Executive Director

The Arizona Center for Economic Progress

The Arizona Center for Economic Progress (AZ Center) is looking for a strategic and visionary leader to serve as its next Executive Director. Launched in 2017, the AZ Center is an affiliate of Children’s Action Alliance (CAA), a 501(c)3 nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization in Arizona. The AZ Center advances budget, fiscal and economic policies that create economic opportunity for all Arizonans. A central role of the AZ Center is to provide credible and independent information and analysis of fiscal and economic issues.

The AZ Center and the Children’s Action Alliance are dynamic organizations with a vision for an equitable and healthy State of Arizona. We recognize that many of the barriers and disparities that block the path toward better economic opportunities can be traced to a history of discriminatory policies, the impacts of which continue to be felt today. As an organization, we are committed to advancing race equity and inclusion.

Learn more about our work and our partners at azeconcenter.org.

About the Position:

The Executive Director will report to the President and CEO of CAA. The ideal candidate is a strategic and collaborative leader who has the vision and skills to continue the growth of the AZ Center as a trusted source of information, an influential mover of policy, and an agent of transformational change for Arizonans who are too often left behind.

The Executive Director leads the team at the Arizona Center for Economic Progress to shape and implement short- and long-term strategic plans that carry out the mission to create equitable policy for all Arizonans.

Responsibilities:

• Support a strong and impactful team of staff: Supervise and work alongside team members as a coach and mentor as the team engages in policy research, advocacy, strategic communications, and community engagement. Support staff development and well-being, and foster a collaborative team environment.
• Build a research and legislative agenda and workplan, align the workplan with the overall organizational goals and priorities, and ensure the AZ Center’s policy and research work uses a racial equity lens.
• Build and maintain authentic relationships with grassroots organizing partners – working to share power and decision-making with organizations that work directly with those who are most impacted by Arizona’s legacy of economic and fiscal policy.
• Secure new funding to sustain and grow the AZ Center’s work; Write grant proposals and reports, and track grant deliverables.
• Build and sustain community-centered engagement campaigns to advance key policy priorities at the state and federal level.
• Design a communications plan to achieve goals, and produce written materials such as blogs, fact sheets, and policy briefs.
• Represent the organization and actively collaborate with national partners, including the State Priorities Partnership (SPP), the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN), and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP).
• Serve as a spokesperson for the AZ Center in the media, at the State Capitol, and forums and events across Arizona.
• Serve on the CAA leadership team (President & CEO, and Vice Presidents of Policy, Development & Communications, and Finance and Operations) to ensure a high level of organizational coordination/communication between CAA and the AZ Center.
• Work with the CAA VP of Finance and Operations to manage and monitor the AZ Center operating budget and grants.

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated commitment to addressing economic inequity and driving the AZ Center’s vision and mission to be an effective agent of change.
• Demonstrated leadership experience, particularly supervising and developing highly effective professionals.
• Demonstrated commitment to building and cultivating strong relationships with diverse external partners and stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience raising funds and managing grants
• Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field plus at least five years of relevant work experience.
• Demonstrated expertise or knowledge in state budget and legislative processes.
• Knowledge of the systems-level challenges facing low-income Arizonans and communities of color.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects at once.
• Demonstrated ability to independently convey complex policy and data to various audiences at differing levels of specificity.

Compensation:

Salary range $95,000-$115,000, depending on experience and qualifications. Major medical and dental insurance, life insurance, matching retirement contribution. Competitive leave policies for vacation; sick leave; family, medical and personal leave; and earned sabbatical.

Location:

CAA operates a hybrid (office and home) working system and provides employees with the resources to work effectively from the CAA office in Phoenix or remote locations. The Executive Director is expected to work in the office two days per week and must reside in the metro Phoenix area.

To Apply:

Position will remain open until filled. Applicant submissions will be reviewed on April 12, 2024. Applicants who send a cover letter and resume to [email protected] will be considered.

The Arizona Center for Economic Progress strongly encourages members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including people of color, LGBTQ identified people, gender-nonconforming people, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and people who speak a language in addition to English.