Senior Federal Legislative Strategist, Act for Women Campaign Manager

Job Title: Senior Federal Legislative Strategist, Act for Women Campaign Manager

Department: Government & External Relations, Federal Policy & Advocacy

Center Background:  The Center for Reproductive Rights (the Center) is a global human rights organization working to ensure that reproductive rights are protected in law as fundamental human rights around the world. With offices in New York City, New York; Nairobi, Kenya; Bogota, Colombia; Geneva, Switzerland; and Washington, D.C., the Center is a non-profit, non-partisan organization changing law and policy throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the United States. Our 230+ diverse professionals are committed to advancing the Center’s human rights mission through game-changing litigation, legal policy, and advocacy work. This has powered the Center’s exceptional growth to an operating budget of over $50 million and won the respect of law firms in countries around the world, with an additional $29 million annually of donated legal services, representing the work of countless lawyers from more than 46 countries. 

The Center’s Strategic Plan sets a high mark for impact: By 2030, half of the world’s population will be living under stronger protections for reproductive rights than they are today. The Center has a track record of success to back up this ambitious goal. Since our founding in 1992, the Center has transformed how reproductive rights are understood and applied by courts, governments, and human rights bodies worldwide on issues including maternal health, abortion, assisted reproduction, and adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). We have won groundbreaking cases before national courts, U.N. Committees, and regional human rights bodies. Additionally, the Center has led the development of historic, proactive legislation advancing robust protections for reproductive rights and has built the legal capacity of women’s rights advocates in more than 65 countries and counting.

The Role: Reporting to the Senior Federal Legislative Counsel, the Senior Federal Legislative Strategist and Act for Women Campaign Manager will help manage and grow a national campaign that unites organizations and individuals in support of the Women’s Health Protection Act—federal legislation designed to enforce and protect the right of every person to decide for themselves whether to continue or end a pregnancy, regardless of where they live. The Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) was first introduced in 2013 and has been reintroduced in each subsequent Congress in both the House and Senate, with broad support. Along with the EACH Woman Act, WHPA is the signature abortion access bill in Congress. The Act for Women Campaign built in support of this bill now has over 100 member organizations and individuals.

The Center is now seeking a Senior Federal Legislative Strategist, Act for Women Campaign Manager who can take this Campaign and this bill to the next level, designing and implementing a targeted strategy to build majority support in both chambers so that the bill can pass a floor vote and be signed into law. The Strategist/Manager will execute a robust campaign strategy, building membership in the campaign across progressive movements, and coordinating the efforts of campaign members to influence federal policymakers.

This position will be based in Washington, D.C. in a hybrid model of 3 days in-office, 2 days working-from-home. Covid-19 Vaccination is required for all U.S.-based employees of the Center.

Primary Responsibilities:

With the Senior Federal Legislative Counsel, conceptualize and implement the next phase of the federal strategy to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, including designing a targeted strategy to build Congressional support and a plan to scale up the scope and impact of coalition collaboration and the Act for Women campaign;

• Lead federal advocacy efforts on the Women’s Health Protection Act, including tracking and analyzing targets, lobbying members, acting as a resource for sponsors, and building support, particularly with committee, caucus, and leadership offices, for a hearing and vote;
• Communicate regularly with coalition partners and campaign members in creating, identifying, and collaborating on activities and projects in support of the Women’s Health Protection Act;
• Conduct outreach and recruit organizational members to the campaign, including unlikely allies, and engage opportunities for coalition building with other progressive groups and movements outside of the reproductive rights space;
• Plan, manage, and execute events to apply pressure to federal legislators and elevate the profile of the legislation, including bill reintroduction, targeted lobbying visits, larger biannual advocacy days, in-district efforts, Hill briefings, and VIP moments;
• Lead the Center’s work on the EACH Woman Act (a companion bill to WHPA, focusing on affordability of care), including working with partners to lobby on EACH, and identifying and developing opportunities to support repeal of the Hyde amendment;
• Manage the day-to-day work of the Act for Women campaign, including designing annual work plans, coordinating monthly campaign calls, soliciting feedback from campaign members, and being accountable for achieving key accomplishments;
• Work closely with the Center’s Communications team to develop and implement advocacy opportunities, including creating and leveraging moments on digital and social media, and developing materials and publications to support and promote the Women’s Health Protection Act, including op-eds, fact sheets, and issue briefs;
• Collaborate with the Center’s State Policy and Advocacy team as appropriate, particularly in the context of state-level versions of WHPA.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required;
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience such as federal policy or advocacy work, electoral campaign work, coalition building, or nonprofit programmatic experience;
• Experience working on an advocacy campaign preferred;
• Experience working on the Hill or advocating before Congress strongly preferred;
• Expertise in convening allies, building partnerships, and engaging in high-level advocacy, training, research, and program development;
• Highly innovative, entrepreneurial, and collaborative;
• Strong communication skills, including an ability to convey complicated matters to broad audiences, and comfort with public speaking and presenting;
• Experience with and ability to think creatively about advocacy strategies, including a demonstrated track record of results;
• Excellent inter-personal skills and ability to build relationships with advocates from a variety of fields;
• Experience with reproductive rights or with other issues relating to gender equality, human rights, health care law and policy, civil rights, or racial and social justice issues strongly preferred;
• Excellent project management skills, including an ability to work well with competing priorities, meet deadlines, and manage workflow processes involving multiple people;
• Demonstrated experience and judgment working both collaboratively and independently;
• Proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint required; experience with webinar management, Salesforce, Convio, FiscalNote or other CRMs preferred;
• Ability to travel occasionally;
• Must be able to work proactively and independently, following through on assignments and possessing a “can-do” and “will-do” attitude;
• Must be able to give and receive feedback professionally, and to provide openness and honesty in communications;
• Must be able to understand and appreciate different perspectives, and be able to quickly and easily adapt strategies and approaches as the requirements of a situation change;
• Must possess impeccable integrity and personal and professional values that are consistent with the Center’s high standards and mission; and
• Must be able to work in a multicultural, diverse, and highly performance-driven environment.

