Jobs

Why work with YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish?

YWCA SKS is the region’s largest non-profit organization with a 120+ year legacy, focused on the needs of women, with programs serving 7,000 people each year. When you work with YWCA, you make a difference.

We’re women and BIPOC-led, family-centered, and supportive of employees. As a full-time YWCA employee (30+ hours), you’ll enjoy a benefits package including medical insurance, generous vacation, holiday, sick leave plans, and an outstanding retirement plan. Put your passion for racial equity and social justice to work – apply today!

The Director of Public Policy is a new position at YWCA that will lead YWCA’s public policy activities, helping increase the effectiveness of our advocacy work and advancing YWCA’s legislative priorities to build collective power for racial and gender equity. This is a cross-collaborating role that will promote and represent YWCA’s advocacy work to a wide range of stakeholders, including staff, board of directors, volunteers, coalition partners, community organizations, and elected officials. The Director of Public Policy will be a member of YWCA’s Executive Staff team and report directly to the Chief Executive Officer, with a close working relationship with the Chief Communications Officer.

This position has a social justice component that will require critical thinking about how the external systems impact the work that we are doing through the lens of racism and intersections with poverty. Knowing the core principles of antiracism work and grounding those principles in everyday work, as well as championing antiracism policy, are required job skills and core values. As an equal-opportunity employer, we highly encourage people of color to apply.

Note: This is a hybrid position, with a certain percentage of time spent working remotely and a certain percentage of time spent working out of a YWCA office.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• • • Research, monitor, analyze and respond to federal, state, and local issues that affect YWCA’s public policy interests. Support and advance policy issues and/or budget requests that are important or of interest to YWCA and associated nonprofit sector.
    • Lead the development of YWCA’s state legislative priorities and the creation of messaging and strategies to support them. Review external legislative proposals and evaluate how YWCA should engage or support.

• • • Build trusted relationships with state and other elected officials, their representatives, and staff. Educate legislators and other policymakers regarding the scope and impact of YWCA programs, services, and overall community impact.
    • Persuasively communicate YWCA’s legislative priorities and positions to lawmakers, executive agencies, stakeholders, and other key audiences, highlighting the impact of proposals on racial and gender equity and populations served by YWCA.
    • Represent and advance the YWCA’s interests before public audiences, including providing testimony and meeting with elected officials, other policy decision-makers, public agency officials, and related staff.
    • Manage and respond to requests from elected officials and coordinate site visits, testimonials and stories, media opportunities, and other public policy activities across the agency.
    • Responsible for tracking and reporting required advocacy and lobbying activities.

• • • Build and maintain key/priority partnerships relationships with other similarly interested constituencies and organizations, including partner organizations, coalitions, foundations, and associations throughout the region and state, to advocate for and advance policy goals and legislative agendas.
    • Work in close collaboration with Communications Team and the Policy and Advocacy Coordinator.
    • Collaborate with Development on opportunities to promote and grow advocacy with philanthropic donors and corporate partners.
    • Oversee community engagement campaigns and mobilize advocates to take action in support of YWCA’s policy priorities.

• • Produce issue briefs, action alerts, talking points, position papers, and research reports on key public policy issues, working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to develop, approve, and distribute materials.
  • Represent YWCA’s legislative positions to local media and support media relations, providing quotes, data, and other information, working with the Editorial & Marketing Director, Chief Communications Officer, and other stakeholders as needed.
  • Develop annual report on the progress of YWCA’s public policy and legislative advocacy work. Make presentations to YWCA’s leadership team and board on public policy issues and work.
  • Help strengthen organizational capacity for policy advocacy for staff, participants, BOD, and other volunteers. Coordinate internally to support issue education activities and work to learn opportunities related to advocacy and public policy for nonprofit staff and board members.
  • Review and approve YWCA’s advocacy and public policy content for web, email, digital, and other external communication channels.

QUALIFICATIONS & CORE COMPETENCIES

• • • 3-5 years of relevant and progressively responsible work experience in public policy advocacy or equivalent experience in a related field.
    • Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
    • In-depth knowledge of the nonprofit sector.
    • Experience working with elected officials and public agency staff.
    • Experience working with diverse populations.
    • Public speaking and presentation skills, as well as strong written communication skills.
    • Proven planning and analytical skills to evaluate complex situations and recommend next steps/solutions.
    • Strong computer skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Office.
    • Ability to handle multiple tasks, projects, and priorities effectively and professionally.
    • Ability to work independently and collaboratively.
    • Ability to travel and current driver’s license required. Access to a vehicle is preferred.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS OF THIS POSITION

• • Continuously exchanges information through listening and talking with agency staff, employers, elected officials, and community members.
  • Frequently moves locations both within the workspace and in the community.

·        Annualized Salary Range: $85,000 – $95,000 DOE

·        Excellent benefits package including medical insurance, retirement plan, plus generous vacation, holiday, and sick leave plans

·        At the time of hire, employees may enroll voluntarily in the Fidelity 403b Plan. After two years of employment, employees are eligible to participate in the YWCA Retirement Fund

We recognize people gain knowledge, skills, and abilities through various experiences. For this reason, professional, academic, lived and volunteer/community-based experiences will all be considered in the application review process.

All new hires must be vaccinated in accordance with CDC guidelines before their first day of employment.

All employees of the YWCA interact with clients who have experienced or are experiencing trauma in various forms, including but not limited to, racial trauma, domestic violence, sexual violence, homelessness, unemployment, and financial hardship. As a result, employees are at risk of secondary trauma. We encourage employees to seek support inside and outside the workplace and maintain self-care routines.

YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  To read more about this, view the EEO is the Law poster and this EEO is the Law Poster Supplement.

Contact us at careers@ywcaworks.org with any questions or if you need accommodation for your application.