Advocacy and Campaigns Director, (Un)warranted chez ideas42

Work Authorization: Candidates must already be authorized to work in the U.S.

Salary Range:  $103,000 - $168,000 depending on experience, plus generous vacation and benefits

Deadline to Apply: Sunday, January 4th at 11:59pm ET

Role and Responsibilities 

ideas42’s (Un)warranted initiative seeks a seasoned professional with a track record of success to join its senior team and lead advocacy and campaigns across multiple states. (Un)warranted focuses on the crisis of missed court dates, which are a leading cause of arrest/jail and disproportionately impact communities with low wealth. We work to expand the use of evidence-based, behavioral science interventions to improve court appearance rates, primarily focusing on two proven solutions: effective court date forms and reminders. These solutions, when implemented well, result in more fair and efficient justice and help hundreds of thousands of people avoid unnecessary and ongoing entanglement in the system. 

Reporting to the Managing Director, the Advocacy and Campaigns Director will be the architect and executor of (Un)warranted’s activities to create legislative and other policy changes that require statewide implementation of these solutions. This role requires someone who is talented at building relationships and messaging, who can balance big-picture thinking with learned technical expertise of our interventions to navigate policy change for greatest possible impact, and who can strategically execute and drive outcomes based on a clear understanding of the context and landscape. The Advocacy and Campaigns Director will set the direction of the advocacy work in alignment with (Un)warranted goals, be the primary liaison with state and federal stakeholders on policy matters, and be a leading voice for our evidence-base, cost-effective interventions. 

Specific responsibilities may include but are not limited to:

• Lead the design and delivery of legislative and any other policy efforts for (Un)warranted initiative, including developing long-term strategy and annual action plans as well as successfully executing on priorities. Collaborate with advocates on the ground to design plans for each state. 
• Promote laws and policies that follow the scientific evidence and best practices, translating data and our behavioral insights into specific, actionable policy recommendations as well as legislative and regulatory language. Examine existing state statutes and policy, as well as political and technical landscape, to determine best ways to implement model practices and effectively navigate their inclusion to the extent possible. 
• Expand and leverage the (Un)warranted network to develop and cultivate strong relationships across the political spectrum with coalitions and advocacy organizations, elected officials, and legal system stakeholders, among others. 
• Effectively collaborate with other stakeholders, organizations, and groups to amplify efforts and enact proposed policy changes, including providing strategic and technical expertise and related information such as evidence, data, model bills, testimony, cost estimates, talking points and other materials. 
• Identify target states, including power mapping, political and technical landscape analysis, and engagement with state-level advocates and other stakeholders. Track and interpret statutes as well as prior and current legislative efforts to assess their impact on ongoing workstreams and identify strategic opportunities.
• Engage within state stakeholders to advocate for widespread adoption. Engage federal government and policymakers to encourage further state-level action. 
• Conduct research on messaging with policymakers, court officials, and other legal stakeholders. 
• Create and disseminate materials that support policy change and/or effective implementation of policy. This includes legislation, fact sheets, policy briefs, presentations, blog posts, opinion editorials, toolkits, talking points, and other communications and materials. 
• Communicate widely about our work, through convenings, conferences, webinars, media outlets, interviews, and testimonies to increase awareness about the crisis of missed court dates and interest in these proven, cost-effective solutions. 
• Partner and collaborate seamlessly with the (Un)warranted implementation team to engage, troubleshoot, and deliver on goals.
• Support fundraising efforts, as needed.
• Build and manage an advocacy team, as funding allows.
• Other responsibilities as needed to advance policy advocacy goals.

