Voices for Progress Education Fund
A Project of Tides Center
Job Title: Policy Director
Reports to: President
FLSA Status: Exempt
ABOUT US:
Voices for Progress (V4P) galvanizes the advocacy of business leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and other invested individuals who unite to protect our climate, strengthen our democracy, and ensure economic and social justice for all. V4P staff equip members with policy information and opportunities to personally advocate through one-on-one outreach, at campaign trail events, Capitol summits, sign-on letters, and more.
V4P members recognize that they have an unusual amount of access to policymakers and that their views are sometimes given increased weight. Understanding this and believing our democracy shouldn't work that way, they use their positions to amplify the voices of historically marginalized communities, lifting up the concerns and the solutions put forward by those who, for example, are already feeling the impacts of climate change most directly and have long experienced economic and social inequality.
V4P was founded in 2010 and has an annual budget of 2 million dollars. Our 15 staff are based in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Sacramento, and New York. Our work is currently focused on federal and CA state policy and politics. Advocacy priorities have included budget and tax policy, health care access, climate change, immigration reform, voting rights, criminal justice reform, gender equality, campaign finance reform, judicial nominations, environmental justice, and more.
POSITION SUMMARY:
Voices for Progress (V4P) galvanizes the advocacy of business leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and other prominent individuals who unite to protect our climate, strengthen our democracy, and ensure economic and social justice for all. The Policy Director leads the organization’s policy and legislative work federally and for California state across these three core issue areas: protecting our climate, strengthening our democracy, and ensuring economic and social justice for all. Advocacy priorities have included budget and tax policy, health care access, climate change, immigration reform, voting rights, criminal justice reform, gender equality, campaign finance reform, judicial nominations, environmental justice, and more. The Policy Director is an exempt position.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
• External Collaboration and Government Relations: Ensure that Policy Department maintains and expands relationships with lawmakers, government staff, and allied policy advocacy organizations, ensuring key partnerships specifically with those with deep policy expertise and organizations representing historically marginalized communities.
• Policy Direction: Lead Policy Department in monitoring and analyzing federal and CA state policies to identify key policy debates V4P should prioritize for advocacy. Act as the organizational lead on specific areas of federal policy, preferably climate policy.
• Advocacy Strategy: Collaborate with membership and programming staff to design and implement effective member advocacy plans, efforts to build member relationships with lawmakers, candidate education, and other programming.
• Advocacy Implementation: Manage staff creation of all policy materials for advocacy, updates, and other programming to members, including issue briefs, talking points, webinar presentations, email updates, etc. Lead V4P members and staff in policy advocacy activities, including conducting issue trainings, leading lobbying meetings, and managing policy portions of fly-ins several times a year.
• Organizational Management: Collaborate with President and senior staff on internal and external matters as part of the V4P management team. Lead Policy Department, including directly supervising two managers.
• Travel: Travel to Sacramento, CA required approximately once or twice a year for Policy Summits and staff collaboration.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required.
• At least seven years’ relevant work experience.
• Minimum two years’ experience managing others.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:
• Relationships with federal lawmakers, government staff, and national allied policy advocacy organizations, preferably including with organizations representing historically marginalized communities.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing effective short and long-term policy advocacy agendas at the federal level. Experience working for a member of Congress strongly preferred. Understanding of California state policy process and grasstops (business owners and political donors) advocacy are pluses.
• Prepared to serve in a decision-making role requiring careful consideration of the political, strategic, and policy implications of positions and strategies.
• Able to quickly learn and lead on relevant policy and programming issues across a broad spectrum of topics, understanding the intersections between them and the differential impacts on various communities. Background in climate change policy preferred. • Excellent at writing for advocacy, policy research, and attention to detail.
• Can successfully supervise staff and collaborate with colleagues in other parts of the country.
• A team player who works well with others and can manage multiple large projects, including urgent situations.
• Strong computer skills, and willingness to learn new software and computer skills as needed. Competency with Microsoft Office and Google Suite required.
ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS:
• During COVID, this position is remote. Eventually the position will be based in a nine person office in Washington, D.C.
• Reports to the President based in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. • Supervises Policy staff in Sacramento, CA and Washington, D.C.
• Coordinates closely with other senior staff based in Washington, D.C. and locations around the country.
• Interacts with allied organizations, lawmakers, and government staff via phone, email, and in person.
COMPENSATION:
• Salary commensurate with experience (From 100K +)
• Generous benefits, including full medical, dental, vision and life insurance at $1/month. • 13 federal holidays and one floating holiday per year.
• 20 days’ vacation and 13 days sick leave
• Retirement savings account immediately vested with generous employer contributions. • Pre-tax public transit/parking, childcare, flexible spending account options. • Position meets requirements for federal public service loan forgiveness.
INTERESTED:
Please submit a resume and cover letter to cmarie@equitythroughaction.com by Monday, November 6.
Please include “Policy Director” in the subject line and indicate where you saw the job posting in the text of the email. Due to the volume of applicants, we will only contact applicants whose skill sets, and experience meet our needs.
Voices for Progress Education Fund, a project of Tides Center, is an “at-will” and equal opportunity employer.
V4P is committed to a diverse staff and to an inclusive culture that holds equity as a value and a priority. V4P welcomes applicants who bring a variety of perspectives, experiences, and competencies. People of color, women, people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ persons are strongly encouraged to apply. V4P is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, creed, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, party or political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, or any illegal or prohibited factor.