Policy Director, Georgia

We are looking for a Policy Director to set the vision for and manage the policy portfolio for our Georgia team here at Common Cause. This is an exciting opportunity for someone with strong collaboration and policy skills who can join us to lead our work at the State Capitol.   

This role will work closely with the State Executive Director as well as teammates, advisory board members, and partners, and will build relationships to be our ambassador at the State Capitol. This role will work to advance our policy agenda at the state capitol so that we are building a more inclusive, equitable, representative, and trustworthy democracy in our state. 

This is a full-time role reporting to the Executive Director of the Georgia team; this role is based within a two-hour drive of Atlanta, GA for regular travel to the state capitol and will require travel around the state at least two days per week. We hope our new Policy Director will start in May!

Responsibilities

Set the strategic direction for and advance our Georgia and national policy agenda

·  Set and execute the long-term strategy for state-wide policy development and democracy reform

·  Manage all aspects of the legislative process for Common Cause in Georgia including: developing ideas for and drafting legislation, determining strategies to advocate for legislation, finding bill authors, lobbying, testifying at legislative hearings, negotiating amendments 

·  Act as Georgia’s sole representative in meetings with elected leaders, legislative leaders, and other critical stakeholders 

· Manage the Policy Manager: collaboratively set goals, coach and develop them towards these goals and support their career progression and retention at Common Cause

Advance our legislative agenda through coalition building and stakeholder engagement 

·  Build relationships with key legislative staff at the state capitol to help advance our policy agenda 

·  Collaborate with program staff to leverage their subject matter expertise to support our advocacy efforts 

·  Build and lead coalitions of civil rights, civic engagement, and community-based organizations from across the state, and act as a representative at the capitol for our work with these organizations  

·   Lead coalition meetings, manage cross-sector relationships, and represent Common Cause in external policy discussions, public forums, and legislative hearings.

·   Coordinate efforts with coalition partners on joint advocacy strategies, including lobbying campaigns, grassroots mobilization, and media outreach.

·   Act as a spokesperson for Common Cause, delivering testimony, making public statements, and representing the organization in high-level meetings and legislative events.

Drive campaigns and our advocacy strategy

·  Lead advocacy campaigns, including creating policy proposals, drafting position papers, providing testimony, and organizing strategic outreach efforts to support legislative action.

·  Provide guidance to other teammates on election protection activities

Communicate about our work

·   Write op-eds, research reports, legislative factsheets, policy briefs, and memos  

·   Draft policy memos for the advisory board and members 

·   Contribute to copy for policy-related social media posts, website content, and other communications 

·    Make on-the-record statements to the press, and speak at press conferences or rallies 

Support our Fundraising and State Advisory Board management

·   Collaborate with the Executive Director and fundraising team to identify and pursue funding opportunities to support policy and legislative advocacy.

·    Act as the primary communicator with our state advisory board on legislative and policy priorities; facilitating discussions on policy with the advisory board as needed 

·   Support fundraising efforts by engaging with key donors, grant makers, and funding organizations to cultivate financial support for state programs and initiatives.

Administrative and Other duties

·   Complete administrative tasks as required, including logistics for legislative advocacy activities, stakeholder engagement, and coalition meetings.

·   Manage lobbying filings on behalf of Common Cause Georgia

·   Perform other duties as assigned

• A strong commitment to Common Cause’s nonpartisan mission and to advancing civil rights through our pro-democracy agenda      
• A commitment to equity in the goals of your work and in how you work with others  
• Openness to feedback and awareness of your own strengths and areas for growth    
• An ability to quickly build rapport, trust, and credibility with multiple stakeholders with diverse interests, with a track record of working collaboratively with others, navigating organizational and power dynamics to meet common goals, and respectfully navigating conflict while maintaining your values 
• Innovative and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to navigate through ambiguity to achieve goals, and a resourceful approach to solve problems 
• Ability to manage and meet deadlines for multiple short- and long-term priorities at once, with high attention to detail; strong organization skills, and the ability to manage your time independently   
• Ability to compel action through both written and verbal communication, including distilling complex concepts for a broad audience, and to differentiate communications as needed for various audiences; ideally you have significant experience communicating complex topics in written communications 
• Familiarity with data analysis, research methods, and database management, and ideally you have used legislative tracking databases, data visualization tools, or SQL 
• Familiarity with office productivity tools including Microsoft Office, Slack, and Zoom, and ideally you are familiar with civic tech tools, voter databases (like VAN), and GIS mapping   

• Demonstrated experience with the Georgia legislative process, including policy research and analysis, policy development, legislative drafting, legislative advocacy and lobbying, and policy implementation 
• Have led successful local- or state-level public advocacy campaigns related to democracy, elections, campaign finance, government ethics, voting rights and/or civil rights, including creating and managing campaign plans from conception through implementation and completion  
• Have managed coalitions or groups that represent stakeholders with diverse interests to achieve a goal, as well as a demonstrated knowledge of funders and decision-makers in Georgia; with a preference for candidates who have existing relationships with these people and organizations
• Have managed at least one staff member, intern and/or Fellow
• Ability to travel 2-3 times per year for team and/or all staff retreats
• Based within a two-hour drive of Atlanta, GA, with ability to travel around the state up to 2 days per week, and to work from the state capitol up to four days per week especially during the state legislative session
• Per our nonpartisan policy, Common Cause staff members may not currently be in elected office (or running for office); on the Steering Committee or Finance Committee for any political candidate; or affiliated with the leadership of a political party

• This position is classified as supervisory and therefore not included in the union-represented collective bargaining unit.  
• Common Cause is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time; please note that if hired, you will be asked to produce documentation for authorization to work in the US. 

Common Cause is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applicants of any race, creed, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, income class, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or marital status, as well as applicants who have been previously incarcerated.

Common Cause (501(c)(4)) and Common Cause Education Fund (501(c)(3)) are nonpartisan, nonprofit grassroots affiliate organizations dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create an open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.  

Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Washington, DC, Common Cause has more than 1.5 million members and supporters living in every congressional district in the United States, and offices in 23 states around the country.