Director of Advocacy and Campaigns (NYC or Remote)

  • Full-time

Company Description

Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) is a rapidly growing national organization working to transform the justice system by promoting responses to violence that break cycles of trauma. We work at the intersection of criminal justice, public health, and racial justice to elevate healing and safety over retribution, advance racial equity, and meet the needs of survivors. Our programs work to end the death penalty, limit and transform policing, expand community-based healing and violence prevention programs in impacted communities, and change the national narrative on violence and accountability.

Job Description

We seek a collaborative and strategic thinker to lead our team of grassroots campaigners to achieve policy and systems change across our programs and issue areas. The Director will lead efforts to translate EJUSA’s bold and transformative vision into concrete policy initiatives and strategies that leverage grassroots power and grasstops organizing, coalition building, and strategic communications to achieve change, primarily at the state and city levels. They should be an experienced manager with a grounding in racial equity and the skills to oversee teams that frequently work with communities of people who have been impacted by trauma, including those who have been harmed by violence or have harmed others. The ideal candidate will be both a visionary and a “chess master” strategist with an organizer’s sensibility, who can align the pursuit of short-term wins with long-term vision and values. A passion for and commitment to healing and transformational change in our nation’s justice system is essential.

EJUSA has 20 staff members spread throughout the country and a small national office in Brooklyn. We’re a diverse team that loves working together to deliver real change. The Director of Advocacy and Campaigns will report to the Senior Director of Programs and supervise a small but might team of individual program directors, campaign managers, and organizers. This position can be based in our Brooklyn office or be remote.

 

Responsibilities

Policy and Campaign Development:

  • Working with other senior staff, lead efforts to hone and clarify EJUSA’s short and long-term policy agenda and systems change/advocacy strategy.
  • Support department staff and leverage other program verticals – training, capacity building, national organizing, and communications – to develop powerful campaigns that are aligned with EJUSA’s strategic plan, organizational priorities, and annual work plan.
  • Stay abreast of political developments in key states, cities, and nationally, as well as within the movement, in order to identify important opportunities or threats to EJUSA.
  • Working with individual program directors, explore/seed new campaigns as appropriate and as capacity allows, to determine if/when they should become EJUSA priorities and be assigned to a campaign team member.
  • Read and analyze legislative and policy proposals to determine their impact, including racial equity impact; make recommendations for EJUSA’s support/opposition on policies; assist with policy drafting and find or develop model policies in key issue areas as needed.
  • Represent EJUSA in external coalitions, conferences, and movement strategy meetings

Management and Internal Leadership:

  • Establish meaningful, collaborative relationships with direct reports (currently four but growing) to ensure staff have what they need to do their best work and to support their professional growth and development.
  • In collaboration with other EJUSA program directors, oversee annual work plan creation for all department staff and hold regular meetings with direct reports to monitor and adjust quarterly goals.
  • As a member of the Senior Program Team, collaborate with the Senior Director of Programs, the Director of National Organizing, the Director of Training and Capacity Building, individual program directors, and the Director of Strategic Communications to hold the top-level program development for EJUSA. Identify opportunities for cross-programmatic collaboration, and ensure that EJUSA programs and campaigns are aligned with capacity, resources, and other organizational considerations.
  • Support and guide department staff to most effectively nurture and manage relationships with external partners, elected officials, community members, people directly impacted by our issues, law enforcement, litigators, and other external stakeholders.
  • Work with the Senior Director of Programs and Director of Strategic Growth to develop and rollout program evaluation processes to ensure maximum impact of our advocacy and campaign work.
  • Work with the Director of Development to identify and support fundraising opportunities to sustain and grow the Advocacy and Campaigns department.

Qualifications

  • Minimum 10+ years experience designing and implementing issue-based advocacy campaigns, including a track record of increasing responsibility managing staff, lobbyists, PR firms, and other campaign team members to achieve impact. Top-notch strategic thinking and messaging skills a must. Experience with both the insider/lobbying side and external/organizing side of campaigning is a strong plus
  • Working knowledge reading, writing, and analyzing legislation and other policies. This is not primarily a policy analyst position (policy degree or JD not required) – but this position will be our main internal go-to for the task when needed
  • Strong staff and program management skills, including experience supervising staff at a range of levels and developing programs that align with organizational considerations such as resource development, budget, capacity, brand/positioning, etc.
  • Excellent coalition building and interpersonal communication, networking, and social skills; ability to connect authentically with diverse groups of people, including across political and religious ideologies or between constituencies that may be seen as opposition
  • Strong external communication skills, including experience giving media interviews, public speaking, and preparing/supporting others to do so
  • Experience and comfort working with people impacted by the issues we work on, including communities of color and people impacted trauma, violence, and the justice system. People personally impacted by these experiences strongly encouraged to apply
  • Strong organizational ability, including the ability to juggle multiple projects, meet deadlines, and keep things moving, while maintaining a high attention to accuracy and detail
  • A positive attitude, friendly personality, sense of humor, and the ability to get along with many types of people
  • Ability to manage confidential information
  • Ability and willingness to travel
  • Commitment to the mission and core values of Equal Justice USA
  • A strong and demonstrated commitment to racial equity

Additional Information

Location: Brooklyn, NY (remote/offsite arrangements possible)

Target start date: May 2019 (or sooner if possible)

Deadline: Open until filled

Compensation: $85k-$95k, commensurate with experience. Excellent benefits including employer-paid medical, vision, and dental care, retirement plan, 20 days paid vacation, 12 paid sick days, 11 paid holidays, 2 paid personal days, long-term disability insurance, and professional development allowance.
 

To apply: Visit http://www.ejusa.org/jobs to apply online. Upload a cover letter, resume, writing sample in PDF format only by clicking "I'm interested" at the top of the page. Incomplete applications will not be considered. No calls please.

 

EJUSA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage a diverse pool of candidates to apply, including those impacted by the issues we work on. We consider all applicants on the basis of their ability to perform the job, without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, physical appearance, age, mental or physical disability, credit history, veteran status, uniform service member status, justice system involvement, victims of domestic violence, stalking, or other crimes, political affiliation, or any other legally protected class. EJUSA does not tolerate discrimination or harassment against any of the above listed classes.