Free the Pill Project Deputy Director

About Ibis Reproductive Health

Ibis Reproductive Health is a global nonprofit driving change through bold, rigorous research and principled partnerships that advance sexual and reproductive autonomy, choices, and health worldwide. We believe that research can catalyze change when the entire research process is viewed as an opportunity to shift power, is undertaken in partnership with the communities most affected, and includes a focus on how data can be most effectively used to make change. We focus on increasing access to quality abortion care, transforming access to abortion and contraception through technology and service innovations, and expanding comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and services. Ibis works with partners in more than 30 countries on six continents. Our staff is located in Cambridge, MA and Oakland CA, USA; and Johannesburg, South Africa and we engage in a hybrid-work model where all staff (excluding permanent remote staff) work in-person from their local Ibis office at least two days/week. Ibis requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. For more information about Ibis, visit: ibisreproductivehealth.org.

About the Free the Pill Project

Free the Pill is a project of Ibis Reproductive Health focused on moving birth control pills over the counter in the United States. The project involves a 200+ member Free the Pill coalition and a public-facing Free the Pill campaign. The Free the Pill coalition (formerly known as the Oral Contraceptives Over-the-Counter Working Group) has been working since 2004 to build the evidence and mobilize support to move birth control pills OTC in the United States that are affordable, covered by insurance, and available to people of all ages. The Free the Pill campaign serves as the public-facing vehicle for raising awareness and increasing support for OTC birth control pills in the United States. Both the coalition and campaign apply a reproductive justice lens and a youth-adult partnership model while aiming to center communities who currently face the most barriers to contraceptive access due to systemic inequities.

About the Free the Pill Deputy Director Role

We seek a full-time Free the Pill Project Deputy Director, based in the Cambridge or Oakland office or working remotely in the US, with campaign management and coalition engagement experience who is committed to reproductive health, rights, and justice to oversee the implementation of an ambitious program of work to ensure currently approved and new over-the-counter (OTC) oral contraceptive pills (OCs) in the United States are equitably accessible. The Deputy Director position will manage key aspects of the Free the Pill project, including partnerships with organizations to ensure broad awareness of OCs OTC and provide information and resources to people who could benefit most from OTC access. The individual hired for this position will play a leadership role in the Free the Pill team at Ibis, the Free the Pill coalition, and public-facing efforts to raise awareness about OCs OTC. Competitive candidates will be experienced campaign and coalition leaders who have a proven track record of managing the implementation of complex projects and working and communicating effectively with a diverse group of partners. We seek a candidate who can commit to seeing this project through the next phase of the work which will involve developing new partnerships to ensure the successful implementation of the newly launched, first-ever OTC birth control pill in the United States and laying the groundwork for future OTC switches. The Deputy Director position reports to the Free the Pill Project Director.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Partnerships and Collaboration (35%)

• Oversee partnership strategy and subgrant awards to support key goals related to consumer and provider engagement and education efforts, youth-adult partnerships, and other advocacy efforts

• Lead coalition subgroups related to advancing provider engagement and education efforts in collaboration with reproductive justice partners, youth activists, providers, and research team

• Organize and facilitate meetings with subgrantees and coalition subgroup meetings as needed

• Oversee subaward budgets and develop partner agreements in alignment with budget and oversee payment processes, review reports, and provide feedback as needed

• Work closely with Project Director to foster principled partnerships and advance the impact of collaborative efforts within the Free the Pill coalition and allied coalitions

Public Education, Communications, and Events (30%)

• Develop and oversee a public education and awareness strategy to share information about OTC birth control pills with community members, providers, and other key audiences

• Manage and implement event planning and facilitation including organizing and moderating public webinars, building a conference strategy, planning mobilization efforts, and other activities

• Represent Ibis, Free the Pill and the broader coalition as a spokesperson for earned media

• Facilitate, moderate, and present at meetings, public webinars, conferences, and events

• Collaborate with the Associate Communications Director to develop and amplify materials and messages on OTC OCs, and their safety, effectiveness, and appropriateness for people of all ages

• Recruit and support partners for media, webinars, conferences, and other opportunities

• Organize and implement quarterly webinar schedule and engage partners for panel discussions and work in partnership with the communications team to develop and amplify materials

• Co-manage conference, swag and materials budget line items, timelines, and workplans

