Who We Are – iCivics
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.
In partnership with iCivics, up to 9 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 available at no cost. Our reach is substantial: 145,000 teachers across all 50 states are registered with iCivics—and we are growing by leaps and bounds based on a 30% increase in just one year in new teacher accounts and active users. Student engagement is at the heart of the iCivics story: our games have been played by students a staggering 148 million times.
About CivxNow
In our effort to champion civic education, iCivics leads a project called CivxNow, comprised of national coalition building, research, awareness-raising, and policy and advocacy work. To date, over 312 organizations have joined the CivxNow Coalition, 28 of which are state-level affiliated civic learning coalitions. 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 and authentic civic participation.
The CivxNow Coalition is leading a cross-partisan, nationwide movement to improve policies and promote research-based, results-driven practices in civic education through thought leadership, coalescing to field, research, advocacy, and policy resources.
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.
About the role – Policy Coordinator
iCivics seeks a Policy Coordinator to assist with our CivxNow project and our policy work as a whole. This individual will support policy and advocacy work, coalition-building, social media efforts, event planning, research and other departmental needs and administrative duties. This role reports to the Associate Director of Federal Policy with significant collaboration with the State Policy Director.
Your responsibilities will include:
- State and Federal Policy:
- Researching and monitoring active and new state and federal legislation on a recurring basis, and updating tracked bills in our database.
- Tracking and maintaining our in-house state legislative and political monitoring system to provide internal stakeholders with concise and valuable records of communication with state legislators, lobbying time, and bill progress notes.
- Assisting the state policy director with the preparation of relevant advocacy materials to support state level activities and lay advocate preparation.
- Coordinating legislative visits and outreach in partnership with the policy team and CivxNow Coalition members.
- Conducting policy research projects, including but not limited to the annual 50 state policy scan, legislator background profiles and identifying key stakeholders in states.
- Communications:
- Assisting with development of monthly newsletter and other initiative campaigns.
- Maintaining and updating CivxNow website.
- Onboarding and welcoming new Coalition partners.
- Coalition Building and Engagement:
- Researching organizations inside and outside our coalition whose work aligns with shared collective goals and projects.
- Providing backend support in synthesizing and developing practical, useful resources (videos, documents, tutorials, etc.) that allow our coalition members and state coalition leads to engage in collective efforts more effectively.
- Tracking, monitoring, and supporting engagement and communication with partners to deepen their engagement within collective work of the coalition, ensuring they are registered for meetings, helping promote their work when appropriate, etc.
- Administrative:
- Scheduling, agenda development, attending, and notetaking for internal and external meetings.
- Tracking programmatic budgets as they correspond to individual grants.
- Events:
- Managing planning, logistics, and execution of CivxNow webinars, National Civic Learning Week, bi-monthly All Member Coalition meetings, affinity group meetings, and other events.
Who you are
- An Effective Collaborator. You’ve successfully worked across cultural lines on a dispersed team, and you have the ability to operate in complex situations. You can easily gain trust from team members and are known for supporting them to ensure they are set up for success. You’re not afraid to ask questions.
- Flexible. You can manage a diverse set of team needs and aren’t afraid to step outside your job description or comfort zone to help the team reach its goals. You’re comfortable with shifting schedules and don’t expect every day to go “as planned.”
- A Humble Teammate. Nothing is beneath or above you. You are quick to always lend a hand or two! You are able to earn influence without authority and naturally seek to support both small projects or large strategic goals.
- An Abundant Thinker. You believe that we are living in a world of abundant resources and that the right team of partners can make improbable things happen. You bring relentless curiosity and creativity to every task, project, and engagement.
- Committed to inclusion. You’re always asking: “whose voice is not at the table?” You have experience working with diverse teams and successfully navigating cross-cultural communication in both local and global contexts, and you deeply value creating a workplace that is supportive of difference.
- Mission-oriented. You believe that lasting, meaningful change comes from the grassroots: from the organized efforts of people, communities, and organizations to enliven the social imagination, envision a better future, and experiment with and scale new ideas.
What you’ll need
- 1-3 years of overall professional experience (we are background agnostic and excited by candidates with unique work histories).
- A demonstrated interest in policy or political science and coalition-building; passion for and/or experience in K-12 education is a plus.
- Ability to handle multiple deadlines and complete assignments with minimal supervision in a fast-paced working environment.
- Impeccable organization; you are highly detail-oriented, and someone who gets a real sense of satisfaction from producing polished work and managing smooth and orderly processes.
- The confidence to assert influence in meeting deadlines, ensuring the team stays on track with critical deliverables and communication timelines.
Compensation and Location
iCivics provides a comprehensive benefits package, including generous health insurance for individuals and competitive rates for families/dependents, generous time off, family leave, and a collegial environment that supports professional development and wellness.
The hiring range for this position is an annual salary range of $55,000-60,000 per year. The final salary within this range will be determined based on relevant experience.
This is a full-time, remote position, and we are location agnostic regarding where in the US you are based.
The Application Process
iCivics has engaged Equitable Hiring Group to support this hiring process. To apply, please complete the short form to the right.
Individuals who apply by Thursday, September 7th, will be given priority; therefore, we encourage you to submit yours soon!
When you apply, we kindly ask you to remove your schools from your resume. There is no need to reformat your resume and leave your degree as is; simplify it to “B.A. Economics,” for example. Just remember to remove any undergraduate and graduate school name references where possible. This “bias-reduced” process is aimed at opening this opportunity to more candidates, reviewing applicants on performance assessments instead of resume proxies (e.g., where you went to school).
This evaluation process will follow practices shown to reduce bias in decision-making and may be different from other application processes you have experienced.
- Early September: Selected candidates asked to complete short answer questions
- Mid-September: Phone interview with iCivics staff
- Late September: Finalist candidates will be asked to complete a paid, timed, trial assignment
- Early October: Finalists will participate in a multi-team member panel
- Candidate references will also be checked at this step
- Mid-October: Offer extended
If you have any questions about the opportunity, please feel free to email abe@equitablehiringgroup.com.
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