New

Director, National Organizing

New York, New York, United States; Washington, District of Columbia, United States

ABOUT THE JOB

The ACLU seeks applicants for the full-time position of Director, National Organizing in the National Political Advocacy Department. This position will be remote.

The National Political Advocacy Department builds power to achieve an accountable, representative democracy. We have ambitious goals across Reproductive Freedom, Voting Rights, Systemic Equality, Immigration, Trans Justice, and Criminal Justice in order to protect and expand civil rights and civil liberties, and advance the freedom, equality, ability to prosper, and humanity of all People.

Our department conducts analysis, develops policy, crafts world class campaigns, and situates the ACLU to have impact across legislative and executive levers. We are policy experts, lawyers, community organizers, lobbyists, campaign strategists, program managers and more. We partner across the ACLU to drive national efforts, and support and amplify the priorities of our affiliates. We work to center principles of equity, inclusion, and belonging in our approach.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Reporting to the Chief Political & Advocacy Director the National Organizing Director will be responsible for leading the National Organizing team responsible for developing programs to engage and empower supporters, volunteers, and community members. The team develops high-impact grassroots and mobilization campaigns in service of ACLU’s goals by identifying and activating volunteers online and in-person to support national and state campaigns, and electoral efforts.

YOUR DAY TO DAY

  • Work with the Chief Political & Advocacy Director to plan and execute high-impact grassroots organizing and mobilization programs, in collaboration with the national office and affiliate colleagues, resulting in political and policy successes, and long-term capacity building
  • Lead the Organizing team, charged with developing and implementing grassroots organizing and mobilization goals, strategies, and budgets to reach political/policy outcomes
  • Work to ensure that supporters, volunteers, community members and staff are empowered and supported in participating in the work of the ACLU
  • Ensure goals for the organizing program are aligned with broader organizational goals
  • Operate as a central decision maker on designated areas like with regards to overall organizing
    strategy and priorities, shaping budgeting decisions, and managing external stakeholders
  • Identify areas of work that should be prioritized by the team, as well as in response to
    unexpected, significant developments
  • Work closely with Electoral, National and State Campaigns, and Policy & Government Affairs to
    develop large-scale grassroots campaign efforts and help to advise the National Political Advocacy Department more broadly on all of its work
  • Develop and maintain relationships with affiliate leadership to further political advocacy goals
  • Work closely with internal stakeholders like Comms, Analytics, Corporate Counsel, ASNI and Finance in order to deploy campaign tactics and tools
  • Develop and maintain strong relationships with key external partner organizations to further organizing goals, identifying strategic partnerships that expand the ACLU’s influence
  • Coordinate the day-to-day activities of the organizing staff, including retaining and managing vendors and consultants as needed
  • Manage a large budget, making strategic investments in hosting events and trainings, technology, grants to affiliates, and other resources as needed to further organize goals
  • Distribute regular quantitative and qualitative data reports for senior leadership and stakeholders with key metrics and analyses
  • Maintain awareness of emerging opportunities and challenges in the issue areas within the team’s purview
  • Maintain awareness of the work to facilitate representation of the Department internally and
    externally
  • Attract, hire, develop and retain staff, and give clear and actionable feedback
  • Help develop staff capacity to work together collaboratively, and grow expertise and skills
  • Demonstrate an ability to be flexible and adjust priorities as necessary in order to adapt to changing external environment
  • Exercise significant independent judgment to solve problems and determine creative solutions
     
    In Addition:

    Engage in special projects and other duties as assigned
    Center principles of equity, inclusion, and belonging in all work, embedding the values in program development, policy application, and organizational practices and processes
    Commitment to the mission of the ACLU
    Demonstrate a commitment to diversity within the office using a personal approach that values all individuals and respects differences in regard to race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, disability and socio-economic circumstance
    Demonstrate a commitment to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and/or conflicts
    Willingness to travel

FUTURE ACLU'ERS WILL 

  • Be committed to advancing the mission of the ACLU
  • Center and embed the principles of equity, inclusion and belonging in their work by demonstrating commitment to diversity with an approach that respects and values multiple perspectives
  • Be committed to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and conflicts

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

The ACLU seeks a highly skilled and experienced individual who brings deep union or issue campaign organizing experience and passion for civil rights and civil liberties issues. They will have a track record of designing campaign strategy and tactics and executing sophisticated campaign plans on a national scale.

This leader will be experienced in leading organizing campaigns. They will be familiar with building, leading, and working within coalitions. The successful candidate will naturally connect and build strong relationships with others, demonstrating strong emotional intelligence and an ability to communicate clearly and persuasively. They will bring excellent communication and analytical skills. The successful candidate will be comfortable representing the organization and bring public speaking experience.

This leader will be effective working in a fast-paced environment, can handle multiple tasks simultaneously, is able to work efficiently and quickly, is reliable in their delivery against deadlines, and is composed under pressure.

