State Advisor - Michigan (virtual, but must be Michigan-based)

The Collaborative for Gender + Reproductive Equity is a pooled fund that does grantmaking at the national and state levels. Established in 2018, CGRE meets an urgent need at a crucial moment, uniting the fights for gender, reproductive, and racial equity by fueling innovation, lifting barriers to reproductive healthcare, and strengthening connections among people and groups working across issues. Together, these strategies address the priorities of those hardest hit by inequity —from expanding access to reproductive health services to championing policies like paid leave and amplifying the voices of women, young people, and people of color.

CGRE embraces the whole person. We believe in a comprehensive gender equity agenda that recognizes how race, income, and other societal factors create additional challenges for many women, people of color, trans, and gender non-conforming people. Our approach is unique, combining a data-driven approach with an emphasis on listening to our state and national partners who do the work on the ground.

To achieve our goal, we focus on three core areas:

• Building a diverse movement in support of policies that enable all women, people of color, trans, and gender non-conforming people to thrive.
• Putting quality, stigma-free reproductive healthcare within reach for everyone, especially communities that have faced the greatest barriers to access.
• Advancing gender equity through the judicial system, including pursuing proactive legal strategies that promote a gender, reproductive, and racial equity agenda and establishing a judiciary supportive of those fundamental principles.

CGRE is a small, fully-virtual organization with an Advisory Committee of funders, fiscally-sponsored by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA). Learn more at https://cgre.org/.

The Opportunity: State Advisor – Michigan

CGRE is looking to hire a State Advisor in Michigan. The role is two-fold: first, to establish an authentic, state-based CGRE presence to support grantees and other partners and, second, to advise CGRE on state policy, legislative, and movement landscapes and trends. The State Advisor is not a grantmaking or decision-making role; rather we are seeking an Advisor who can deepen our grantmaking with their political analysis, understanding of the dynamics of social justice movements and funders, and commitment to equity in Michigan. State Advisors are also being contracted in Georgia, New Mexico, and Texas, where – together with Michigan – CGRE has focused grantmaking.

The State Advisor will be a part-time consultant (10-15 hours per week, $70-80/hour) and will report to the Senior Program Officer responsible for CGRE’s state-based grantmaking. The initial contract will be for 4-6 months, with the potential to extend beyond that, based on CGRE’s needs assessment and deliverables on the first contract.

Primary Responsibilities

Track emerging issues and opportunities in Michigan: Monitor emerging issues and campaigns on gender equity; reproductive health, rights, and justice; and democracy in order to identify opportunities to advance aligned work and address capacity gaps. This includes tracking legislative, judicial, media, community, and non-partisan election-related activities; conversations with key partners and allies, including other funders; and participating in convenings, as appropriate.

Assist in developing and implementing a state-specific Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) lens for CGRE grantmaking: Assess Michigan’s (in)equity dynamics, including developing analyses of communities disproportionately impacted within CGRE’s issue areas, identifying promising interventions and key leadership working to address inequities, and assisting in monitoring our grantmaking to ensure attention to JEDI is locally relevant.

Ongoing engagement with CGRE state-based grantees: Work with the Senior Program Officer to understand grantees’ progress and challenges, and identify leverage points where CGRE support could add value for individual organizations and/or coalition work. Engagement may include phone, video, or in-person check-ins, and attendance at appropriate meetings, events, and convenings.

Participate in CGRE’s developing Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning process: CGRE is approaching the end of a participatory design MEL process. Depending on the final design, the State Advisor may support the MEL process, including facilitating grantee engagement and gathering state-specific data (quantitative and qualitative).

While the State Advisor might refer CGRE to prospective grantees, they will not manage the grantmaking process or make decisions about allocation of resources.

Deliverables

The State Advisor will work closely with the CGRE Senior Program Officer to develop a shared work plan and document and share specific expectations based on needs in Michigan. The Advisor will be expected to analyze, interpret, and present information gathered through conversations; from local data sources; and by tracking state policy, movement building and community organizing, and grantmaking environments. These analyses will be communicated during regular one-on-one calls with the Senior Program Officer managing state-based grantmaking, and CGRE program team meetings, as appropriate.

Based on collaborative work with the Senior Program Officer described above, specific deliverables include:

At the start of the project, a shared work plan

• Conversations with state-based stakeholders
• Regular phone check-ins with the Senior Program Officer
• At mid-point, a presentation or memo on opportunities, challenges, and gaps (with relevant supporting data)
• A final presentation or memo on findings/recommendations (with relevant supporting data)

Qualifications

The State Advisor will be a politically-astute Michigan resident who believes that information and analysis from myriad sources can best inform grantmaking that makes real progress on gender and reproductive equity. Applicants must reside in Michigan. Specific experience and talents CGRE seeks include:

• Commitment to gender equity and reproductive health and justice, including the right to abortion.
• Demonstrated understanding of gender and reproductive equity priorities in Michigan, with focus on centering gender, race, and class analyses.
• Experience developing creative strategies or leading programming to advance gender and reproductive equity across a range of strategies and tactics, e.g. grassroots base-building, “grasstops” engagement, litigation, and legal advocacy.
• Understanding of reproductive and sexual healthcare services, and of the organizing and policy landscapes, or ability to gather information from existing networks.
• Ability to build relationships and work across a range of individuals and constituencies from traditional to community-based organizations, including demonstrated experience building relationships and navigating existing networks and coalitions with a diversity of life experiences and perspectives.
• Proven ability to work independently and effectively prioritize in the face of competing demands and changing external and internal environments; experience in remote work settings preferred.
• Strong listening, writing, and communication skills, including the ability to engage in conversations with respect and humility, and analyze, document, and present findings in a compelling way.
• As possible based on health and safety conditions, ability to travel within the state for meetings and events, as needed.