Deputy Chief of Programs - Government Affairs

JOB SUMMARY:

Public Rights Project (PRP) is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that helps local government officials fight for civil rights. We build their capacity to protect and advance civil rights, convene and connect them on key issues, and provide legal representation to help them win in court for residents. Since 2017, we've recovered over $46 million in relief for marginalized people; built a network of over 1,300 government offices, elected officials, and community-based organizations in 50 states; trained 130 prosecutors and government lawyers in 24 states; and secured court victories on abortion, immigrant, workers’, and voting rights. Learn more about our work.

Public Rights Project seeks to hire our first Deputy Chief of Programs - Government Affairs to join our team. This is a remote, full-time, exempt position reporting to the Chief Program Officer (CPO). The Deputy Chief is a critical new role to enable us to build relationships with and optimize our services for mayors, city and county attorneys, county executives, and other local elected and appointed officials with whom we partner. The Deputy Chief will work closely with the Directors of the Election Protection Hub and Civil Rights Hub to ensure that local leaders across the country know about and can use our services to help them deliver for their constituents.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Build and implement PRP’s Government Affairs strategy to reach, engage, and support local elected and appointed officials across the country.
  • Work closely with the Civil Rights Hub (CRH) Director, Election Protection Hub (EPH) Director, and Fellowships and Learning (F&L) Director to understand and build a plan to meet their recruitment and targeting goals for local officials. Serve as an advisor and strategic thought partner to them.
  • Monitor and analyze target local governments’ policy and litigation activity on our core issue areas to inform engagement strategies and tactics. Analyze the potential impact of PRP’s cases and activities on target local communities.
  • Supervise the Director of Organizing to integrate nonprofit outreach and coalition-building with government affairs.
  • Build relationships with local elected officials, their chiefs of staff, and other senior staff and advisors to understand how PRP can best support their needs and recruit them to use one or more PRP services.
  • Engage directly and manage relationships with other government-facing organizations, including those serving local governments primarily.
  • Manage vendors and consultants in target states as necessary to implement the government affairs strategy.
  • Provide input to inform the CPO’s and CEO’s external affairs engagements, including conference attendance, speaking engagement, in-person events and other external relations opportunities.
  • Work with the Communications and Marketing team to develop communications and content strategies and materials to support your government affairs goals.
• Represent PRP at third-party coalition, conferences, presentations, and other networking-building events, including events that require travel.
• Grow PRP’s network of engaged government partners at both the state and local levels.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE:

• At least 10 years of work experience preferred, 2-3+ years experience managing people preferred
• Experience working in electoral campaigns, for and with elected officials in state or local government, or in public/government affairs
• Experience managing large, complex projects with multiple internal and external stakeholders
• Law degree or experience working with legal advocacy teams a plus but not required

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• An understanding or ability to learn the basics of compliance and boundaries between 501(c)(3) vs. 501(c)(4) and other activities when engaging public officials
• Knowledge of how local government works, how elected officials think, and political savvy in managing government stakeholders
• Knowledge of the ecosystem of government associations and government-serving for-profit and non-profit institutions
• Ability to think strategically while providing tactical support to bring ideas to life
• Strong skills in change management and achieving buy-in at the leadership level. Ability to build strong relationships and trust across difference
• Strong skills in supporting CEO or C-suite positions, senior appointees or elected officials
• Ability to identify and communicate organizational gaps, risks, or challenges in a timely manner
• Possesses a continuous learning mindset, able to share constructive feedback amongst team members, and highly adaptable
• Exceptional judgment in discretion and sensitivity in handling confidential matters
• Strong organizational, communication, and leadership skills, capable of leading cross-functional teams and managing complex organizational structures
• Expert, detail-oriented, and proactive project management skills, including managing multiple work streams concurrently
• Team player with ability and willingness both to complete and to oversee administrative tasks in support of team goals
• Ability to deliver high-quality content and produce results on a deadline
• Experience or ability to learn the following systems: Office 365, Salesforce, and Asana
• A belief in the power of state and local government to make positive change in the world and a passionate commitment to economic, racial, gender, and environmental justice

OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Other duties as assigned.

ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIP:

Reports to Chief Program Officer.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

Requires sitting, talking and listening for up to 8 hours per day. Certain situations may require lifting items up to 20 pounds.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Fully remote organization and team. This role may require travel a few times a year to PRP events or meetings. We currently have remote staff in all U.S. time zones. While PRP supports flexible work schedules and work-life balance, this role may occasionally require evening or weekend work depending on project needs, deadlines, or partner availability. We aim to provide advance notice when possible and are committed to supporting staff with the flexibility and resources to manage their time effectively.

COMPENSATION

The determined salary range for this role is set between $130,560 - $195,840 exact salary will be based on candidate experience. For internal equity purposes, PRP will not negotiate with candidates outside of the role’s designated range.

PRP HIRING COMMITMENT:

PRP is committed to the principles and practices of equal employment opportunity. A diverse and inclusive workplace, both at PRP and within the government offices we serve, is a key ingredient for achieving our mission of building equitable enforcement capacity within state and local government.

We aim to assemble a team that reflects the world we live in and the communities we serve with respect to race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and immigration status. People with personal or family experience with the type of harms we seek to combat, including wage theft, predatory lending, fraud, discrimination, and environmental degradation are particularly encouraged to apply.