Homeoffice National Immigration Law Center - Director, Political Strategy (IJF) na National Immigration Law Center

About the Organization

Founded in 1979, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) is a leading non-profit organization (501(c)(3)) in the U.S. exclusively dedicated to defending and advancing the rights and opportunities of low-income immigrants and their loved ones. NILC’s mission is grounded in the belief that everyone living in the U.S. regardless of race, gender/gender identity, immigration status, or economic status — should have equal access to justice, resources, and educational and economic opportunities that enable them to achieve their full human potential. Together, NILC and the affiliated NILC Immigrant Justice Fund (IJF), a 501(c)(4) organization, work to advocate more directly for federal immigration reform policies. NILC is committed to advancing its mission — which intersects race, immigration status, and class — through racial, economic, and gender justice and equity orientation.

 About the Position  

The Director, Political Strategy for the Immigrant Justice Fund (Director) will work in partnership with the Executive Vice President, Advocacy, the Vice President, Strategy & Partnerships, and the broader Advocacy functional area to advance the mission and lead the on-going execution of sister 501(c)(4) organization the Immigrant Justice Fund (IJF)’s work using NILC’s strategic framework as a guide. In collaboration with the organization’s advocacy leadership, the Director will lead the integration and implementation of NILC IJF into NILC’s programs and strategies to advance for immigrant rights, justice, and inclusion in the United States. The Director will ensure alignment with advocacy and campaigns work at NILC in collaboration with the Vice President, Strategy and Partnerships through strengthening relationships with key political institutions and actors. The Director will work with NILC staff and external partners in the development and execution of collaborative initiatives that maximize the priorities, resources, and effectiveness of NILC and IJF’s work. The Director will bring a deep understanding and analysis of the political landscape as well as (c)(3) and (c)(4) compliance expertise. 

This role is not a member of the Bargaining Unit. 

The Director, Political Strategy (IJF) will be responsible for providing leadership in the following key areas:

Specific Position Responsibilities

IJF Strategy

· Work closely with the EVP, Advocacy, VP, Strategy and Partnerships, VP, Policy, VP, Litigation and Legal Strategy, and VP of Strategic Communications to develop and advance a clear long-term vision, theory of change, and strategic direction for all (c)(4) programs strategies and campaigns consistent with the NILC strategic framework.

· Drive the development, integration, and implementation of NILC and IJF electoral and political strategies across the organization including ongoing advocacy, work to elect pro-immigrant candidates, build political power for immigrants, and advancing pro-immigrant policies and messages at the federal, state, and local levels

· Build and nurture strategic partnerships with organizations and institutions within the immigrant justice movement, across other social justice movements, and within the private and governmental sectors, to advance NILC IJF’s political and electoral strategies, consistent with NILC’s broader movement- and power-building vision.

· Build and lead complementary NILC-IJF advocacy teams and campaigns that partner with state and local organizations to pass ballot measures, initiatives, and constitutional amendments at the state level that protect and defend immigrants’ rights and defeat threats to immigrants’ rights.

· Partner with state and local community-based 501(c)(4) organizations—such as the 501(c)(4) affiliate organizations in the Fair Immigrant Reform Movement network, FIRM Action—to create joint political strategies and electoral campaigns 

· Propose innovative electoral and political strategies to engage, educate, and influence voters and candidates, and build power within the immigrant justice movement.

· Support the Development team, and Senior Leadership and Executive Leadership Teams, by helping devise and implement fundraising strategies for IJF from a c4 lens.

· Regularly communicate with and engage key stakeholders, allies, and partners on to align political and electoral strategy; share updates on IJF’s political work and priorities; and collaborate on coalition letters, statements, and other joint efforts. 

· Provide high-level strategic advice to the President, the Executive Vice President for Advocacy, and other NILC and NILC IJF leadership on political and electoral program development including long-term strategy and growth 

· In partnership with NILC’s General Counsel, assess and manage organizational risks associated with IJF’s political and electoral work and oversee compliance efforts, proactively flagging risks and recommending possible solutions.

Management, Supervision, and Operations

· Manage and execute IJF’s political strategy work and strategic goals in alignment with NILC’s strategic focus to enhance and improve the impact of IJF’s electoral work in support of low income immigrants across the US. 

· Support strategic political communications efforts. 

· Create and edit content and materials that advance NILC IJF’s mission, such as reports, briefs, two-pagers, candidate questionnaires, talking points, emails, surveys, social media posts, press releases, and video scripts. 

