Advocacy director

Title: Advocacy Director

Supervisor: Executive Director

Status: Full Time Employee

Compensation: $45,000

Advocates for Women’s and Kids’ Equality (AWAKE) advocates for the advancement of women and kids in Tennessee through education and policy change. We are a grassroots nonprofit that makes an impact through bottom-up and top-down approaches to change making.

This new, dynamic leadership position is responsible for determining substantive policy advocacy and research priorities, planning and implementing legislative and grassroots community advocacy strategies, and working closely with the AWAKE team to design campaigns in coordination with those advocacy strategies.


Responsibilities:

  • Advocacy Strategy

    • Lead the identification of policy goals and strategies and timely research topics and priorities in collaboration with other staff and under the supervision of the Executive Director

    • Oversee programs and campaigns designed to achieve advocacy outcomes

    • Lead coordination with partner and coalition organizations on shared advocacy goals and strategies

    • Work with the Executive Director to create long-term plan for growth of advocacy program

    • Develop and implement advocacy budget

    • Keep an eye towards advocacy results and any changes that need to be made to improve outcomes 

  • Legislative Advocacy

    • Work closely with AWAKE’s contract lobbyist before and while the Tennessee General Assembly is in session including but not limited to meeting with legislators, attending committee meetings, coordinating individuals to testify in support of or opposition to AWAKE priority bills, and keeping track of vote counts

    • Manage the creation and maintenance of AWAKE’s public-facing legislative agenda including proactive bills, partner bills, and bills we are opposing

    • Manage relationships with lawmakers and staff

  • Research

    • ​Conduct or analyze research concerning gender equity issues in Tennessee  

    • Serve as in-house expert on the gendered impacts of state policy and legislative/administrative efforts

    • Assist with message development related to research findings and policy goals

    • Edit and/or author a variety of public-facing communications about organizational priorities

    • Administer research and/or surveys to gauge community concerns, evaluate data, and propose next steps based on information collected

  • Volunteer management and coordination

    • Schedule and lead meetings with the advocacy committee made up of board and community members 

    • Conduct volunteer trainings including Advocacy 101 and Day on the Hill training

    • Communicate with advocacy volunteers and delegate individuals to support campaigns throughout the year

    • Create calls to action for advocacy volunteers

  • Student Advisory Board: Support the Program Director in managing the student advisory board including facilitating meetings and working with students on their advocacy project

  • Development Support and Compliance

    • Monitor AWAKE’s status toward fulfilling grant requirements, communicating any concerns with appropriate lead time and participating in determining creative solutions when necessary

    • Provide knowledge and experience to support the Executive Director in writing new grant proposals as it relates to advocacy and policy efforts

    • Track expenditures, maintain appropriate records, report as required

  • Board of Directors Engagement

    • Ability to work with the board in order to fulfill the organization mission

    • Responsible for communicating effectively with the Board and providing, in a timely and accurate manner, all information necessary for the Board to function properly and to make informed decisions, including reporting at monthly board meetings

  • Other tasks as assigned by ED and board members

Qualifications:

  • Self-motivated, self-starter! This is a new leadership position in a small team, so you will have ample autonomy and the opportunity to shape the role and the organization's strategy moving forward

  • Bachelor’s degree, preferably in policy, political science, social work, or a related field

  • Demonstrated capacity to lead or support successful organizing campaigns 

  • Work experience with lobbying, organizing, drafting policy and/or leading advocacy campaigns 

  • Expertise on gender issues and issues impacting women and children. Previous experience working on these issues is a plus. 

  • Results and outcome focused. 

  • Knowledge of the Tennessee General Assembly functioning and legislative processes

  • Detail-oriented program manager with proficiency working and organizing within online management systems and virtual platforms including Zoom and Google Drive

  • Skilled communicator and relationship builder

  • Effective time management and prioritization 

  • Commitment to the mission, vision, and values of AWAKE


APPLY HERE

To apply, fill out the form linked above and send your resume and cover letter to info@awaketn.org with “Advocacy Director” in the subject line.