Director of Policy and Stakeholder Organizing

The Alliance seeks a Director of Policy and Stakeholder Organizing ("the Director") to lead the organization’s efforts in monitoring legislative and regulatory developments at the federal and state levels and mobilizing a diverse network of stakeholders. This role is critical to the Alliance’s function as a "connective web," ensuring that academic leaders, advocates, and policy experts can respond collectively to threats against higher education.

Reporting to the President and CEO, the Director will serve as a key member of the leadership team, bridge-building between high-level policy analysis and grassroots organizing. This position requires a strategic thinker who can translate complex legislative trends into actionable toolkits for the sector.

In addition to fulfilling other responsibilities as necessary, the Director of Policy and Stakeholder Organizing will engage in the following activities:

Policy Strategy and Analysis

• Monitor and analyze federal and state legislative developments affecting higher education, particularly those impacting the Alliance’s core principles of sector autonomy, academic freedom, and fair opportunity.
• Lead the development and maintenance of a state-by-state legislative decision tree to categorize risk levels and policy opportunities.
• In collaboration with partners, design and produce "playbooks" for academic leaders, higher education and democracy groups, and other advocates that offer specific actions based on their state's legislative environment.
• Draft policy briefs, testimony, and sign-on letters to address emerging threats, such as challenges to accreditation standards or tenure.
• Identify emerging policy opportunities and threats, providing strategic recommendations to the executive team.

Stakeholder Organizing and Mobilization

• Implement a comprehensive strategy for the Alliance’s networking and convening functions.
• Build and maintain relationships with staff across member associations, advocacy organizations, and other partner groups.
• Organize participants in topical work groups.
• Organize rapid response efforts in emergent situations.
• Facilitate productive discussions among diverse stakeholders to move toward actionable outcomes.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for external stakeholders, ensuring the network remains engaged and informed.
• Represent the Alliance at industry conferences and in briefings with policymakers.

Qualifications

• Masters degree or higher in public policy, public administration, political science, education, sociology, political science or a related field.
• Minimum 7–10 years of progressive experience in policy analysis, government relations, higher education administration, or stakeholder organizing, ideally within the higher education or nonprofit sector.
• Demonstrated experience with coalition building and managing complex, multi-stakeholder networks.
• Deep understanding of federal and state legislative processes and the higher education policy landscape.
• Proven track record of designing advocacy strategies or organizing campaigns that led to measurable outcomes.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate complex policy into accessible guidance for non-experts.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple interdependent workstreams in a fast-paced environment.
• Commitment to the Alliance’s core principles of academic freedom, fair opportunity, and sector autonomy.
• Experience and/or interest in start-up environments.
• Ability to work independently and exercise sound judgment under pressure.
• Commitment to teamwork first, with a hands-on, low-ego, and solutions-oriented mindset.
• Understanding of the distinction between open access and selective admissions institutions’ missions and practices.
• Deep belief in the cause of benefiting the most people through higher education.

A comprehensive benefits package is provided through the Alliance's fiscal sponsor.