· Track political landscape and developments in key federal and non-federal races across the country, prioritizing races for candidates that NILC IJF may consider for endorsement, and candidates that could serve as champions or decisive votes on key issues that are central to NILC and NILC IJF’s missions. 

· Represent NILC’s Immigrant Justice Fund and/or present in external convenings, meetings, conferences, and other public speaking engagements, and serve as a spokesperson with the media to further IJF’s mission

· Oversee and conduct, as necessary, qualitative and quantitative 501(c)(4) political and electoral polling research

· Collaborate with project and campaign teams within the Advocacy functional area providing strategic guidance and other advocacy support to NILC campaigns and initiatives. 

· Collaborate with the Legal, Policy, Strategy & Partnerships, Strategic Communications, Human Resources, and Development teams to engage other parts of our team to effectively leverage the resources and talents across the organization for IJF/Political Strategy efforts.

· Collaborate with Advocacy leadership to support campaign and project staff assignments and provide guidance and support to teams driving the work.

· Ensure that all Advocacy team members understand the long-term vision for immigrants’ rights, NILC’s theory of change, and the relationship between that broader vision, NILC’s core strategies/levers of change, IJF’s strategies and work, and their own work.

· Manage the creation, preparation, and maintenance of reports necessary to carry out the functions of the department including periodic reports for the leadership teams and after-action reports on independent expenditure campaigns, as necessary or requested, to track strategic goal accomplishment and the advancement of IJF’s mission.

· In collaboration with other teams and workgroups that interact with the IJF team, oversee the development of effective internal communication and project management systems and practices across teams and workgroups

· Assist in fundraising for IJF, including but not limited to contributing to grant proposals/reports and participating in site visits with funders, supporting the activities of the Development Department as needed.

· May be a part of a larger cross functional project using the MOCHA framework/methodology

Supervisory Responsibilities 

· Supports the recruitment, interviewing, and hiring of staff and oversees staff onboarding & training for direct reports if needed. 

· Oversee the daily workflow of any direct reports if hired or assigned to the supervision of the Director, Political Strategy

· Acts as a coach and mentor including providing constructive and timely feedback to foster a collaborative environment that develops strengths, improves weaknesses, and encourages creative and constructive problem-solving.

· Actively manages direct and indirect reports using applicable performance management software including documenting regular check-ins, goal progress, and any other relevant information in the system for performance and coaching purposes. 

· Handles discipline and performance issues in accordance with organizational policy.

· Manages outside consultants, third party administrators, and vendors.

Shared Organization Responsibilities

· Champions NILC & IJF’s mission of advancing the rights of immigrants with low income by demonstrating a commitment to human rights, and racial, economic, and social justice. 

· Attends and actively participates in NILC meetings at the organization, department, project, and individual level.

· Develops relationships and supports NILC and IJF colleagues across all teams, recognizing that each individual brings a unique background and perspective to the work and assuming good intent from each other. 

· Follows through on commitments acting with a clear sense of ownership individually and collectively by taking personal responsibility for decisions, actions, and failures, establishing clear responsibilities and processes for monitoring work and measuring results, and designing feedback loops into work. 

· Learns quickly when facing new situations by experimenting to find fresh solutions, taking on the challenge of unfamiliar tasks, and extracting lessons learned from failures and mistakes. 

· Acts with integrity by following through on commitments, being direct and truthful, keeping confidences, and showing consistency between words and actions. 

· Commits to centering NILC’s values of racial justice & equity, valuing diversity, fostering partnerships & collaboration, encouraging respect & personal well-being, and striving for transparency, integrity, and honesty in all decisions and actions. 

In recognition of the fluidity of the work and ecosystem that NILC operates in, other duties may be assigned depending on organizational need.

What We’re Looking for in This Role

· Commitment to NILC & IJF’s mission of advancing the rights of immigrants with low income and a demonstrated commitment to human rights, racial, economic and social justice, and equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice for all. 

· Collaborative, proactive, and action-oriented working style with a strong service mentality promoting mutual accountability and inspiriting trust and confidence from colleagues, other NILC team members, and NILC leaders alike. 

· Demonstrates sound judgement in decision-making, high integrity, and utmost respect for confidentiality. 

· Excellent verbal and written communication skills: ability to read, analyze, and interpret as well as draft documents such as reports, correspondence, and presentations for various audiences.  

· Self-starter with a strong strategic ability to move daily tasks forward in alignment with NILC’s broader organizational needs and goals. 

