State Policy Lead

Who We Are - iCivics
iCivics is a fast growing civic education nonprofit located in Cambridge, MA. Founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics re-imagines civic education for American democracy. We champion equitable and non-partisan civic education, while providing engaging resources that empower educators in the critical task of preparing young people for lifelong civic engagement. 

In partnership with iCivics, up to 9 million students learn about our government, the rule of law, and civic issues. We make civic education relevant to new generations of Americans through online games and innovative classroom resources available at no cost. Our reach is substantial: 145,000 teachers across all 50 states are registered with iCivics—and we are growing by leaps and bounds based on a 30% increase in just one year in new teacher accounts and active users. Student engagement is at the heart of the iCivics story: our games have been played by students a staggering 148 million times.

About CivXNow
In our effort to champion civic education, iCivics leads a project called CivXNow, comprised of national coalition building, research, awareness-raising, and policy and advocacy work. To date, over 312 organizations have joined the CivXNow Coalition, 28 of which are state-level affiliated civic learning coalitions. The Coalition pledges to help every school in the nation fulfill its historic and vital civic mission, and to ensure that every young person acquires the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for informed and authentic civic participation.

The CivXNow Coalition is leading a cross-partisan, nationwide movement to improve policies and promote research-based, results-driven practices in civic education through thought leadership, coalescing to field, research, advocacy, and policy resources.  

CivXNow is based on the active participation of a national Coalition of leading civic learning providers, philanthropic organizations, academic and research institutions, and other supporters representing perspectives from across the political spectrum. To demonstrate cross-sector, cross-partisan support for civic learning, the member organizations of the Coalition have committed to improving civic education through their individual and collective missions.   

About the role – Regional State Policy Lead
Under the supervision of the Director of State Policy, the Regional State Policy Lead builds and implements a strategy for the organization’s engagement with policymakers, state legislative leadership, the Governor’s office, state agency officials, local officials, and educational leaders in a specific region. The Regional State Policy Lead serves as a key advisor on the organization's advocacy efforts, as well as opportunities to use relationships with policymakers to forward the iCivics/CivXNow mission, strategies, and policy agenda.
 

Your responsibilities will include

• Advocacy and Strategy:
  • Facilitating virtual and in-person meetings with state policymakers.
  • Utilizing state-level policy knowledge to advance overall policy strategy.
  • Providing technical assistance to state affiliates, legislators, and public administrators.
  • In partnership with state affiliates, coordinating grassroots and grasstops outreach campaigns across the Mountain West and Southwest U.S. region.
  • Monitoring and influencing active legislation in target states on an ongoing basis to move forward the CiviXNow State Policy Menu.
• Communications:
  • Conducting outreach to partner organizations related to relevant projects of interest to their networks and partnering with in-house press staff on targeted press opportunities such as op-eds.
• Research & Administrative:
  • Maintaining a database of lobbying contacts and advocacy activities for the region. 
  • Supporting policy team with various team-wide projects: reports, presentations, and meetings.

Who you are

• An Effective Bipartisan Collaborator. You’ve successfully worked across cultural and political lines on a dispersed team, and you have the ability to operate in complex situations. You can easily gain trust from team members and are known for supporting them to ensure they are set up for success. You’re not afraid to ask questions or find the answers. 
• Flexible/Adaptable. You can manage a diverse set of team needs and aren't afraid to step outside your job description or comfort zone to help the team reach its goals. You're comfortable with shifting schedules and don't expect every day to go "as planned." You’re okay with adapting to changes in the work environment, managing competing demands, changing approaches or methods to fit the situation best, and being able to stay calm and focused despite frequent changes, delays, or unexpected events.
• A Humble Teammate. Nothing is beneath or above you. You are quick to always lend a hand or two! You are able to earn influence without authority and naturally seek to support both small projects and large strategic goals.
• Committed to inclusion. You're always asking: “whose voice is not at the table?” You have experience working with diverse teams and successfully navigating cross-cultural communication in both local and global contexts, and you deeply value creating a workplace that is supportive of difference.
• Mission-oriented. You believe that lasting, meaningful change comes from the grassroots: from the organized efforts of people, communities, and organizations to enliven the social imagination, envision a better future, and experiment with and scale new ideas.

What you’ll need

• 3 - 6 years of experience developing and executing high-impact issue advocacy campaigns, combining policy, policy research, and communication strategies and tactics.
  • Written and verbal Spanish language fluency is preferred.
• Robust understanding of the state political landscape and knowledge of state government structures (e.g., legislative/administrative process, budget, state agencies, etc.) to advance policy goals.
• Excellent writing skills and ability to synthesize information and present it in a variety of formats and styles (e.g., issue one-pagers, letters and testimony, op-eds, talking points).
• Excellent verbal communication skills and ability to represent iCivics effectively in various settings (e.g., presentations, legislative testimony).
• Experience engaging a wide range of stakeholders (coalition partners, legislators and their staff, working in state coalitions, and building high-impact partnerships.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and thrive in a complex environment. with multiple priorities and tight deadlines, working both independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to self-start and manage up, as well as communicate effectively across multiple teams and with multiple staff members in various locations around the country.

Compensation and Location 
iCivics provides a comprehensive benefits package, including generous health insurance for individuals and competitive rates for families/dependents, generous time off, family leave, and a collegial environment that supports professional development and wellness. 

The hiring range for this position is an annual salary range of $75,000-85,000 per year. The final salary within this range will be determined based on relevant experience.

This is a full-time, remote position, though we would prefer a candidate who is based in the Southwest or Mountain West, ideally in a capital city: Denver, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Santa Fe are all priorities. 
 

The Application Process
iCivics has engaged Equitable Hiring Group to support this hiring process. To apply, please complete the short form to the right. 

Individuals who apply by Tuesday, September 26th, will be given priority; therefore, we encourage you to submit yours soon!

When you apply, we kindly ask you to remove your schools from your resume. There is no need to reformat your resume and leave your degree as is; simplify it to “B.A. Economics,” for example. Just remember to remove any undergraduate and graduate school name references where possible. This “bias-reduced” process is aimed at opening this opportunity to more candidates, reviewing applicants on performance assessments instead of resume proxies (e.g., where you went to school).

This evaluation process will follow practices shown to reduce bias in decision-making and may be different from other application processes you have experienced. 

• Late September: Selected candidates asked to complete short answer questions
• Early October: Phone interview with iCivics staff
• Mid-October: Finalist candidates will be asked to complete a paid, timed, trial assignment
• Late October: Finalists will participate in a multi-team member panel
  • Candidate references will also be checked at this step
• Early November: Offer extended

If you have any questions about the opportunity, please feel free to email [email protected].

iCivics is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, LGBTQ+, and other underrepresented applicants.