Policy Director

Policy Director

Policy Director 150 150 NNAF
National Network of Abortion Funds
Published
August 20, 2020
Location
Remote
Job Type
Contact Name (not public)
Kimika Ross
Main Phone
6176657991

Description

Application Deadline: September 14, 2020, 11:59PM CT for full consideration (open until filled)

Instructions: Click the following link abortionfunds.bamboohr.com/jobs and upload your resume and cover letter. If you have any questions or trouble with the application process, send a message to jobs [at] abortionfunds.org

Estimated Date to Hire: December 7, 2020 (must be available this week for virtual onboarding)

 

Are you looking for us?

You are a policy leader dedicated to building people and movement power for visionary change to institutions, systems, and culture that pushes the bounds of reformist policy strategies. You are values-driven, highly collaborative, and deeply committed to abortion access. You believe in a grassroots approach to building local policy capacity and leadership. You bring exciting, relevant experience doing policy work in tandem with organizing and culture change. You are not the average policy wonk.

 

Organizational Overview

The National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF) builds power with members to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access by centering people who have abortions and organizing at the intersections of racial, economic and reproductive justice. Together with our members, we advocate for cultural and political change to ensure access for people who face the greatest obstacles to abortion access: women with lower income, women of color, young women, and transgender and gender nonconforming people. This is an exciting time for NNAF as we grow, nurture new funds emerging in underserved areas, deepen our support for funds working within the reproductive justice framework, and co-lead a bold national coalition campaign to increase abortion access by restoring Medicaid coverage for abortion. We are working to make access to abortion a reality for everyone, no matter their resources. We are building a movement, mentoring young leaders, and working toward a world in which everyone can shape their own futures and families.  We invite you to join us as the newest member of our dedicated and growing team at a time when we are explicitly focused on scaling our network and building the infrastructure of abortion funds to be fully staffed organizations with robust abortion funding budgets.

 

NNAF is comprised of a multi-racial, multi-religious, gender expansive staff of 50, located across the United States. We know how important it is to support our remote staff to maintain connection and cohesiveness as a team. To this end, we ensure weekly one-on-one supervision, face-to-face virtual staff meetings, quarterly in-person meetings, and more.

 

Title: Policy Director

Supervised by: Deputy Director of Network Strategies

Supervises: Sr. Policy Manager

Status: The position is full-time, exempt, salaried.

Compensation: $96,500 - $106,400, commensurate with experience, with competitive benefits package

Benefits: Best in Class benefits package currently including 100% employer paid health insurance plus 50% for dependents/families, a 5% employer retirement match, 32-hour work weeks, 3 weeks vacation, 13 holidays, generous sick time, and a commitment to professional development.

Location: Flexible (Washington D.C. preferred but not required)

 

Position Description

The Policy Director provides leadership, strategic direction, management, and coordination to build and expand NNAF’s long-term political and cultural agenda for abortion access and to build the capacity of NNAF staff and of member abortion funds to engage in policy change strategies. The Policy Director also serves as a point of contact for NNAF in coalitions and with decision makers. They not only work to cultivate relationships and identify policy opportunities for NNAF and member abortion funds but also to ensure the development of a political and cultural agenda and movement building strategies that represent the priorities, leadership, and voice of abortion funds and of people who call abortion funds, in order to influence federal and state/local policy priorities from this position.

 

Essential Job Functions 

Leadership of NNAF’s Policy Strategies (approximately 25% of the position)

  • Lead vision and approach for an overall policy strategy that advances NNAF’s political and cultural agenda as part of a multi-pronged movement building approach that integrates organizing and basebuilding, grassroots and digital organizing, and culture change along with left-flank policy interventions.
  • Increase capacity of NNAF member abortion funds to powerfully engage in existing local, state and regional policy campaigns.
  • Play a leadership role in reproductive rights and health policy arenas and a partnership role to reproductive justice policy efforts, shaping policy agendas to represent abortion funds’ priorities, leadership and voice, and network values.
  • Closely collaborate with Organizing and Communications Directors and Teams, with oversight and support from the Deputy Director of Network Strategies, to ensure a cohesive approach to movement-building.

