Policy Director for Economic Justice

Description

The National Partnership for Women & Families is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization that fights for equity for all women and families. We’re passionate about making change on big issues such as equal pay for all women, paid leave for working families, and access to affordable health care that provides abortion and reproductive care. We advocate on the Hill and for federal, state, and local policy.

We are seeking a Policy Director for Economic Justice to manage our policy and programmatic work on key economic issues to advance an economy that works for women and their families and achieves gender and racial equity. These issues include labor rights, civil rights, equal pay, paid family and medical leave, paid sick days, and expansion and enforcement of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This involves providing thought leadership and federal legislative and administrative policy analysis, development, and advocacy; and working with partners, coalitions, and other external stakeholders to influence policy making and implementation. The Policy Director also works collaboratively with staff across other teams to promote women’s economic well-being, health, and to advance racial and gender equity.

Responsibilities:

• Support the VP for Economic Justice to develop and implement a strategic vision for achieving policy change that will advance gender and racial equity in the economic justice portfolio;
• Identify opportunities to advance protections for workers and develop strategic policy options that center the needs of women workers of color;
• Lead a concrete policy advocacy portfolio (monitoring, legal research, analysis, policy development, advocacy) to advance the National Partnership’s economic justice priorities;
• Provide thought leadership on advancing equal pay, anti-discrimination, paid leave, and the rest of the care economy;
• Lead in developing, executing, and delegating work plans to accomplish portfolio goals;
• In collaboration with the VP for Economic Justice, develop policy positions and implement advocacy strategies using a gender and racial equity lens in all key issues areas;
• Track, analyze, and manage response to federal regulations in key issue areas, including leading the drafting of regulatory comment letters, response to requests for information, and similar policy communications;
• Cultivate relationships with and provide technical assistance to federal and state administration and agency officials on policy priorities;
• Direct the development of educational and advocacy materials, including major reports, policy issues briefs, fact sheets, and blogs;
• Coordinate across portfolios and teams (e.g., with the Health Justice team) on joint projects and products;
• In collaboration with Congressional Relations colleagues, provide technical assistance and subject matter expertise on legislative priorities and advocacy opportunities, including sign-on letters, legislative endorsements, proposed legislative text, hearing testimony, etc;
• Represent the National Partnership in external coalitions, at conferences, and in other public forums, including by providing federal legislative and regulatory updates and analysis; building consensus on policy and advocacy strategy; cultivating existing and new relationships; disseminating advocacy materials; and facilitating coalition meetings;
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with policymakers and other allied movement partners;
• Assist the organization’s leadership in determining whether amicus briefs are needed in particular high-interest or high-impact cases and coordinate the National Partnership’s participation in court cases as needed;
• Assist in fundraising efforts for the Economic Justice team, including project proposal development, and maintaining funder relationships; collaborate with VP and Development team to finalize proposals; and Manage project deliverables under grants;
• Effectively communicate the Economic Justice team’s policy priorities in speaking engagements, interviews with reporters, and through other media outreach; support VP and organizational leadership in portfolio-related speaking engagements;
• In collaboration with the Communications team, draft public statements and social media engagement, etc;
• With the VP and DEIA team, play a leadership role in setting team and organizational culture that is reflective of a commitment to racial equity and organizational change; and
• Supervise the Economic Justice Team’s policy counsels and other staff as necessary, and support their professional development.

Qualifications: The candidate must possess:

• Minimum 8-12 years of legal, public policy, or advocacy experience at the national, state, or local level;
• J.D. degree in good standing;
• Extensive subject matter expertise on work and family policy, e.g., family and medical leave law, public benefits systems, labor law, equal opportunity and civil rights law, low income/public assistance policies;
• Deep understanding of policy levers and effective strategies to accomplish portfolio goals;
• Successful experience managing people and/or teams;
• Ability to build relationships with external stakeholders (including legislators and their staff, advocates, and individuals impacted by our issues) and think creatively about how we can support and advance their efforts;
• Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced, demanding environment with competing priorities;
• Excellent strategic judgment, the ability to spot and seize opportunities, and the desire to be part of a collaborative team;
• Excellent interpersonal, communications, and strong persuasive writing skills;
• Desire to coach and support professional development of others;
• Demonstrated commitment to gender and racial justice, and advancing economic justice;
• Experience working for a federal or state administrative agency or legislature an added plus.

Classification: The National Partnership recognizes a staff bargaining unit, National Partnership United, affiliated with the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union/IFPTE Local 70, a union for non-profit workers. This position is NOT included in the NP United bargaining unit.

Salary and Benefits: The minimum salary starts at $121,208 with the exact salary based on total relevant experience. The National Partnership provides a generous benefits package that includes three weeks annual vacation time, paid sick time, paid federal holidays plus the last week of December, health, dental, and vision coverage, 403B and SEP-IRA retirement options, and paid family and medical leave for eligible employees.

Note that accrued vacation and sick time are currently suspended for new employees while the National Partnership temporarily offers ad-hoc unlimited administrative leave for employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, recognizing that we all have a range of caregiving needs, including self-care and care for others during this challenging time.

The Policy Director for Economic Justice is a full-time position based in our Washington, D.C. office. The National Partnership maintains a hybrid work environment where staff are required to be in the office a minimum of 4 days per month, with additional in-office and in-person days determined by your role and job responsibilities.

Office and Team Culture: The National Partnership is a 50 person staff that fosters a collaborative culture. We have a collegial work environment. The National Partnership is committed to protecting our employees and our communities from COVID-19. Toward that goal, the National Partnership requires all employees to be fully vaccinated and completely up to date via an FDA authorized and/or approved COVID-19 vaccination. Fully Vaccinated is defined by the CDC as being 2 weeks after the final dose in a primary series of COVID-19 vaccines (2 doses of Pfizer or Moderna, 1 dose of Johnson & Johnson). Up to date means a person has received all recommended COVID-19 vaccines, including any booster dose(s) when eligible, new employees must be fully vaccinated before their start date, and up-to-date as soon as eligible, unless an exemption due to a medical condition or a sincerely held religious belief or practice is granted.

The National Partnership is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to racial equity and social justice. We make a particular effort to recruit people of color to apply for open positions. People of color, LGBTQ individuals, people with disabilities, and people with other historically underrepresented identities are encouraged to apply. Please see EEO is the Law and Equal Employment Opportunity for more information.

Apply here