Political Director

With 5 million members, Working America mobilizes working people who don’t have the benefit of a union at work to fight for good jobs and a fair economy. As the community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, we unite working people in urban and suburban communities around a shared economic agenda.

Political Director

The Political Director is a national headquarters position that leads the development, implementation, and oversight of Working America’s electoral and issue campaigns. The Political Director works closely with the Executive Director and other programmatic departments to direct Working America’s field and digital assets to meet organizational and campaign goals and objectives. The Political Director is also responsible for helping conceive and execute clinical experiments, building and expanding the organization’s profile in the political space, managing relationships, and supporting outreach as needed.

Reports to: Executive Director

Key Responsibilities

Political Campaign Strategy and Leadership

• Oversee all aspects of campaign planning and implementation including campaign conception, research, assessment and analysis, plan development, and management.
• Work with the Field leadership team to develop canvass raps and questions for campaign execution.
• Conduct and support political and programmatic teams on outreach.
• Support and manage the development and production of campaign materials.
• Alongside the Deputy Director, serve as lead coordinator among various departments including Political, Campaigns, Field, Data, Communications, Legal, and Administration on the implementation and execution of new campaigns.

Partnership Development and Management

• Help manage relationships with stakeholders.
• Represent the organization in political spaces.

Staff and Program Management

• Effectively recommend hiring, promoting, discharging, disciplining, managing work, and evaluating Political staff of 3 to 6 people.
• Manage vendor relationships as needed.
• Work closely with the National Campaigns Director and National Field Director to manage program and campaign outreach for up to 2,000 canvass organizers and deploy a series of digital and mail tactics in 100-150 elections per cycle.

Research, Analysis, and Problem Solving

• Work with digital, analytics, political, and programmatic teams to develop and implement in-cycle clinical experiments and conduct ongoing analysis to improve campaign design and execution.
• Demonstrated capacity to acquire new insights from quantitative and qualitative information and apply it to the program in measurable ways.
• Participate in regular iteration, explanation, and refinement of campaign work.

Other Duties as Assigned

Qualifications

• 7-10 years of experience managing electoral campaigns or political programs.
• Experience with strategic planning and implementation of field canvass to support electoral and issue campaigns, including voter contact and GOTV operations.
• Advanced user knowledge of NGP VAN, Catalist, and other data platforms and tools.
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Familiarity with the structure and workings of the labor movement and progressive infrastructure.
• Experience working with at least two legal structures (e.g., hard side party, c3, etc.).
• Experience with campaign or complex system management.
• Experience following structured processes with attention to detail to collect, analyze, and evaluate evidence to inform decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to cultivate and maintain relationships with diverse stakeholders and navigate partner relationships.
• Ability to work independently in politically-sensitive and high-pressure environments.
• Ability to manage and direct staff and work across departments.
• Excellent problem-solving and relational skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to travel on a regular basis as needed.
• Must be able to work irregular and long hours.

Location

Washington, DC, in person 5 days/week at the national office at 815 16th St. NW, Washington, DC; 21-42 remote workdays per year.

Position

• Full-time
• FLSA Classification: Exempt
• Starting salary is $137,499. Includes medical insurance and 401(k) with employer contribution.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Working America is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse workforce and encourage applications from women, people of color, LGBTQIA and other non-conforming individuals, and individuals with disabilities.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit your resume and answer the application questions. We will review applications on a rolling basis. This search is being led by NRG Consulting Group. Reach out to [email protected] with any questions.

COVID-19 Update

Working America is implementing COVID-19 mitigation protocols to keep our employees and the community safe. Staff are required to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19, except in cases of accommodation as required under ADA or Title VII religious exceptions.