Management (approximately 25% of the position)

  • Lead a three-person team, develop yearly and quarterly goals and workplans, track progress and outcomes, and ensure clear roles and team processes.
  • Organizational Leadership:
    • Serve as a key member of the Leadership Team and leader in the organization and among stakeholders as applicable. 
    • Prepare and present reports and analysis to the Leadership Team, Board of Directors, and funders, when necessary. 
    • Translate organizational values into organizational culture, and support effective coordination across departments.
    • Participate in the development, oversight, and evaluation of the Strategic Plan, create and monitor department budget and annual operating plan.
    • Participate in fundraising efforts and donor solicitation as requested by fundraising staff.
  • Supervise assigned staff: Write position descriptions and hire assigned staff.  Conduct supervision and evaluations and foster a relationship of mutual feedback. Provide ongoing mentoring to facilitate strategic growth for assigned staff and monitor individual work plans. Conduct necessary performance improvement plans, terminations, and other personnel actions in accordance with personnel policies.

Organizational Representation, Coalitions, and Partnerships (approximately 20% of the position)

  • Build and maintain strategic relationships with organizational partnership, including outside of reproductive health rights, and justice spaces and with decision-makers.
  • Represent NNAF in priority coalition spaces and collaborative campaign efforts, as well as at public events, panels, workshops, conferences, and governmental gatherings, as designated by Deputy Director of Network Strategies.

Policy Communications and Education (approximately 20% of the position)

  • Oversee the development and implementation of policy communications and education (mass emails, press statements, digital strategies, organizing campaigns, and political education offerings, e.g.), in coordination with Communications and Organizing Departments.
  • Lend policy related subject matter expertise to the NNAF staff and members, keeping them briefed on key and emergent policy priorities, and translating and demystifying the policy process to support participation.
  • Ensure the production of policy materials and tools for both internal and external audiences, connecting the impact of abortion on racial, economic, and reproductive health and justice initiatives specifically related to the seven issues in the NNAF policy agenda, including maintaining up-to-date analysis of these issues at local, state, and federal levels

Other (approximately 10% of the position)

  • Actively participate in required convenings, summits, retreats, and staff meetings, and participate in required virtual staff communications.
  • Protect the organization by keeping information confidential.
  • Update professional knowledge by participating in educational opportunities approved by NNAF, maintaining networks, and participating in professional organizations as relevant to your role.
  • Perform duties required of all staff to support smooth internal operations such as submitting timely expense reports, reimbursement requests, and timesheets. 
  • Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor.

 

Travel Expectations

Ability to travel as job requires, approximately 8-15 times minimum per year. Travel will primarily be overnight, for approximately 2-5 days, and national  (with frequent travel to Washington, DC, if the employee does not reside in the DC metro area). Occasional international travel may be required. Regardless of where employee lives, and barring travel delays outside of an individual’s control, employee must be able to arrive at destination on-time. 

Please note: Due to COVID-19, NNAF has suspended all travel to minimize risk of exposure for staff through the end of the year. This applies to all NNAF related work. We will update the travel suspension only when the pandemic significantly improves and conditions become safer. 

 

Qualifications

Job experience requirements

  • 10 years relevant experience, with emphasis in policy strategies that align well with grassroots organizing and culture change, including experience developing, leading, and working on multi-pronged campaigns that build local, state, or regional power. (Direct experience in grassroots and/or culture change organizing is a plus.) 
  • Five years experience in supervision and cultivating a strong team and organizational culture. 
  • Demonstrated experience in federal advocacy (from legislation, appropriations, administrative advocacy, litigation, e.g. and how they relate to each other.)
  • Experience developing long-term plans, tracking progress towards goals, and prioritizing and managing multiple projects simultaneously while ensuring deadlines are met. 
  • Experience building a policy program from the ground up.
  • Track record working within communities of color and people affected by economic precarity.
  • Experience integrating policy/movement-building strategies and direct service strategies is a plus.

