Policy Operations Manager presso Arts Alliance Illinois

Description

About Arts Alliance Illinois

As the statewide advocacy and lobbying organization for arts and culture, Arts Alliance Illinois supports the creative community by championing policies, securing funding, and building connections that help artists, educators, cultural organizations, and creative workers thrive.
Our work spans legislative advocacy, grassroots mobilization, statewide programs, technical assistance, research, and the Help Desk, all in service of a more equitable, sustainable, and innovative creative sector.

Position Summary

The Policy Operations Manager reports to the Senior Director of Government Affairs, and provides high-quality administrative, operational, and legislative support that strengthens Arts Alliance Illinois’ policy and advocacy efforts.

This role keeps the Government Affairs department running smoothly by managing schedules, legislative tracking, meeting follow-up, district and Capitol logistics, and day-to-day coordination with lawmakers, staff, coalition partners, and internal teams.

The ideal candidate is highly organized, politically savvy, and comfortable juggling details in a fast-moving policy environment. They enjoy strengthening systems, following through on commitments, and helping turn strategy into action. This position offers meaningful exposure to statewide policy work, the legislative process, and arts and culture advocacy.

This position is 90% remote, with a requirement to attend occasional meetings at the Chicago office, annual staff retreats, and other Arts Alliance events around the state. Because of the nature of our work, all employees must be Illinois residents during their employment with AAI.

Hiring Process

Our interview process includes the following steps, with selected candidates moving to each successive step:

• Initial application
• Zoom panel interview with select Arts Alliance staff.
• Traditional interview with the Senior Director of Government Affairs.
• Candidates may be asked to complete an assessment. If so, they will be compensated for their time and effort.

Key Responsibilities

Legislative & Administrative Operations (65%)

• Manage the Government Affairs legislative calendar, including scheduling meetings with elected officials, legislative staff, agency partners, and coalition leaders.
• Support tracking of bill movement, committee hearings, deadlines, and relevant policy developments; prepare summaries and daily/weekly updates for internal use.
• Draft and prepare meeting materials, legislator packets, talking points, briefing memos, and follow-up correspondence.
• Maintain organized shared folders, notes, and legislative databases, ensuring accurate and timely record-keeping.
• Support the preparation and submission of witness slips, testimony drafts, letters of support/concern, and other required documents.
• Provide administrative and operational support for policy work connected to Arts Alliance Illinois’ major advocacy coalitions—including arts education, creative workers, public funding, and dedicated revenue—by coordinating meetings, preparing materials, documenting discussions, and tracking timelines and follow-up tasks.

Campaign & Advocacy Support (20%)

• Coordinate logistics, communication, and schedules for Capitol Day, district meetings, legislative roundtables, and other advocacy events.
• Assist in coordinating action alerts, outreach lists, and rapid-response mobilization materials in partnership with the Communications Manager and Director of Community Organizing.
• Support the implementation of advocacy campaigns by executing follow-up tasks, tracking progress, and ensuring communication loops are closed.
• Maintain contact logs and ensure consistent follow-through with key stakeholders.

Cross-Department Coordination (15%)

• Work closely with the Director of Community Organizing to align field engagement with legislative priorities and ensure readiness for hearings and mobilizations.
• Partner with the Communications Manager to ensure timely and accurate messaging about legislative actions, updates, and calls to action.
• Collaborate with the Creative Worker, Research and Programs teams to integrate constituent stories, partner insights, and data into legislative briefings and messaging.
• Provide regular administrative and reporting support for funder updates, grant compliance, and internal planning.

Requirements

Required Skills & Experience

• 3–5 years of professional experience in legislative, policy, advocacy, nonprofit, or government-adjacent environments, or in roles with comparable administrative, operational, or coordination responsibilities in complex, fast-paced organizations.
• Strong organizational skills with demonstrated excellence in scheduling, logistics, document prep, and follow-through.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced, remote/hybrid environment.
• Experience drafting memos, summaries, talking points, or correspondence for internal or external audiences.
• Familiarity with the legislative process, policymaking timelines, and the roles of legislators and staff.
• Cultural competence and a commitment to equity in working with diverse communities across Illinois.
• Proficiency with Google Workspace, Slack, and CRM/database tools.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• 3–5 years experience in the Illinois General Assembly, a government agency, political campaign, nonprofit advocacy organization, or similar policy environment.
• Experience supporting or staffing committee hearings, legislative briefings, or lobby days.
• Experience coordinating coalition efforts or multi-stakeholder convenings.
• Strong writing and copyediting skills, especially under tight deadlines.
• Experience with arts/culture, education, economic development, or workforce policy.

Key Competencies

• Keeps systems organized, deadlines visible, and follow-up consistent.
• Understands legislative environments and navigates them professionally.
• Produces clear, timely materials and maintains responsive communication.
• Works seamlessly with Government Affairs, Organizing, Communications, Programs, and external partners.
• Stays focused and calm as timelines shift or external factors change.
• Accepts, provides and applies feedback from internal team members and external partners with a growth mindset.
• Manages sensitive conversations, documents, and relationships with care.

Benefits

This is a part-time, nonexempt position with a salary range of $33,000–$38,000, commensurate with experience. Arts Alliance Illinois maintains a 35-hour workweek; this role carries an expectation of 17.5 hours per week. As the Alliance expands its policy and advocacy work, this position offers opportunities to grow in scope and responsibility over time. The role is term-limited, with continuation to be evaluated in January 2027, contingent on available grant funding.

Arts Alliance Illinois offers a comprehensive benefits package that supports a healthy and sustainable work–life balance.

What It's Like to Work at Arts Alliance Illinois

Advocacy work is fast-paced and remote work can be draining. That work is much harder if organizational culture is not a good fit. In order to ensure this is the right position for you, here are some things to know about us before you apply:

• We believe access to arts & culture makes communities stronger and healthier, and therefore advocating for the arts is a common interest shared by all residents of Illinois regardless of background or political affiliation.
• We believe public funding for the arts is a good thing.
• We believe the biggest contribution a person can make to stop the spread of COVID is getting vaccinated – whenever there’s no medical or religious exemption.
• We encourage professional development, rest, and transparency about your capacity.
• We are a small organization where sometimes we need to help our co-workers during heavy workloads.
• We work hard, but we also support taking time away during the day to nap, run an errand, or do whatever you need to make remote environments work for you.
• We discourage working nights/weekends but understand that staff have different rhythms when they are most productive. Occasionally we need to adapt to urgent, politically-imposed, deadlines but we do our best to balance it with time off.
• We cultivate a professional yet collegial work environment where sharing personal anecdotes, playlists, jokes, etc, is welcome.
• We encourage staff members to assume good intentions from colleagues during moments of conflict or confusion but also are intentional about creating space for harm to be acknowledged and repaired.
• We acknowledge individuals and organizations can perpetuate environments where discrimination goes unchecked. To ensure we have a shared language to address these challenges, staff members attend an Introduction to Systemic Racism training.
• We celebrate diversity and don’t seek to assimilate anyone into a broader “work culture.” We make space for people from different cultural, social, political, and religious backgrounds to share and influence the work we do by being their true selves.

Finally, we realize we will always have work to do to improve our office culture and are looking for team members who will enjoy engaging in that process.

Priority Application Deadline: Feb 6 2026

Application Close: Feb 13 2026