Deputy Program Director

Overview

About the position:

Local Progress and the Local Progress Impact Lab are looking for a Deputy Program Director with a track record of organizing, coalition building, training and facilitation, strategic planning, and staff supervision.

Working as part of a national program team, the Deputy Program Director will be responsible for envisioning and overseeing our issue-focused member programming and education, including virtual events, the annual National Convening, issue-specific gatherings, and more. The Deputy Program Director will ensure LP + LPIL offer a wide array of programs for members at various skill and experience levels across the full range of issues relevant to local elected officials, including economic justice, public safety, housing justice, immigrant rights, and more. LP + LPIL programs support local elected officials in advancing groundbreaking policy work, working together across jurisdictions to drive translocal change, and building durable relationships with organizing partners.

The ideal candidate for this job is someone with a track record of relational organizing, developing leaders, and bringing people with different backgrounds and opinions together for a shared agenda. You’re a strategic thinker who also pays attention to the details. You have experience in designing training programs and facilitating effective meetings that make good use of limited time and organize people to action. You hold a keen interest in transformational policy and campaign work at the municipal level.

The Deputy Program Director will report to the Program Director.

Primary Responsibilities

• Programming and member education
  • Support the Program Director in envisioning, planning, and implementing LP + LPIL’s program offerings both in-person and virtual.
    • LP + LPIL programs include webinars, interactive meetings, virtual working groups, in-person gatherings, site visits, and large-scale conferences involving anywhere from a few to several hundred elected officials, government staffers, and allies. Find examples here, here, and here.
  • Oversee and project manage a full calendar of programming to ensure it maintains excellent content and facilitation standards, reflects a diversity of issues, and remains relevant for a wide range of skill and experience levels.
  • Play a leadership role in developing and implementing the annual National Convening program.
  • Support staff in honing their skills and best practices for program development and meeting facilitation to improve the quality of our programming, including advising and assisting with in-person events.
  • Coordinate with the Policy & Legal Director to ensure programming and policy work are reinforcing each other and complementary.
  • Anchor and develop the programmatic and policy work of at least one core issue area.
• Alliance building and movement collaboration
  • Build and maintain relationships with national, state, and local partner organizations.
  • Support staff in navigating the intricacies of building partnerships consistent with our theory of collaborative governance.
• Organizing and member leadership development
  • • Design and implement program strategies in coordination with member organizing strategies to bring new members into the network, deepen their engagement, and advance on a pathway of leadership within the network.
    • Ensure that all programming follows core standards for outreach and turnout.
    • Support the Program Director and other staff in instituting standards for member-led steering committee development.
• Policy Documentation and Support
  • Develop expertise in policy areas in assigned areas of work by creating various types of policy resources (policy briefs, memos, reports, case studies, etc) in collaboration with staff and partners.
  • Serve as the primary contact on at least one core issue area and respond to member policy requests as needed.
• Support Local Progress and Local Progress Impact Lab’s work
  • Collaborate across Local Progress teams to support organizational activities and infrastructure including caucus work, state chapter activities, Progressive Governance Academy, reports, convenings, web products, etc.
  • Help develop a culture of excellent supervision and staff development within LP + LPIL.
  • Support the Program Director in maintaining funder relationships and identifying new opportunities for expanding support.

Required Qualifications

• 7-10+ years of organizing, strategic campaigning, and/or advocacy experience.
• 2+ years of demonstrated success in supervising staff working across a breadth of issues and functions.
• Experience in relational organizing and an ability to relate to and move to action a diverse group of people from a variety of local contexts and backgrounds, including in a virtual setting.
• A background and skill set in meeting facilitation, interactive training design, and adult learning.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, create and execute organizing work plans, anticipate obstacles and identify ways to navigate challenges, identify and involve stakeholders appropriately, and drive projects independently.
• A commitment to inside/outside strategy and movement governance that features deep partnership between “outside” organizing and “inside” elected officials.
• A demonstrated commitment to social, racial, and economic justice and a deep interest in local policy, politics, and government.
• Ambition, drive, energy, and the ability to work flexible, long hours when necessary and travel (approximately once per month as well as 2 staff retreats per year).

The Ideal Candidate will have:

• Experience in leading and managing multi-stakeholder coalitions.
• Previous experience working with elected officials.

Salary and Benefits:

Salary will be determined according to a salary scale which takes into account years of experience, job duties, and other factors, but is expected to be between $117,000 and $127,250.

We have a generous benefits package, including health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, 25 vacation days per year, 20 sick days per year, paid holidays, and contributions to individuals’ 403(b) plans. The Local Progress office is closed between December 24 and January 1 annually.

Timeline:

We encourage applicants to apply as early as possible. Applicants will be screened on a rolling basis. If you have any time constraints, please indicate as much in your application.

How to apply: 

Please submit your cover letter and resume through the JazzHR portal.

Local Progress Values

• Respect: We value people and treat each other with dignity. We strive to understand each other as full human beings, and give each other grace and room to grow.
• Honesty: We communicate directly with each other, are honest about our strengths and our shortcomings, and are transparent about who has what level of information and authority and why.
• Groundedness: We are authentic, and have high humility and low ego. We ground our work in the day-to-day reality and needs of our members.
• Mutual accountability: We do what we say we’re going to do, follow through on our commitments to each other and to our members, and we hold each other to a high bar. We self-reflect and develop each other’s skills as leaders.
• Nuance: We understand that our work is complex and hold space for multiple viewpoints, contradictions, and tensions. We can hold many things as true while making decisions that advance our mission.
• Impact: We empower our team to make decisions to drive their work. We are focused on results, persistent in overcoming obstacles, and adapt to changing external conditions. We take pride in our work.
• Collaboration: We come together across different levels of power to advance shared interests. We center what’s best for the organization and are team players.
• Joy: We value playfulness, humor, and joy as ways to create community, connection, and goodwill that sustains us through the challenges inherent in our work.

Local Progress is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and actively recruits people of color, womxn, individuals with disabilities, and members of the LGBTIQAA+ community.