Don’t meet every single requirement? At the Center, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about this role but your past experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway.  You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Behavioral Competencies:

• Develop & Manage Self & Others: Takes ownership of individual growth in order to achieve full potential; recognizes the value of team members and helps them develop their full potential while also achieving set objectives. 
• Collaboration (People First): Works intra- and/or cross-departmentally to support the goals and overarching strategies of the Center and its strategic plan.
• Feedback (Improve & Innovate): Actively engaged in feedback cycles: Gives and requests feedback to and from peers, supervisors and direct reports about work products, behaviors, values, style, and approaches with a view on how this impacts self, other individuals, and teams.
• Accountability: Follow-through on each commitment made to individual contributors, teams and partners and proactively informs others of any delays that occur along the way.

Work Competencies:

• Project Management: Works effectively on project teams in order to achieve long-term project goal and objectives.
• Problem Solve & Make Decisions: Identifies, analyzes and resolves existing and anticipated problems, using common sense to make timely decisions in order to reach the best solutions for the organization.
• Internal/External Focus: Anticipates internal and external partner’s needs; assesses requirements and identifies new solutions that align with overall goals and objectives of the organization.
• Communication & Influence: Communicates with and influences others to gain agreement and commitment to the strategic goals of the organization.

Compensation: This position's annual salary is $115,000. This salary is reflective of a position based in Washington, DC. This salary will be subject to a locality adjustment, if an authorization is granted to work outside of the location listed in this posting. Note that most of the salaries listed on our job postings reflect New York, NY salaries, where our National offices are headquartered.

Benefits:

• Health: The Center pays up to 95%* of the premium for a comprehensive health insurance plan with no in-network deductible and best-in-class reproductive healthcare coverage, including infertility. The Center also offers Dental and Vision coverage. (* % may differ in various countries)
• Flexibility: The Center currently operates in a hybrid model, allowing staff to work 3 days in the office and work 2 days from home
• Well-being: The Center offers resources to help prevent and recover from burnout through different programs that enable mental, physical and community well-being.  The Center offers generous leave including paid parental leave, personal days, vacation, and sick leave. We are also closed the last week of December to allow staff to spend time with their loved ones.
• Growth: You will be working with and learning from some of the top legal and operational minds, all passionate about the mission of advancing reproductive rights around the world. You will also be eligible for a stipend to use towards professional growth.
• Global: You will get a front-row seat to update on the fight for reproductive rights in the global space. You will also have access to Employee Resource Groups to connect to colleagues that share similar interests/backgrounds/views.
• Investment: After the first year of employment, the Center will contribute 7.5%* of your annual salary to a 401(k) (* only applicable in US and Kenya) 

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Center is committed to inclusive hiring and dedicated to diversity in our work and staff. We strongly encourage people from all communities to apply. If you are excited about this role and unsure about whether your past experience aligns with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be the right candidate for this or other roles.

Our hiring processes and our work culture offer support and flexibility for staff with a variety of needs. Should you face an accessibility barrier in the application and interview process please let us know by contacting [email protected]. We will work with you to provide the accommodation that works best for you. 

To learn more about the Center’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), please visit Diversity, Equity and Inclusion | Center for Reproductive Rights

Learn more about the Center for Reproductive Rights, go to  www.reproductiverights.org

FLSA Exempt Status: This is an exempt position.

Union Status: This position will be part of the CRR Union, a shop within Local 2110 United Auto Workers—Technical, Office, and Professional Workers Union.

How to Apply: Please complete the application below to apply. A cover letter and resume must be included in your application. Please include these application materials as attachments.

Please note that all genuine Center openings must be applied through the Center website. The Center does not charge a fee at any stage in the recruitment process (application, interviews, or selection). Nor does it request any medical examinations or bank account information as part of this process. If someone contacts, you on behalf of the Center requesting payment for your application please notify [email protected] before taking any further action.

Our hiring processes and our work culture offer support and flexibility for staff with a variety of needs. Should you face an accessibility barrier in the application and interview process please let us know by contacting [email protected]. We will work with you to provide the accommodation that works best for you. 

Deadline for applications: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible. 

Center policy on visa sponsorship for US based positions: Applicants for employment in the US must have valid work authorization that does not now and/or will not in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the US by The Center for Reproductive Rights.

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