Director of Place Based Strategies

Overview

About Community Change and Community Change Action:

Community Change builds the power and capacity of low-income people, especially low-income people of color, to lead powerful and dynamic movements for social change. With our community-based partner groups, we bridge the grassroots and the national, supporting outsider strategies to disrupt the status quo while also building pathways to influence the insider conversation.

Our vision of a better world centers the leadership of impacted people of color to move our work on immigrant rights, economic justice, and racial equity, including a focus on jobs and housing, early childhood care and education, income supports, and immigration reform.

This position also supports Community Change Action, an affiliated 501(c)(4) advocacy organization. While motivated by the same core values – equity, inclusion, and justice – Community Change and Community Change Action operate independently of one another and each organization has its own board of directors.

 

Position Description: Reporting to the Chief of Programs, the Director of Place-Based Strategies will craft and oversee power-building campaigns around key locations throughout the United States (locations to be determined). These strategies will leverage the assets and expertise of Community Change’s existing programmatic work, as well as new possibilities presented through federal and state funding streams and program partners.

The Director will have a significant role in managing relationships with partner organizations and funders, while also building and leading a team of 3 to 5 direct reports, in close coordination with the Chief of Programs and the Co-Presidents. This inaugural role will report directly to the Chief of Programs and will collaborate closely with peers on the Program Team.

Outstanding candidates for the Director of Place-Based Strategies role will bring deep experience and networks in movement work at the national, state, and local levels. Relationship-building, management, and leading through influence will be key success factors, both internally within Community Change and externally with programmatic partners.  Creativity, diplomacy, and start-up energy will all contribute to the Director’s work.

This is a remote position, with extensive expectations for travel. A portion of time will be spent working with Community Change’s sister organization, Community Change Action.

Principal Responsibilities:  

Campaign and Organizing Strategy

• Develop and implement a comprehensive place-based strategy that centralizes Community Change/Action assets with partner organizations to meet strategic goals for members.
• Determine key states, partners, and campaign areas for programming across Community Change verticals.
• Enact pilot programs, assess, and iterate based on learnings, then share outcomes and best practices across partners.
• Manage program budgets and resources to ensure sustainability.

Management

• Recruit, onboard, and develop a team of 3-5 permanent and contract-based hires to implement programming.
• Guide staff through a collaborative and supportive management approach that ensures accountability.
• Lead staff from partner organizations, leveraging techniques to influence and engage without direct authority.
• Communications and Relationship Building
• Leverage networks to quickly develop multi-constituent strategies.
• Identity and engage partners at peer national organizations and other allies from funding and movement circles, as appropriate.
• Guide parties through generative transition or conflict to productive outcomes.

Qualifications: 

• Expertise in executing and overseeing national campaigns related to Community Change’s mission with deep understanding of place-based, grassroots movement-building work.
• Experience incorporating c3 and c4 strategies, including previous work on political campaigns.
• Experience leading and managing in movement work with demonstrated outcomes created by a diverse and newly formed team.
• Ability to delegate complex tasks and functions. Comfort “managing up” to support and incorporate the expertise and insights of senior leadership.
• Facility with interpersonal and large-scale communications to engage and motivate constituencies.
• Comfort with negotiating and working with leaders with competing and varying priorities to reach compromise and shared outcomes.
• Ability to communicate successes, challenges, and data for reporting.

Supervisory Responsibility: Yes

Travel Requirements: This role relies on a deeply relational approach with colleagues and partner organizations. Approximately 40-50% of time in U.S.-based travel is expected.

Salary and Benefits: Salary range of  $160,000-$180,000 annually. Community Change also offers an excellent benefits package, which includes 4 weeks of annual paid vacation; additional paid holiday leave between December 24 and January 1; 8% employer contribution to retirement account after six months of employment (and 3% employer contribution for the first 6 months); and a choice of generous health insurance plans. Learn more about the Community Change values and benefits at: https://communitychange.org/values-and-benefits/.

Classification: Non Union

Location: This is a remote position, with the ability to be based anywhere in the U.S. Staff based outside of the D.C. area work from home offices or from designated shared office spaces.

Equal Opportunity: Our vision of a better world centers the leadership of impacted people of color to move our work on immigrant rights, economic justice, and racial equity, including a focus on jobs and housing, early childhood care and education, income supports, and immigration reform. We strongly encourage the interest and applications of people of color, women, and people in the disabled and LGBTQ+ communities. Community Change is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

COVID-19 Requirements: Community Change requires all new employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (within six weeks after the start of employment) unless a medical or religious exemption or other exemption allowed under applicable law is requested and approved. All offers of employment are contingent on compliance with this requirement.  An employee will be considered fully vaccinated once (i) two weeks have elapsed since after the employee has received the final dose of a primary COVID vaccine series (e.g., two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, two doses of the Moderna vaccine, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine) and (ii) the employee has received any booster vaccine dose currently recommended by the CDC for those in the employee’s age group. Should the CDC subsequently recommend additional boosters or should an employee otherwise become newly subject to a CDC booster recommendation, an employee shall continue to be considered fully vaccinated if the employee gets the additional booster within one month of the change.

To Apply: This search is being managed by Axis Talent Partners, a boutique search firm that partners with social impact organizations. Interested candidates should submit an application, including a resume detailing their qualifications for the position and their interest in Community Change’s mission to melissa@axistalentpartners.com.