska state governments
• Self-starter, strong time management skills, must be able to work well independently and as a team member