DIRECTOR OF POLITICAL VOICE
- Employer
- Advancement Project
- Location
- California, United States
- Salary
- Salary Commensurate with experience
- Closing date
- May 7, 2021
View more
- Position Type
- Executive, Fundraising, Donor Relations, Planned Giving, Special Events, Programs, Community Outreach, Grant Administration, Government Relations and Advocacy, Other Programs, Program Administration and Management, Administrative, Office Administration, Other Administrative, Public Relations and Communications
- Fields
- Advocacy, Community Development, Research
- Employment Type
- Full Time
*This is a remote work-from home position until further notice, at which point the employee will report to work in the office.
Position Summary
Reporting to the Managing Director, the Director of Political Voice
(“Director”) is charged with the overall management of the program
area including fund development, fiscal oversight, staff
supervision, policy and advocacy initiatives, program development,
partnership building, and external relations. The Director will
need to be a strategic thinker, able to gain ground when
opportunities present themselves, a visionary on behalf of
communities of color, and a strong communicator internally with
staff and APCA leaders, as well as with external partners and
stakeholders. The successful candidate will oversee a diverse,
multi‐disciplinary staff who provide policy analyses and engage in
advocacy campaigns that address racial disparities in political
participation and government responsiveness. The position requires
an understanding of a broad range of democracy reform issues and
how to run community‐engaged legislative/advocacy campaigns.
Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to
• Directly supervise, oversee, and support Political Voice staff
and operations on a day‐to‐day basis. Provide work planning and
professional development support to staff executing project
deliverables and ensure the highest quality.
• Set and implement strategic goals for the program area in line
with Political Voice’s theory of change.
• Support staff with policy and advocacy plan development on
democracy reform initiatives in state and local settings.
• Research and integrate emerging trends in democracy reform and
best practices in ensuring the development of diverse
community-based organizations.
• Work with the Managing Director to develop and implement annual
program budget. Ensure the program area is running efficiently and
effectively while staying within budgetary guidelines.
• Manage programmatic grants.
• Facilitate programmatic coordination with other APCA staff to
ensure high quality and effective work products.
• Engage and represent the organization and program area to a wide
range of stakeholders, including research, philanthropic, advocacy,
and community‐based organizations, as well as elected officials and
other decision‐makers.
• Stay up to date on political engagement and community
power-building issues.
• Stay up to date on shifts in the political and community-based
organizational landscapes.
• Embody the organization’s core values and ensure Political Voice
staff and programmatic efforts are in alignment with APCA’s vision
and theory of change.
• Serve as a member of the Leadership Team.
Team Development/Management
• Recruit and manage an appropriate team to promote a culture of
high performance and continuous improvement that values learning
and a commitment to quality.
• Mentor and develop staff using a supportive and collaborative
approach on a consistent basis.
• Establish and monitor staff performance and development goals,
assign duties, set objectives, establish priorities, and conduct
performance reviews.
General Duties
• Support organization-wide planning, development, and
communication activities as needed and ensure adherence to APCA’s
goals and policies.
• Other duties as assigned, dependent on organizational needs and
employee skills.
Qualifications
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to
perform each essential job function assigned satisfactorily. The
requirements listed are representative of the knowledge, skill,
and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to
enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential
functions.
• Sincere and demonstrated commitment to advancing social, economic
and/or racial justice progress for the highest-need
communities.
• 10 plus years of experience working in the democracy reform or
related social justice field, ideally with at least five years in a
leadership role.
• Bachelor’s degree required; graduate degree in public policy,
law, or the social sciences preferred. Equivalent combination of
education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the
essential job duties may be considered.
• Successful track record of fund development from a diverse array
of funding sources, and maintenance of programmatic budget.
• Demonstrated success building coalitions/partnerships with
community groups representing a wide range of racial and ethnic
communities.
• Deep understanding of and experience with racial and economic
justice frameworks, the decennial census, redistricting, election
systems, and public participation systems within government
decision-making processes.
• Solid knowledge base of democracy reform policy and advocacy
strategies, and a deep understanding of opportunities to transform
political systems in ways that facilitate the participation of
high-need communities of color.
• Direct experience working with legislative and administrative
sources of influence.
• Experience working with community‐based research, innovative
technologies, and GIS mapping as part of advocacy campaigns.
• Strong presentation skills including skills for a variety of
audiences (e.g., community partners, academics, policymakers,
philanthropists, the general public, supervisees, teammates) and
experience presenting to large audiences.
• Demonstrated leadership and strategic thinking
capabilities.
• Demonstrated ability to work in collaboration with internal and
external stakeholders.
• Ability to manage and delegate to technical staff with expertise
in a variety of disciplines.
• Demonstrated track record of successful project and staff
management.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently and with minimal supervision.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a small team setting.
• Flexibility to adjust and contribute to continually evolving work
situation and changing priorities.
• Excellent computer skills, proficient with MS Office
applications.
• Excellent organizational skills with demonstrated ability to
execute projects on-time and on-budget.
• Must be able to travel locally and statewide. Note: Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, APCA staff are working from home and not
traveling at this time. This qualification will be effective once
it is safe to travel.
Salary
Competitive compensation depending on experience. Includes full
health, dental and retirement benefits.
To Apply
Please email with subject “PV Director Application” and cover
letter, resume and a policy-related writing sample in one PDF
attachment titled last_name_first_name_pvdirector.pdf (e.g.,
Jimenez_Jorge_pvdirector.pdf) to:
Jorge Jimenez
Director of Human Resources, Finance and Administration
hr@advanceproj.org
Advancement Project is an equal opportunity employer and does not
discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin,
gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, age,
or any other category protected by local, state, or federal laws.
We are committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive
staff team. We strongly encourage applicants who are people of
color, LGBTQ, women, people with disabilities; and/or formerly
incarcerated people.
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