Qualifications 

Required qualifications 

• 10-14 years of full-time relevant work experience, including at least five years in advocacy and direct experience in the legal system. 
• Highly effective and diplomatic communicator with demonstrated success building trust and engaging diverse stakeholders to adopt evidence-based interventions.
• Track record of leading successful state campaigns to advance legislative change.
• Experience researching, analyzing, and drafting legislative and regulatory language at the federal or state level, and developing related materials such as model bills and talking points. 
• Experience building and collaborating with broad-based coalitions to pass laws or regulatory change and successfully managing relationships with partners, including setting agendas, strategy, plans, and roles for policy change process.
• Demonstrated success executing plans of action while strategically finding solutions and adapting approaches to best advance campaign goals.
• Problem-solver who works well independently and has excellent time management skills to drive multiple responsibilities and projects simultaneously.
• Commitment to becoming an expert on best practices to advocate for policies that are grounded in research, data, and evidence. Track record of strategically navigating contexts and conversations to bring about the greatest possible impact in each state. 
• General interest in the field of behavioral science and expressed interest in learning more.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate and collaborate with colleagues and manage, support, and develop direct reports and other staff.
• Excellent writing, verbal, and public speaking skills with a commitment to high-quality output.
• Mission-aligned, self-starter, able to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Preferred qualifications 

• Master's degree or equivalent practical experience such as a JD, MPP or MPA. 
• Direct service or other experience that requires high quality execution and proficiency with technical information. 
• Leadership of multi-state campaigns that met ambitious goals.
• Deep expertise about the court system, and general knowledge of behavioral science.

About ideas42 & (Un)warranted

We’re a non-profit using deep insights into human behavior to help improve lives, build better systems, and drive social change. For more than a decade, we’ve been at the forefront of applying behavioral science in the real world. And as we’ve developed our expertise, we’ve helped to define an entire field. Our efforts have so far extended to 40 countries as we’ve partnered with governments, foundations, NGOs, private enterprises, and a wide array of public institutions.

Our Safety & Justice team partners with local and state governments to improve outcomes in the legal system. Through our (Un)warranted initiative, we bring our proven expertise on court date communications to help courts and system partners across the country effectively reduce nonappearance and its harmful consequences.

We are dedicated to growing our teams with people who have diverse experiences, backgrounds, and skills. We are committed to fair and unbiased hiring practices that support equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, ethnicity, gender, national origin, age, abilities, sexual orientation, or veteran status.     

Candidates with lived experience and/or personally affected by the criminal legal system are strongly encouraged to apply.

Working with Us 

We are a culture-first organization where rules or processes do not take precedence – people and their ability to make well-reasoned decisions do. You’ll find that our team members are deeply caring, wicked smart, and both tenacious and rigorous in their work.

Our core values are at the heart of everything at ideas42:

• We live and breathe what we do. We look at everything through a BEHAVIORAL LENS.
• We take OWNERSHIP. We don’t just work at ideas42, we take shared responsibility for it.
• We DO GOOD. We use our expertise to improve millions of lives and create a better world for all.
• We have fun. We let PLAYFULNESS inform the way we work and our approach to the world, helping to drive our creativity and improve our solutions.
• We live with a SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY. We approach our colleagues, partners, and people whose lives we seek to improve with an attitude of selflessness and cooperation.
• We are TENACIOUS. We never take the easy route but push to stretch the limits of what’s possible.
• We are RIGOROUS in how we think and how we tackle problems.

Benefits and Compensation 

We hope that you are excited by the opportunity to work with us. We are proud to offer a comprehensive and behaviorally designed benefits package and other perks to support our team and allow us to focus on our work of solving tough social problems.  

• Insurance: We offer fully-covered medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance coverage for you and your families. 
• 401(k) Match: We contribute 3%, even if you don’t contribute at all. 
• Generous Vacation and Paid Time Off: We offer 24 days of vacation per year for full-time staff, plus paid holidays and sick leave.
• Paid Parental Leave 
• Fitness benefits
• Dependent Care Accounts
• Phone benefits including reimbursement towards a new smart phone
• Professional Development fund
• Loan Forgiveness: Based on our 501(c)3 status, you are able to receive loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.  

Application Process Overview

• Application: Submit your application and resume
• First Round Interview: Selected candidates will be invited to interview with an ideas42 program team member
• Final Round assignment: Selected candidates will be invited to complete a final interview assignment and will be asked to present this during their final interview. 
• Final Round Interview: Selected candidates will be invited to interview with an ideas42 senior team member. References will also be requested and contacted during this time.