About Advocacy Institute

The Advocacy Institute supports social justice organizations to build the advocacy skills, knowledge, and power they need to shape government policy for a more just and equitable New York.

We work with communities of color, immigrants, low-income people, LGBTQ+ people, and other underrepresented groups throughout New York City & State to provide them with the tools to fight for policy change more effectively. We offer dynamic trainings on the legislative process and interactive tools that map out power relationships in state and local government. We also engage organizations through a membership model where we provide 1-on-1 strategic consulting to help our members refine and reach their campaign goals. Finally, we offer an in-depth leadership development program aimed at building and deepening the skills of emerging advocacy leaders of color.

Through our programming, we strengthen New York’s social justice ecosystem by supporting advocates to gain the skills, knowledge, and connections needed to build effective statewide coalitions that can win transformative legislative reforms. And we build a collaborative community to learn from and support each other’s work.

About the Opportunity

In keeping with Advocacy Institute’s commitment to shared power and liberatory culture, we are seeking our first Co-Director to join our team, and partner with our current Co-Director to continue to build upon and lead our organization. Working closely with our team and reporting to our board of directors, the incoming Co-Director will serve as a strategic thought partner and advisor to our organizational members, while maintaining a strong and accessible public face for the organization. This person will also co-envision and co-drive overall organizational strategy, including actively guiding and participating in revenue generation, planning, and fundraising. Our ideal candidate is an innovative, creative, and dynamic person that brings experience in legislative/budget campaigns and is an organizational leader with a people-centered, liberatory leadership style. 

Areas of Leadership

Programmatic Leadership: Act as a thought partner on curriculum content and ongoing development. Bring political experience and expertise to support innovation and creativity in programming and membership strategy. Serve as backup co-facilitator for trainings if desired.

• Key Qualifications:
  • Demonstrated commitment to community organizing and building power in low-income communities of color to act collectively and lead campaigns to win concrete improvements in their lives
  • Significant experience leading legislative and budget campaigns at the New York state level and building coalitions, and the ability to translate that expertise into actionable, strategic advice for our member organizations
  • Expertise and understanding of the intricacies and levers of power, implicit and explicit, of the NY legislative processes and political environment
  • Local campaign experience in one of our priority areas (NYC, Hudson Valley, Long Island, Western NY) or at the federal level a plus; recent experience a strong plus

Organizational & Team Leadership: Together with the co-director, lead, inspire, and coach a strong, cohesive team by supporting inter-team collaboration, and building upon a shared sense of community. In partnership with the co-director, team, and board, envision and develop organizational goals and strategies. Build and maintain relationships both internally with staff and externally with board and partners, including funders, member organizations, and partners. Possibility to supervise individual staff.

• Key Qualifications:
  • Experience as an organizational leader in a nonprofit organization, including strategy development, working collaboratively to experiment, learn, and enact change at the organizational level, and building buy-in to rally teams around a shared vision
  • Previous experience in managing people and teams, with a focus on building and maintaining relationships, and a people-centered orientation toward coaching and mentoring teams and individuals
  • Experience building and leading trusting, collaborative teams, promoting cultures of autonomy and independence
  • Demonstrated alignment with AI’s mission and values, particularly liberatory culture, power sharing, comfort with discomfort, and challenging dominant culture norms
  • Emotional intelligence, including the ability to self-regulate, give and receive feedback well, the desire to learn and grow, and understand impact on others

Fundraising & Financial Management: Lead revenue plan development and participate in budget review and management. In partnership with the co-director and board, lead fundraising strategy, prospecting, and solicitation from foundations and individual donors. Support growth of Development Manager. Work with co-director to manage current organizational budget to ensure financial stability and sustainability of the organization through strategic and diverse fundraising and development approaches. 

• Key Qualifications: 
  • Proven ability to develop and implement an effective fundraising plan to raise and grow revenue through foundations, major gifts, events, and fee for service revenue for an organization with a budget of $500,000 or more
  • Proven track record of bringing in new supporters
  • Experience interpreting and managing budgets, and partnering on budget development
  • Significant experience with major gifts revenue a strong plus

External Relations & Relationship Building: Act as the primary lead on external relations priorities, including internal and external messaging, talking points, and communications, and representing the organization to diverse audiences. In partnership with the Co-Director, build new and strengthen existing alliances with foundations, government representatives, and community-based partners. Support opportunities for other staff and board members to serve external relations priorities. Expand Advocacy Institute’s impact by presenting and promoting its mission, programs, and partners, ensuring high visibility to prospects and the public. Serve as the organization’s lead spokesperson.

• Key Qualifications:
  • Experience acting as the external face for an organization or mission, with proven ability to build relationships with diverse audiences
  • Strong track record of building and maintaining external partnerships
  • Existing relationships with New York elected officials and their staff

The Benefits

The salary for this role will be $140,000 annually, non-negotiable.

This position is a full-time, exempt role that is eligible for benefits. Eligible employees receive a wide range of benefits, including: medical, dental, vision, 403b retirement account, 12 days vacation in the first year, and a two-week winter holiday.

Work Environment

Advocacy Institute uses a hybrid model of in-person and remote work. Remote work is conducted at the employee’s home office. A laptop computer and incidental supplies needed to accomplish remote work are provided by the organization.

Currently, all staff are expected to work in-person at our office space in Manhattan once a month. Employees can expect elevator access, gender neutral bathrooms, and a bull-pen style desk arrangement with moderate noise and disruptions. Small meeting rooms are available. Bathrooms are not wheelchair-accessible. (We are open to finding options if access is needed.)

Employees in the New York City area are expected to be able to commute to in-person work in the five boroughs of New York City as needed for their role. Advocacy Institute covers travel for employees outside of the NYC area to our office and to in-person trainings located outside NYC.

We are open to considering candidates based in our priority regions outside New York City, including the Hudson Valley, Western New York, or Long Island.

This position requires 30+ hours per week using a computer and 3-4 hours per day on video conferencing, as well as travel 1-4 days per week to in-person meetings.

How to Apply 

NOTE: Candidates should submit their application materials by mid-April, as the search committee will begin meeting candidates at that time. If applying after mid-April, candidates will still be considered, though will be less likely to advance to meet the search committee.

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Advocacy Institute aims to embody the values of justice, equity and dignity for all people. We practice these values by supporting a culture of teamwork, feedback, and open communication among staff.

Equal Employment Opportunity: Advocacy Institute is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage applications from women, people of color, and bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. Applicants shall not be discriminated against because of race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, marital status, weight, height, or medical condition including acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related conditions. We encourage and will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Applicants with Disabilities: Reasonable accommodation will be made so that qualified disabled applicants may participate in the application process. If you seek an accommodation, please advise in writing at the time you apply.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they have every one of the qualifications as described in the job description. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and our hiring processes are centered on assessing candidates based on diverse lived experiences. We would encourage you to apply, even if you don't believe you meet every one of our qualifications described. If you are unsure of whether you meet the qualifications of this position, or how this would be determined, contact us to discuss your application.