• Develop metrics and implement evaluation processes for measuring the success and reach of promotional activities to inform future planning, decision making and funder reports

Coalition Engagement and Growth (25%)

• Serve as a key point of contact for the coalition and actively engage and follow up with prospective partners and supporters to share about our work and make connections

• Administer Free the Pill coalition membership and growth, supervising the management of contacts in Salesforce, outreach communications, and approval of new coalition members

• Lead meeting planning and evaluation efforts, collaboratively plan for coalition gatherings, relevant subgroup meetings and the annual meeting to engage and inform partners

• Develop, support, and integrate communications, public education, field, policy, advocacy, and research efforts to inform overarching coalition engagement and partnership planning

• Support Free the Pill coalition communications, including newsletters and direct emails

Team and Resource Management, and Organization Reporting (10%)

• Step in on behalf of the Project Director as needed to fulfill leadership duties

• Collaboratively organize and facilitate team meetings, set agendas, and manage follow-up

• Track project timelines and coordinate with team to provide organizational and funder updates

• Manage budgets, contribute to grant writing and reporting, and support fundraising efforts

• Support with contract and payment management for consultants, vendors, and partners stipends

• Support with responding to requests from Ibis Reproductive Health’s Senior Management Team

• Participate in organization-wide groups to make connections across teams

• Work with the Finance and Development teams on financial documents and funder reports

• Supervise 1 FTE staff, provide guidance to other staff and work with consultants as needed

Qualifications and Requirements:

We recognize that strong candidates may not have every qualification listed here, and encourage applications from individuals who bring passion, skills, and experience in many or most of these areas.

• 7-10 years of work and/or academic experience (advanced relevant degrees such as a master’s or

doctorate) in public health education or network building with 3 years of experience in a leadership or management capacity overseeing partnerships and staff

• Passion for and experience working to advance sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice

• Commitment to racial justice and equity, and willingness to have/lead critical and challenging conversations around race and white supremacy in our organization and in our field

• Demonstrated experience leading large group coalitions, collaboratives, or networks

• Strong commitment to prioritizing community needs and to developing and maintaining principled partnerships, with a proven partnership track record engaging with partners

• Strong meeting facilitation and organizing skills, ability to create and manage agendas for virtual, in-person and hybrid events and work with partners, vendors and staff to complete tasks

• Strong public speaking skills, ability, and interest in serving as a spokesperson for earned media, conferences, internal and external meetings, webinars and other events as needed

• Strong organizational and project management skills; ability to design clear work plans, facilitate coordination and alignment among diverse stakeholders, and support staff to meet their goals

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, ability to share ideas clearly and confidently

• Optimistic and resourceful, strong inclination for problem solving, and navigating ambiguity

• Ability to take in multiple inputs, synthesize and organize the information, address competing ideas, and make informed recommendations for next steps or actions

• Experience leading the development of collaborative, cross-functional teams; proven ability to coach and inspire the leadership capacity of team members

• Excellent listening skills and strong self-awareness, ability to read the room and adapt

• Familiarity with public health or reproductive health research and public health education

• Knowledge and understanding of federal and state health care policy laws, rules, and regulations relevant to contraceptive care, coverage and access preferred

• Experience with Salesforce, Constant Contact, Zoom, Slack, Asana, Microsoft Outlook, SharePoint, Canva or similar systems preferred

• Strong emotional intelligence cultural competency, humility, and a sense of humor

• Willingness and ability to travel for meetings, conferences, events, and more

Benefits:

Ibis’s generous benefits package includes medical insurance/medical aid, with most of the premium paid by Ibis; dental, disability, and life insurance; paid sick leave; a 403(b) retirement savings plan with employer contributions after the first year; four weeks of vacation per year; transit benefits; and professional development opportunities.

Salary:

This is a Band 3, level 2 position. The starting salary range for this position will be $88,000 - $95,000.

Start date:

Position starts as soon as it is filled.

Deadline for applications:

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, though applications received by April 18, 2024, will receive priority review.

Ibis is an equal opportunity employer. Ibis seeks to build and maintain a diverse and inclusive workplace; we encourage applications from Black people and people of African descent, Indigenous peoples, people of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, including people who identify as transgender, non-binary, or gender expansive, people with disabilities, first-generation college graduates, those from communities with the most to gain from expanded access to sexual and reproductive health services and information, and people from other underrepresented communities.