Working Washington and Fair Work Center seek a full-time Political Director to lead our political and public affairs work. This position will report to the Executive Director, and will serve as a member of our leadership team. This individual will develop and execute strategies to advance the policy and political goals of the organization, including helping to develop a strategy to build independent political power for workers. We are looking for a strategic, ambitious, and organized professional who is excited to create change for working people across the state.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
Working Washington and Fair Work Center joined forces in 2018 — bringing together two organizations with strong track records and histories full of victories for workers. Together, we fight for new rights for working people and make those rights real through community-based education and legal services, all while building a powerful movement of working people. We are the national leader in organizing delivery workers in the gig economy, leading to three multi-billion dollar corporations- Instacart, DoorDash, and Amazon- changing their tipping policies. We’ve served thousands of workers in our legal clinic, and put over a million dollars back in workers pockets. We led the effort to expand overtime protections for Washington’s salaried workers, and in 2019 passed safety and health protections for strippers. We’ve trained hundreds of farmworkers in Eastern Washington about their rights at work, and we continue to organize domestic workers to enforce Seattle’s groundbreaking Bill of Rights. We’re looking for a dedicated Political Director to help us build power for workers in Washington.
ABOUT THIS ROLE
The ideal candidate will have a demonstrated track record of fighting for bold progressive political and policy change, and have a strong political network and relationships among progressive leaders and organizations. They will have experience in both advancing legislative priorities and building grassroots political power. They will be committed to setting an ambitious agenda and getting results in a fast-paced environment, and will know how to build lasting relationships with key allies, coalitions, organizations, government officials, candidates, and elected officials. Finally, they will be committed to economic and racial justice for workers and marginalized communities.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Political Direction (40%)
Lead the creation and development of the organization’s political strategy, and the execution of political strategies that are integrated into our campaigns and align with other program efforts, including determining the appropriate balance between electoral work and grassroots political work;
Provide strategic advice to team on evolving political dynamics and strategies to advance our mission;
Collaborating with worker-led campaigns to develop political strategies to win worker demands, and new policies, standards, and rights for workers;
Work with campaign, communications, and field teams to advance our campaigns and build grassroots worker power;
Lead the political component of a base-building strategy, in partnership with the campaigns, education, and field teams, to build grassroots power for workers;
Represent the organization to a wide variety of political stakeholders, and develop and maintain strong collaborative relationships with key allies, coalitions, organizations, government officials, candidates, and elected officials;
Conduct political and electoral research, and track political developments in Washington State;
Manage our endorsement process, if any;
Legislative Affairs (40%)
Assist with the development of our legislative goals and lead strategy to pass legislation in support of our campaigns and programs;
Develop policy in partnership with leadership team and relevant campaigns;
Track relevant local and state legislative developments;
Participate in stakeholder processes and negotiations to advance legislative priorities;
Attend committee hearings and testify on behalf of the organization;
Develop and support worker and member participation in the legislative process;
Represent the organization to a wide variety of stakeholders, and develop and maintain strong collaborative relationships with lawmakers and agency decision makers, key allies, coalitions, and other organizations;
Other Duties (20%)
Fundraising for political and electoral work;
Assist in broad organizational strategy and race equity work;
Data tracking
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
3-5+ years of relevant experience, including serving as a political director, legislative director, organizer, campaign manager or equivalent experience;
High-level understanding of social change and progressive movements backed by direct experience with community-organizing, coalition building, advocacy, campaign and/or electoral experience;
Expert interpersonal skills and able to easily develop deep, trusting relationships with a diverse set of partners, including elected officials, government staff, labor unions, community-based organizations, community leaders, and workers;
Ability to mobilize allies in issue-based and electoral coalitions;
Experience thriving in a fast-paced and politically sensitive environments;
Demonstrated commitment to racial and economic justice, and to building worker and community power;
Demonstrated experience working with politically underrepresented communities, including, but not limited to, communities of color, low-wage workers, immigrant and refugee workers, LGBTQ+ communities, youth, and women;
Excellent written, verbal, and listening communication skills;
Self-motivated, hardworking individual with ability to work independently and as part of a collaborative leadership team;
Detail oriented;
Strong project management skills and ability to juggle multiple deadlines and priorities;
Experience with 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and PAC compliance;
Working knowledge of the state’s political landscape, including basic mechanics of state and local governance and legislative processes
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Knowledge of national political and organizing landscape;
Knowledge of local and state budget process;
Experience fundraising for both 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 organizations.
Salary range: $75,000 - 90,000, commensurate with experience. Generous benefits include health insurance, retirement with employer match, and commuter benefit.
How to Apply
Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and writing sample to jobs@workingwa.org with the applicant’s last name and “Political Director” in the subject line. Submissions will be accepted through July 17, 2020 and reviewed on a rolling basis. If you need disability, language, or other accommodation in the application, please contact Zhi Chen at zhi@fairworkcenter.org.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strongly encourage people from communities most negatively affected by the income inequality crisis to apply, particularly: people of color, immigrants, women and feminine-identified people, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people, and people with disabilities. We seek candidates whose lived experiences reflect the lived experiences of the workers we support. Experience in retail, food service, health care, domestic work, gig work, and construction, some of the common industries where our clients work, is welcomed.