In terms of the performance and personal competencies required for the position, we would highlight the following:

Setting Strategy & Executing for Results

  • Proven track record in union or issue campaign organizing experience.
  • Decisive in strategic planning but is aware of a changing environment and maintains a needed level of flexibility.
  • The vision and skills to create and articulate an inspiring vision for the work.
  • The ability to set clear and challenging goals while committing the organization to improved performance; tenacious and accountable in driving results.
  • Comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty; capacity to adapt nimbly and lead others through complex situations.
  • A leader who is viewed by others as having a high degree of integrity and forethought in their approach to making decisions; acts in a transparent and consistent manner while always taking into account what is best for the organization.
  • Develop and manage budgets to execute multi-tooled campaign plans.
  • Experience developing, executing and evaluating data-driven organizing programs and experiments/tests.
  • An understanding of organizing theory, including distributed, digital, and relational.
  • Experience using a variety of political advocacy tools, for instance NGPVAN, EveryAction, GetThru.

Leading Teams

In terms of the performance and personal competencies required for the position, we would highlight the following:

  • Demonstrated experience leading people and teams
  • The ability to motivate the team, attract and recruit, and retain top talent, delegate effectively, celebrate diversity within the team, and manage performance; widely viewed as a strong developer of others.
  • Able to persevere in the face of challenges, and exhibit a steadfast resolve and relentless commitment to higher standards.
  • Self-reflective and aware of their own limitations; leads by example and drives the organization's performance with an attitude of continuous improvement by being open to feedback and self-improvement.
  • The willingness to make mistakes in pursuit of ambitious, game-changing goals, while possessing the ability to accept responsibility and learn from those mistakes with a sense of humor and humility.

Relationships and Influence
  • Outstanding relationship builder who uses influence effectively in a variety of settings, both within the organization and with external constituencies.
  • Ability to work in a matrixed and federated environment; strong conflict management skills; ability to bring consensus around a common purpose and deliver collaborative solutions.
  • Demonstrated commitment to working respectfully toward resolving obstacles and/or conflicts.
  • Skilled at influence and persuasion; able to convince others to act on information or recommendations based on compelling logic or common best interests.
  • Deep commitment to actively promoting the values and practices of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and further fostering an environment of belonging and trust.
  • Demonstrated understanding of both the barriers and opportunities for organizing with immigrant communities, communities of color, and low- and moderate- income people.
  • Excellent emotional intelligence and ability to work closely and collaboratively with a wide range of people.

COMPENSATION

FOR NON-LITIGATOR POSITIONS:

The ACLU is committed to equity, transparency, and clarity in pay. Consistent with our compensation philosophy, there is a set salary for each role based on geographic work location. The annual salary for this position is $220,285 (Level - C2 - Non-Union), reflecting the salary of a position based in New York, NY, where our national offices are headquartered. Salaries are subject to a regional pay adjustment if authorization is granted to work outside of the location listed in this posting.  

The ACLU is committed to equity, transparency, and clarity in pay. These salaries are reflective of positions based in New York, NY where are National Offices are headquartered.  Salaries are subject to a regional pay adjustment if authorization is granted to work outside of the location listed in this posting.  

For details on our pay structure, please visit: https://www.aclu.org/careers/ACLU_Geographic_Pay_Structure-July_2024.pdf

WHY THE ACLU

For over 100 years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Whether it’s ending mass incarceration, achieving full equality for the LGBTQ+ community, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people.

We know that great people make a great organization. We value our people and know that what we offer is essential not just their work, but to their overall well-being. 

At the ACLU, we offer a broad range of benefits, which include:

  • Time away to focus on the things that matter with a generous paid time-off policy
  • Focus on your well-being with comprehensive healthcare benefits (including medical, dental and vision coverage, parental leave, gender affirming care & fertility treatment)
  • Plan for your retirement with 401k plan and employer match
  • We support employee growth and development through annual professional development funds, internal professional development programs and workshops

OUR COMMITMENT TO ACCESSIBILITY, EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

Accessibility, equity, diversity and inclusion are core values of the ACLU and central to our work to advance liberty, equality, and justice for all. For us diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are not just check-the-box activities, but a chance for us to make long-term meaningful change.  We are a community committed to learning and growth, humility and grace, transparency and accountability. We believe in a collective responsibility to create a culture of belonging for all people within our organization – one that respects and embraces difference; treats everyone equitably; and empowers our colleagues to do the best work possible. We are as committed to anti-oppression, anti-ableism, and anti-racism internally as we are externally. Because whether we’re in the courts or in the office, we believe ‘We the People’ means all of us.

With this commitment in mind, we strongly encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status and record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.    

The ACLU is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online, please email benefits.hrdept@aclu.org. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.

 

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