Careers

Working at NRDC

NRDC attracts exceptionally talented people, both those at the top of their field and those who are starting out and show tremendous promise. People here are knowledgeable, dedicated, tenacious, and principled. Most of all, they are deeply committed to protecting the environment, from the senior attorney who wins a ground-breaking lawsuit protecting whales to the program assistant who starts an eco-committee to enhance recycling practices in the office.

Bringing together extraordinary people to realize a common mission creates a vibrant, dynamic workplace. Our offices bustle with team meetings, strategy sessions, and thoughtful deliberation. There is an entrepreneurial spirit running through the halls. People have autonomy to pursue victories, but they also have the support of a national organization behind them. And they have the backing of their colleagues, who proudly cheer them on.

Perhaps the best testament to NRDC's workplace culture is the tenure of our staff. Almost 50 people have been with the organization for more than 15 years—12 of them have been here almost from the start in 1970. When people join our dedicated, supportive team, they want to stay.

Location, Location, Location!

What's it like to work at NRDC's offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Beijing?

New York

NRDC's headquarters is home to the president's and founding director's offices as well as a large portion of our administration, including Finance, Human Resources and IT. Communications, Development and Membership are also concentrated here. Programs include Air & Energy, Oceans, Environmental Justice and New York Urban.

Washington

Close to government agencies and Capitol Hill, this office has a large number of litigators and policy experts working to secure environmental regulations at federal and international levels. Our legislative work, Advocacy Center and Climate Center are based here. Program-specific projects include public health, air, energy, nuclear, clean water, and international issues.

Northern Rockies

The staff in the Northern Rockies office in Bozeman, Montana, work on land, wildlife, and energy issues in the West. Surrounded by rugged mountains and wild rivers, they are constantly reminded of the importance of their work to keep the Northern Rockies wild.

Los Angeles

Housed in our showcase LEED Platinum building in Santa Monica, the L.A. office’s team of legal and policy experts focus on water, air, coastal issues, environmental justice, urban sustainability, wildlife, and open space conservation issues.

San Francisco

Scientists, litigators, and policy experts here focus on public lands, water, oceans, global warming, energy, and public health issues. This office also houses the western branch of Development and Administration.

Chicago

Opened in 2006, Chicago is home to NRDC's fast growing Midwest office. Working in the Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi River states, this team is heavily involved in clean energy and clean water issues at the local, state, and regional level, where key policies and concrete investments are being made daily.

Beijing

Our international team of legal and policy experts work with the government, the legal community, and Chinese NGOs and to help promote clean energy, energy efficiency, and to build a strong environmental legal system in China. We also work with Chinese partners on issues of environment and health, and market transformation.

Benefits

Medical Coverage

NRDC offers two medical plan options to select from, a PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) and a High Deductible plan paired with an HSA (Health Savings Account); both plans are affordable and provide high-quality healthcare with the flexibility to choose your physician. These plans offer coverage for services including hospitalization, inpatient and outpatient care, office visits, telehealth services, wellness exams, prescription drugs, and behavioral health care.

Dental Coverage

NRDC offers a dental PPO plan that emphasizes the value of preventative care and covers diagnostic and restorative services. The plan includes orthodontia benefits for adults and children, including implants.

Vision Care

NRDC offers a vision plan that provides coverage for eye exams, lenses, frames, and contact lenses when visiting an in-network provider. Out-of-network services will be reimbursed based on reasonable and customary rates.

Life Insurance

NRDC provides life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment coverage to all eligible employees for 3x their base annual salary at no cost. Because everyone’s needs are different, NRDC also offers the flexibility to purchase Voluntary Life Insurance coverage for you and your dependents.

Disability Insurance

NRDC provides short-term disability coverage as part of the NRDC Paid Family Leave policy for 100% wage continuation in the event you are disabled and cannot work. NRDC also provides long-term disability coverage to its employees at no cost, which offers up to 60% wage continuations for more extended medical leaves. There is also the option to enroll in long-term disability buy-up to increase your wage continuation to 70% of your wages.

Retirement Benefits

The 403(b) plan is a tax-deferred annuity that allows employees to save for retirement on a tax-advantaged basis. The Roth option is also available to you, which takes deferrals on a post-tax basis but provides tax-free distribution of investments and earnings upon withdrawal.

NRDC will contribute a percentage of your salary each paycheck, after 6 months of eligible service, to your account at Fidelity Investments. The NRDC non-elective contribution schedule is as follows:

In addition, NRDC will match 1% of your eligible compensation per pay period if you meet the following conditions:

• You have reached two years of eligible service; and
• You make elective deferrals to the plan equal to 3% or more of your eligible compensation for the pay period.

Flexible Spending Accounts

NRDC offers flexible spending accounts to allow employees to deduct money from their paychecks to pay for eligible expenses with pre-tax dollars. Depending on the tax bracket, employees can save up to 30% on eligible expenses, including healthcare, dependent care, and work-related commuter expenses.

Paid Time Off

NRDC offers vacation, sick, personal, paid holidays, and leave time to support a work-life balance. NRDC Family Leave offers up to 12 weeks of paid time off and 26 weeks of job protection for eligible staff to take care of themselves, their family members, and bond with their newborns.

Additional Benefits

NRDC provides access to additional benefits, such as:

• Employee Assistance Program offers 24/7/365 access to a wide range of health support and wellness information.
• IonTuition provides student loan management tools and professional advice.
• Reimbursement Program promotes wellbeing by providing reimbursement for expenses related to fitness, eye exam, and biking to work.
• Emergency Backup Care for children and adult/elder family members.
• Milk Stork provides breastmilk delivery service for breastfeeding moms when traveling for work.
• Employee Discounts that offer discounts for products ranging from movie tickets and theme parks to clothing and phone services.

Internships

NRDC helps train the next generation of environmental advocates. NRDC hires students who possess the intelligence, skill, self-confidence, and maturity to take on enormous responsibility.

Our interns play an active role on the front lines of the environmental movement. Over the course of an internship, NRDC interns work with lawyers, scientists, or policy analysts in different program areas and amass experience that they could not have obtained anywhere else.

Legal Interns

NRDC's summer legal internships are available to students enrolled in law school. Interns write briefs, draft complaints, prepare legal analyses, obtain affidavits, investigate corporate and government malfeasance, and draft white papers and comments for submission to congressional committees and administrative agencies.

Non-Legal Interns

NRDC also offers non-legal internships within our program areas as well as in Administration, Communications, and Development.

The deadlines for these internships vary, so please review specific internship opportunities online for details.