Senior Director, Policy, Advocacy, and Voter Engagement

Title: Senior Director, Policy, Advocacy, and Voter Engagement 

Employment type: Full-time, Exempt  

Salary Range: $75,000 - $90,000

Location: Phoenix, AZ 

Reports To: Executive Director  

Senior Director, Policy, Advocacy, and Voter Engagement

In 2023, the time for organizing our communities is more important than it has ever been. Our family of organizations Arizona Coalition for Change 501(c)(3), Our Voice Our Vote Arizona 501(c)(4), and Our Voice Our Vote Arizona PAC is seeking an experienced Senior Director, Policy, Advocacy, and Voter Engagement who will lead our policy and issue organizing team. This individual must have a strong understanding of local, state, and federal policy. They must also be passionate about developing relationships and building grassroots power for Black and other POC communities in the state. 

The Senior Director, Policy, Advocacy, and Voter Engagement will drive an ambitious program to build a base of grassroots leaders to fight for bold progressive policy change at the local, state, and national levels in the areas of education, environment, economic justice, and Black immigration. The Senior Director will invest deeply in a team of talented organizing staff and develop them to align the base building with issues campaigns, policy, movement/electoral politics, communications, and leadership training.  This person will engage, coordinate, and maintain positive and strong relationships with state and federal elected officials and their staff members, and monitor and track proposed legislation of interest. This is the dream job for someone who wants to be on the frontline making policy change, ensuring legislative implementation, and organizing communities of color with an organization deeply committed to building power at scale.

The Senior Director, Policy, Advocacy, and Voter Engagement will serve on the senior leadership team while directly supervising a team of four. This role is perfect for someone who is self-motivated, dedicated to investing in the leadership of their team, creative, results-oriented, and eager to operationalize transformative organizing. This person will bring a deep understanding of policy, grassroots leadership development, power building, and an ability to lead strategic issue campaigns that ensure the voices of those most impacted by systemic inequities are at the center of solutions. 

About The Organization 

Arizona Coalition for Change is a Black-led organization with a dynamic multicultural team that empowers everyday people to transform their community through building civic power, leadership development, and community collaboration. We advocate for lasting progressive public policies that change the dynamics of communities by putting people first. We work to develop and uplift voices in communities to take on the nation's most pressing issues.

Organizational Beliefs

Arizona Coalition for Change and Our Voice Our Vote Arizona is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  We strongly encourage women, people of color, and LGBTQ candidates to apply. We deeply value the expertise of lived experience and strongly value and seek to invest in applicants that have shared lived experience with the constituents we currently and hope to work with, including folks of color, those who are immigrants, or children of immigrants to the US, those whose first language is not English, trans and queer individuals, and others from communities who have been impacted by systemic inequities. Our team members must be passionate about developing relationships and building grassroots power for Black and other people of color communities in the state. We have undertaken a new strategic direction, doubling down on transformative organizing by establishing a culture where leaders are liberated through collective movement building,  leadership development, and risk-taking. 

Role Responsibilities: 

Policy Analysis and Advocacy Management  

• Support organizers to build a powerful base of leaders across the state by training staff to conduct one-on-ones, make propositions, build a  leadership team, identify issues, and conduct research visits, power analyses,  and agitation.  
• Engage in policy analysis and tracking of legislation at the city, state, and federal level.  
• Create systems to track growth in leadership and strength of base. 
• Prepare policy analysis for the Senior Leadership Team 

Create and Drive Issue Campaigns  

• Lead strategic direction of issue campaigns with a focus on building power, by aligning campaigns to civic engagement and elections, narrative and communications, and growing the organization’s base. 
• Use deep power analysis and issue-cutting skills to help organizers and senior managers create and execute razor-sharp campaign strategies by building a culture of campaigning that electrifies and focuses people.
• Lead process to develop long-term agendas and power analysis for various campaign areas (immigrant rights, education, and democracy reform) with staff, grassroots leaders, members, and coalitions. 
•  Plan and lead direct actions with staff, leaders, members, and coalitions. 

Voter Engagement

• Manage a wide-scale voter engagement program dedicated to turning out the vote.
• Develop partnerships with community organizations, churches, and civic engagement leaders. 
• Prepare plans, presentations, and reports to external stakeholders to communicate the effectiveness of the program. 

Team Management and Leadership 

• Effectively build a team of organizers invested in building power and establishing deep relationships with grassroots leaders. 
• Manage 2-4 staff on the Policy and Advocacy team and develop their leadership. Ensure that the team has clarity at all levels by modeling, building, and supporting effective communication,  coordination, and performance-oriented culture.
• Support implementation of the organization’s theory of change by serving on the  Executive Team and driving the organization to strategically build power in every aspect of our work. 
• Be a public leader by managing a portfolio of external ally and donor relationships, and represent our organizations to a broad variety of audiences and settings

Ideal Skills and Experiences:  

• A minimum of 5-7 years or comparative experience working with community, labor, or electoral organizations with success in developing and winning campaigns. 
• Experience supervising staff in an organizing setting, with a strong track record of building teams and developing staff leadership.  
• Strong interpersonal, relational, and organizational communication skills.  
• Strong understanding of local, state, and federal policy
• Strong track record of operationalizing a model for transformative grassroots organizing. 
• Commitment and passion for racial, gender, and economic justice and their intersections, both inside and outside organizations. 
• Ability and willingness to travel regularly.  
• Capacity and willingness to work long, flexible hours 

Benefits:

• Top-of-the-line medical, dental, vision, and life insurance options. 
• 401(K) plan with employer matching options 
• Paid time off for holidays 
• Extended paid time off for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years 
• 10 paid time off (PTO) days 
• Paid family and sick leave
• Professional development opportunities
• 10 hours of paid community service to support our community 
• Strong team culture! 

To Apply send your cover letter and resume, and two references to [email protected]. Include “Policy and Advocacy“ in the subject line. In the cover letter please thoroughly explain why you are a strong fit for this position. To learn more about the organization and view all of our open roles visit: www.azc4c.org