{"id":1338615,"url":"https://alion.io/job/ocean-conservancy-staff-attorney-conservation-programs","title":"Staff Attorney, Conservation Programs","company":{"id":1761241,"name":"Ocean Conservancy","domain":"oceanconservancy.org","url":"https://alion.io/company/oceanconservancy","size_band":null,"is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"ADP","truth_index":null},"role":"Legal","role_family":"Legal","seniority":"staff","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Washington, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":105000,"max":120000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":120000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-07-16T18:27:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-07-16","last_verified_at":"2026-10-15T03:25:42Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":90,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":90},"description":"POSITION TITLE: Staff Attorney, Conservation Programs\nDEPARTMENT/PROGRAM: Conservation Programs\nREPORTS TO: Vice President, External Affairs\nSTATUS: Regular, Full-Time, Exempt\nLOCATION: Washington, DC preferred (hybrid); other states considered: AK, CA, FL, MD, OR,\nTX, VA, WA, WV\nABOUT OCEAN CONSERVANCY\nFor more than 50 years, Ocean Conservancy has delivered effective, evidence-based solutions for the ocean and all who depend on it. Today, we continue to unite science, people and policy to protect our ocean from the greatest challenges it faces: climate change, plastic pollution and biodiversity loss. We are a 501(c)3 headquartered in Washington, D.C. that inspires a worldwide network of partners, advocates and supporters through our comprehensive and clear-eyed approach to ocean conservation. Together, we are securing a healthy ocean and a thriving planet, forever and for everyone.\nPOSITION SUMMARY\nThe Staff Attorney for Conservation Programs works in concert with Ocean Conservancy's program and Government Relations (GR) teams to turn our conservation priorities into legal and policy action on a wide range of marine conservation issues including fisheries management, marine mammals, endangered species, climate/energy, plastic pollution, water quality and ecosystem protection. The Staff Attorney will engage in conservation litigation, including working with outside counsel; will work with other OC staff to engage in administrative rulemaking and similar processes; and will advocate across regulations, statutes and other legal and policymaking forums. This role is primarily focused on conservation and advocacy legal work. Success in this role means OC's legal strategies and tactics consistently move conservation outcomes forward, deadlines are met and conservation program and Government Relations teams have a trusted, embedded legal partner. This position may occasionally be asked to help with general organizational legal issues in collaboration with Ocean Conservancy’s General Counsel.\nThe Staff Attorney will:\nCollaboratively develop and deliver on legal strategies for OC's conservation priorities in partnership with program and GR staff\nAdvance OC’s regulatory and litigation challenges to produce measurable conservation wins\nMeet advocacy filing deadlines - comment periods, testimony, amicus briefs, etc.\nBecome the conservation programs’ and Government Relations team's go-to legal partner for fast-turnaround position development, including cross-programmatic legal topics such as NEPA, ESA and MMPA, as well as program specific legal topics like fisheries management (Magnuson-Stevens Act)\nServe as a trusted, embedded legal partner to conservation program teams, with advocacy products cleared quickly and reliably\nPRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES\nLegal Strategy & Conservation Advocacy\nResearch and analyze ocean conservation and management law, regulation and policy to support program work\nTrack, monitor and analyze administrative, legislative and judicial developments affecting ocean conservation and management\nWork in concert with Ocean Conservancy's program and GR teams to formulate and advocate legally and scientifically sound conservation positions before federal and state regulators, legislators, the media and the public\nRegulatory Engagement & Litigation Oversight\nOversee Ocean Conservancy’s conservation-related litigation and coordinate with outside counsel on matters where OC is a party\nDraft and review oral and written comments, testimony and proposed legislative language\nWork with Government Relations to develop and articulate OC's legal and policy positions for internal and external audiences, including Executive and Legislative branch staff\nCross-Functional Collaboration\nPartner with the executive team, program staff, conservation science staff and Government Relations to align legal strategy, tactics and positions with OC's broader conservation goals\nWork with partner organizations and coalition allies in service of shared conservation objectives\nProgram-Embedded Legal Support\nServe as the primary legal point of contact for conservation program teams\nReview advocacy products - reports, campaigns, public statements - for legal soundness before release\nCoordinate with coalition partners' counsel to align legal strategy on joint advocacy and litigation efforts\nGeneral Organizational Legal Support\nCollaborate with Ocean Conservancy’s General Counsel on general legal issues facing the organization\nREQUIRED SKILLS/QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE\nMission alignment with Ocean Conservancy’s conservation goals\nThree or more years of marine conservation legal experience required\nPolitical and institutional fluency (Hill, agencies, courts)\nStrong written and verbal communication skills, along with demonstrated advocacy skills, the ability to collaborate effectively with coalition partners and the ability to communicate complex legal,policy or technical concepts to policy and lay audiences \n\nExperience drafting regulatory comments, testimony or legislative language\nDeep familiarity with federal marine conservation laws and administrative procedure; ability to anticipate change, develop ideas and apply them within a holistic understanding of the organizational context. \nA strategic thinker with creativity, energy, discipline and commitment to oversee delivery of multiple projects and the ability to adapt to external changes. \nA high-level performer who remains attentive to details and adheres strictly to deadlines and deliverables while keeping a larger strategic vision in mind. \nExcellent interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to facilitate cross-program work and to work effectively with partners to affect change and build political will. \nHighly collaborative with an appreciation of the benefit of a multi-disciplinary team approach. \nEDUCATION/TRAINING\nLaw degree and admission to a state bar with five or more years of legal experience required. \nGraduate or undergraduate degree in marine or environmental science and familiarity with federal marine conservation laws preferred.\nCOMPENSATION\nOcean Conservancy is committed to fair pay practices and posts expected salary ranges for each of its positions. Compensation will be commensurate with the candidate’s specialty skills, years of experience, location and unique background. The expected salary range for this role is $105,000 - $120,000 annually. We would welcome the opportunity to connect with potential candidates whose salary requirements may be outside of the expected range.\nTO APPLY\nIf you think you’d be a great fit for the job and are interested in joining Ocean Conservancy’s team, please apply here. Please include a resume and cover letter in one file on your application.\nHYBRID WORK ENVIRONMENT\nOcean Conservancy embraces a hybrid work environment, which allows our staff the flexibility to work virtually and in-person while building strong connections across the institution.\nEQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER\nOcean Conservancy provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.\nThis policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.\nWe encourage applicants who have a diverse level and range of relevant skills and experiences to apply. A 100% match is not required. We want to support employees’ career growth and in return, our employees help Ocean Conservancy grow into a stronger, more inclusive institution.","description_format":"text","description_chars":7875,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"phd","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Hybrid work"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":[],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-27T15:11:24Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 2","filings_12m":2,"filings_prev_12m":0,"green_card_filings_12m":0,"median_offered_wage_usd":97500,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-03T21:08:04+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":14,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.487,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":89,"expected_fill_days":28,"reasons":["conf:9","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-10-14T06:34:16Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":120000,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/ocean-conservancy-staff-attorney-conservation-programs","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/ocean-conservancy-staff-attorney-conservation-programs.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-15T05:43:27Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":8462,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-16T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":1761241},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=1761241"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Focean-conservancy-staff-attorney-conservation-programs"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Focean-conservancy-staff-attorney-conservation-programs"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Focean-conservancy-staff-attorney-conservation-programs"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/ocean-conservancy-staff-attorney-conservation-programs\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Focean-conservancy-staff-attorney-conservation-programs"}]}