Director of Government Relations

About Our Organization

Youth Guidance creates and implements school-based programs that enable children to overcome obstacles, focus on their education, and ultimately succeed in school and in life. We believe that no matter what challenges a young person faces, they are more likely to succeed when they have caring adults in their lives. Our highly trained staff guides kids to overcome the life and academic challenges facing the youth. We meet kids where they are — physically and emotionally — to help them focus on their education, make positive choices, and remain on the right path toward life success.

Founded in 1924 and celebrating 100 years of impact this year, Youth Guidance is a leading provider of outcomes-driven programs serving more than 18,000 youth around the country. For more information, visit www.youth-guidance.org.

About You

You have the passion and desire to work in a dynamic non-profit organization, you have the talent and skills to perform the job, and now you’re looking for just the right opportunity. At Youth Guidance, you’ll have the chance to use your passion and skills working alongside a team of talented individuals who share the same values.

Position Summary

The Director of Government Relations is responsible for building and managing relationships with elected officials and public sector staff including the State of Illinois, Cook County, Lake County, City of Chicago, and Chicago Public Schools. The Director represents Youth Guidance as a member of the senior leadership team at external meetings with government partners and elected officials. This role is a hybrid remote position located in Chicago.

Essential Duties/Responsibilities

• Builds and manages relationships with elected officials and other public sector leaders/staff to establish highly effective champions for Youth Guidance within state, county, and local governments.
• Oversees and manages government relations efforts to mobilize public resources in support of the agency’s services.
• Collaborates with contract lobbyist(s) to craft and execute a government relations strategy that ensures ongoing public sector investment in Youth Guidance programming.
• Engages in the following, in collaboration with the contract lobbyist, to achieve the goals above:
  • Plans and executes site visits to Youth Guidance programming with targeted lawmakers to develop strong champions for our work.
  • Develops targeted messages, fact sheets, and/or issue briefs to advance Youth Guidance’s perspective as a leading practitioner within the public sector. Shares messages and content developed for a public sector audience with the Development & Communications teams to support utilization of these messages across the organization for other audiences as appropriate.
  • Identifies media strategies that will influence public sector leaders and collaborates with contracted and internal Mar/Com support to execute these targeted communications strategies.
  • Plans an annual government relations calendar that prioritizes critical activities with lawmakers and aligns with budget processes during key periods.
  • Tracks developments within relevant policy areas (education, mental health, positive youth development, etc.), which could impact Youth Guidance. Identifies associated areas of opportunity or challenge and develops an approach to advance Youth Guidance’s mission within the policy context.
  • Keeps Executive Management Team, Sr. Director of External Affairs, and appropriate Senior Program Leadership Team members informed and engaged in government relations strategy, tactics, and progress.
  • Serves as liaison for the Government Affairs Taskforce within the Board’s Committee structure. Prepares government affairs reports for quarterly Taskforce meetings and board meetings. Shares government affairs strategy, tactical plans, and opportunities for taskforce and leadership volunteers (board, advisory councils) to support lawmaker outreach.
  • Creates and manages a system to track staff engagement in community-level coalitions and with elected officials so that Youth Guidance is engaging effectively, identifying, and addressing gaps in community-level engagement.
  • Prioritizes major opportunities and engages collaboratively with program, finance, and evaluation departments in collaboration with the Director of Government Funding & Partnerships to seize government funding opportunities.
  • Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Education/Experience/Training

• Master’s degree in public policy, public administration, social work, or related field preferred. Minimum of ten (10) years of relevant experience and a demonstrated track record in government relations.
• Government relations experience required.
• Strong computer skills (Microsoft Office, Publisher).

Skills/Abilities

• Highly responsive to key public sector partners and facile in communicating with multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to present a positive image, develop relationships, and communicate the mission effectively with diverse stakeholders.
• Highly organized, with proven ability to handle multiple tasks, handle pressure, and meet deadlines.
• Strategic approach to advancement of mission, with a keen eye for ensuring alignment of external activities with Youth Guidance’s mission and growth plan.
• Ability to work well both independently and within a team.
• Commitment to cultural sensitivity and respect for differences.
• Commitment to the continuous improvement of service quality and the organization’s mission.

Core Competencies

• Communication: Uses effective written and oral communication with internal staff, teams, and community served; demonstrates empathy and listening.
• Client Orientation: Recognizes needs of diverse stakeholders and approaches relationships with a service orientation to maximize impact.
• Equity Mindset: Understands and is committed to goals of equity, consistently brings an equity mindset to the organization’s work and workplace.
• Growth Mindset: Views growth as important for personal and professional development; seeks out opportunities to expand skills, even if change is required; demonstrates curiosity and eagerness to learn.
• Ownership and Quality of Work: Effectively manages own work, and work of the team to ensure delivery of high-quality work.
• Supervisory Skills: Effectively manages and develops others.
• Mission Drive: Demonstrates commitment to the mission of the organization as a whole and alignment with organizational values.

Leadership Core Competencies (Supervisor & Above Roles)

• Continuous Improvement-Minded: Takes initiative to identify and execute strategies and processes to continuously improve one’s leadership to strengthen the organization’s overall impact.
• Develops and Motivates Others: Motivates others and supports their development through strong coaching and mentoring. Effectively stewards self and others through both small and large-scale change.
• External Representation and Relationship Building: Represents the organization among external stakeholders, and builds strong, trusting relationships with stakeholders.
• Leads with Vision: Has an inspiring vision for the future of the organization, beyond the status quo, and communicates it effectively; leads with courage and willingness to take risks in service of impact.
• Manages with Data: Understands data; analyzes data and identifies insights and implications.
• Strategic Thinking and Resource Management: Considers the future of the organization proactively and responsively; weighs diverse inputs to inform strategies; identifies innovative opportunities when relevant; makes and communicates decisions that effectively balance trade-offs between financial sustainability and impact.
• Team Building: Builds strong relationships with teams and colleagues; fosters effective teams and collaborative interactions.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• This job operates in a professional office environment, school setting, and working with the public.
• Occasional local and national travel.

DEIB Statement

At Youth Guidance, we understand that diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B) are fundamental to realizing our vision of bright and successful futures for all young people. We celebrate the diversity of youth and staff and recognize them as empowered leaders, problem-solvers, and experts of their own experiences. At the same time, we acknowledge that many systems and institutions meant to support youth and staff are inequitable and unjust.

As such, we are committed to advancing DEIB through our words and our actions, both internally and externally, by:

• Strengthening cultural competence as well as policies, practices, and organizational structures that foster belonging and leverage the unique backgrounds and talents of staff.
• Offering youth-centered programs that are accessible and responsive to people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, abilities, sexual identity, gender identity and expression, language, and cultural and religious beliefs and practices.
• Influencing systems that youth, their families, staff, and communities are impacted by, such as schools, organizational networks, governmental bodies, researchers, and the funding community, to apply approaches that embrace DEIB in addressing the needs and supporting the aspirations of young people and those around them.

Youth Guidance is an equal opportunity employer and proudly values diversity, equity, inclusivity, and belonging. Youth Guidance does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law and is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity along all of these lines. People of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

EEO/M/F/D/V/SO

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