· Ability to consistently integrate deep understanding of key racial equity concepts into work projects and interactions by addressing structural implications and disproportionate impacts of policies, activities, and decisions on race, class, and other group identities within the context of job responsibilities and projects.

· Proven ability to support cross-functional teams, a natural orientation towards collaboration, and experience bringing together diverse groups toward shared goals. 

· Understanding of the legislative process, relationship-building with legislators and other allies, and other complex policy-related skills. 

· Goal-oriented, project-oriented, and achievement-oriented, with an ability to recognize and maximize opportunities on behalf of the organization. 

· Capacity to make difficult decisions relating to organizational positions, coalition decisions, and allocations of resources among competing demands. 

· Demonstrated success in coalition and movement building, managing complex stakeholder relationships, strong facilitation and active listening skills, ability to create an inclusive environment and build consensus.

· Recognizes each team member's unique background and perspective to achieve team goals in a positive and motivating working environment. 

· A collaborative style that places deep value on diverse perspectives and emphasizes the development and growth of team members and encourages learning and continued improvement. 

Qualifications Required

· Bachelor’s degree in political science, or related field, or significant and relevant experience working on electoral or political campaigns

· 10+ years of experience in electoral or political campaigns, with some relevant connection to community, labor, or other non-candidate politics, including 4+ years of people management experience. 

· Experience managing national or statewide voter engagement campaigns.

· Demonstrated success in coalition and movement building, managing complex stakeholder relationships, strong facilitation and active listening skills, ability to create an inclusive environment and build consensus.

· Strong understanding of compliance requirements for applicable law, regulations, and policy guidance that government 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations.

· Strong command of budget management and experience working closely with operations, compliance, and fundraising teams. 

· Proficient with political data, polling, latest technologies, and best practices in the field and the ability to learn various NILC IJF systems for data tracking, email, mobile, volunteer recruitment, and fundraising.

· A strong political network and relationships with leaders within the progressive landscape.

· Experience developing, writing, and implementing successful campaign plans that demonstrate strategic focus, electoral prowess, and creativity. 

· Demonstrated ability to adapt to changing priorities, strategies, and circumstances. 

· Proficiency with in-office and virtual environments and software such as MS Office, internet research, and virtual collaboration tools. 

Remote work locations are as follows: (Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin).  To be considered, applicants must live in one of the work locations. 

Preferred Qualifications

· Master’s Degree in Political Science, Legislative Affairs, Public Administration or related field preferred.

· Experience managing Political Action Committees. 

· Familiarity with immigration policy a plus. 

At NILC, we know that talented people may have different backgrounds or experiences, and if your education and experience doesn’t exactly align with the above that’s okay! NILC believes that diversity in all dimensions of the organization supports and bolsters the innovative thinking essential to its success and is committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all qualified applicants. NILC’s goal is for our people to reflect the communities in which we live and serve and to ensure representation of people of color, women, veterans, and individuals with disabilities in our organization. We encourage you to apply and let us know in your cover letter why you are qualified and the right fit for this role and NILC. 

Work Environment

Location & Travel: 

NILC's office is located in Washington, D.C. For this role, up to 30% of overnight interstate travel may be required; travel is typically quarterly to the NILC Washington, DC office or another location within the US for 3-5 nights.

Remote work locations are as follows: (Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin).  To be considered, applicants must live in one of the work locations.

Compensation:

 NILC’s compensation and benefits philosophy are to provide a competitive offering in the nonprofit sector and ensure equity across the organization. The salary range for this role is $128,800 – $161,000. 

NILC provides an incredible benefit package that includes employer-paid healthcare coverage (100% for employees and 75% for dependents), employer-supported dental and vision coverage, a 403(b)-retirement plan including an automatic contribution from NILC, paid parental leave, monthly cell phone and wellness stipends, pre-tax accounts for transit, health, and childcare benefits (FSA), and employer-paid short- and long-term disability and life insurance. NILC also provides a generous paid-time-off policy, 15 holidays and 22 days of paid time off annually (increased to 32 after 2 years of employment).

NILC is also a qualifying public service employer, which means all full-time NILC employees qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. To learn more about the program, please visit https://studentaid.gov/pslf/. 

Physical Demands

· Remaining in a stationary position, often standing, or sitting for prolonged periods

· Communicating with others to exchange information.

· Repeating motions, like typing or answering a phone, that may include the wrists, hands and/or fingers.