Senior Director, Policy and Advocacy, CivxNow
Who We Are
iCivics is a fast growing civic education nonprofit located in Cambridge, MA. Founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics re-imagines civic education for American democracy. We champion equitable and non-partisan civic education, while providing engaging resources that empower educators in the critical task of preparing young people for lifelong civic engagement.
With iCivics, over 7.5 million students learn about our government, the rule of law, and civic issues. We make civic education relevant to new generations of Americans through online games and innovative classroom resources — for free. Our reach is substantial: 300,000 teachers across all 50 states are registered with iCivics. Furthermore, our games have been played by students a staggering 122 million times! Our growth continues: last year, teacher accounts and active users grew at over 30%.
CivxNow
In our effort to champion civic education, iCivics is leading a project called CivxNow comprised of national coalition building, thought leadership, research, policy, and advocacy work. To date, 137 organizations have joined the CivxNow Coalition. The Coalition pledges to help every school in the nation fulfill its historic and vital civic mission, and to ensure that every young person acquires the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for informed civic engagement.
The CivxNow Coalition is leading a cross-partisan, nationwide movement to improve policies and promote research-based, results-driven practices in civic education. CivxNow is based on the active participation of a national Coalition of leading civic learning providers, philanthropic organizations, academic and research institutions, and other supporters representing perspectives from across the political spectrum. To demonstrate cross-sector, cross-partisan support for civic learning, the member organizations of the Coalition have committed to improving civic education through their individual and collective missions.
An iCivics Type of Person
We are looking for a growth-minded entrepreneurial leader that is ready to make a difference in education and work in a collaborative and fast-paced environment. Our organizational culture is shaped for those with the following traits:
- Passionate Commitment: We are committed to the success of our mission to bring a high-quality civic education to every student nationwide. We believe all our work should be done with purpose and a focus to further our mission.
- Goal-Oriented: There is an urgency to our work, and we are relentless in achieving our goals.
- Service-minded: We prioritize all of our activities around what’s best for teachers and students to increase educational opportunities in civic education.
- Collaborator: We collaborate with state and federal legislators, other advocates, educators and with each other to continue to develop and share the best educational materials and practices.
- Friendly and accessible: At the end of the day, we are all in this together. We are friendly and accessible, so all educators and organizations feel comfortable trusting and partnering with us.
- Innovator: We understand that all great things start with a groundbreaking idea/strategy and are followed with diligent and collaborative execution and insight.
Job Description: iCivics seeks its inaugural Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy for our CivxNow project. This individual will lead and guide the policy and advocacy work nationally, while overseeing civic education campaigns in several key states. S/he will play an active role in recruiting supporters to fund policy and advocacy efforts.
We seek a highly motivated, energetic, self-starter to lead the many components of this role, including:
- Work to design, strategize, and formulate strategy and campaigns to gain legislative and education policy support for increased high-quality civic education programs and funding in states and at the federal level;
- Lead the CivxNow State Policy Task Force in collaboration with the Task Force Co-Chairs;
- Lead the CivxNow Federal Policy Task Force in collaboration with the Task Force Co-Chairs;
- Develop and foster relationships and collaboration at the state level across politically diverse environments to support prioritizing civic education;
- Identify and cultivate local talent to lead campaigns in states;
- Broaden and diversify the current base of supporters and Coalition members, and activate local chapters at the state level;
- Help formulate and draft legislative and other policy recommendations;
- Ensure continued focus and attention on policy implementation to ensure quality;
- Play a critical role, in coordination with iCivics leadership, in fundraising to ensure there are the financial resources available to meet the critical milestones for this project;
- Organize meetings and convenings, as appropriate.
This is an exciting opportunity for an entrepreneurial strategic thinker who is eager to lead the CivxNow policy work across the nation. There has never been a more urgent, dynamic, and exciting time for civic education in the United States.
This position reports to Louise Dubé, iCivics Executive Director.
Job responsibilities will include assignments such as:
- Available to organize and attend events and meetings outside traditional work hours;
- Collaborate across all iCivics work, as appropriate;
- Ability to work remotely from the iCivics team and central office;
- Other duties as they arise.
Qualities:
- Ability to collaborate as a key member of the iCivics team and CivxNow Coalition;
- Ability to manage competing priorities and work effectively across functions and at all levels of the organization;
- Ability to sell others on the urgency and importance of our work;
- Think both strategically and operationally by being able to identify solutions to issues and implement a thoughtful process to put the solution in place;
- Proven ability to work with evolving coalitions and bringing people together for common goals, particularly from diverse political perspectives;
- Well organized and self-motivated with the ability to work independently;
- Adapt to quickly evolving priorities and respond with grace in a fast-paced environment.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree required;
- Advanced degree in relevant area preferred;
- Proven ability and hands-on experience in the state and federal legislative process as a legislator, staff person, and/or advocate. Successful involvement in researching legislative and regulatory proposals and passing legislation and new regulations;
- Fundraising or sales experience;
- Experience in representing clients before state and federal agencies and legislative bodies. Proficient knowledge of legislative processes;
- Track record of strong project management skills and ability to juggle competing priorities;
- Experience with donors and donor relations;
- Experience in K-12 education a plus but not required;
- Excellent, proven written and verbal communication skills;
- Excellent time management, problem-solving, and organizational skills;
- Willingness to work in a fast-paced environment with limited supervision;
- Team player with a positive attitude;
- Preferably at least 8 years of full-time or equivalent part-time relevant experience;
- Track record of effectively leading and scaling a performance- and outcomes-based organization and staff; ability to point to specific examples of having developed and operationalized strategies that have positively impacted an organization
Location: preferably Boston or DC, but with approval the position could be in another location.
To Apply
Please send resume and cover letter to jobs@icivics.org. Please include your last name and the job title in the subject line of your email.
iCivics is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ+, and other underrepresented applicants.
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