Specific skill sets 

  • Highly relational & collaborative in your approach to leading a team. Skilled in listening to & learning from your direct report(s).
  • Appreciation for and experience with expansive policy strategies beyond lobbying/legislator education. In addition to direct legislative advocacy, demonstrated appreciation for/ability to engage values-aligned messaging, narrative, political education, and community organizing strategies to move the needle on policy.
  • Demonstrated ability to work effectively with, and quickly gain the support of various constituencies including coalition partners, staff colleagues, and legislative representatives and their staff. 
  • Working knowledge of reproductive rights, reproductive health, and reproductive justice as distinct but overlapping frameworks.
  • Highly organized and detail-oriented; must be a self starter. 
  • Track record as an effective communicator. Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal skills. Adept at translating policy language and other policy-related information to reach a wide range of audiences. 
  • Confidence with planning, problem solving, and responding to changes related to work and events. 
  • Highly collaborative and able to thrive as part of a dynamic, generative, and fast-moving organizational culture; a stance that balances flexibility and rigor.

Qualities

  • Committed to abortion access and full reproductive health care for all.
  • Committed to an intersectional framework that includes, but is not limited to, gender, economic, and racial justice
  • Committed to building accessible spaces and practices.
  • Ability to enjoy collaboration and be a part of a dynamic, highly productive and integrated team; maintain flexibility and effectively manage ambiguity in a responsive work environment.
  • Self-motivated, resourceful, creative, and able to work without significant day-to-day supervision.
  • Open to giving and receiving feedback and committed to practicing this regularly.
  • Belief in bucking the trend through progressive policies to create a new vision for our future.
  • Appreciation for working with diverse staff and board in an organization committed to racial justice. 

Work Environment 

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

  • Depending on location, a combination of in-office and virtual office at this time. Must be able to participate in online virtual communications including email, video conferencing, and other online tools used to facilitate virtual office culture and work sharing. 
  • This position is full time, with employee’s regular full time schedule to be approved by supervisor. Regular hours must include attendance during core business hours from 12:00pm – 5:00pm Eastern Time, Monday through Thursday. Occasional work on evenings and weekends as needed.
  • Must be able to conduct business in English; however, fluency in languages other than English is a plus. 
  • Smoke- and drug (illegal or recreational)-free environment.
  • Some work at off-site locations may be required; NNAF aims for accessibility in any off-site location that we have control of, but some of them may not be fully accessible.
  • This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, and scanners. Employee is regularly required to communicate effectively via computer, via phone, and in person.
  • This role requires frequent sitting. 

NNAF is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any individual based on any non-merit factor, and is committed to an equitable workplace where everyone is treated as a respected and valued member of the team. In fact, NNAF actively seeks to build and maintain a diverse staff with regard to race, culture, ethnicity, class, religion, physical ability, age, gender, and sexual orientation. As an organization working in solidarity with the reproductive justice movement, NNAF is committed to fostering the leadership and elevating the voices of women, young people, people of color, Native people, immigrant and refugees, low-income people, LGBQ+, and transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people, people who have had abortions, people with disabilities, young parents, people who were formerly imprisoned, people who have received funding for abortions, and people living in the many intersections of these experiences. We encourage people from these communities to apply.

How To Apply

Application Deadline: September 14, 2020, 11:59PM CT for full consideration (open until filled)

Instructions: Click the following link abortionfunds.bamboohr.com/jobs and upload your resume and cover letter. If you have any questions or trouble with the application process, send a message to jobs [at] abortionfunds.org

Estimated Date to Hire: December 7, 2020 (must be available this week for virtual onboarding)