Senior Director, Field and Organizing

About Americans United

Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a nonpartisan educational and advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure freedom of religion, including the right to believe or not believe, for all of us. Founded in 1947, Americans United is a diverse and dynamic organization composed of people from all walks of life: lawyers and lobbyists, students and activists, religious leaders and impassioned Americans. AU includes people of faith and people who don’t profess any particular faith. It is a community that welcomes people of all genders, races, ethnicities, religions or beliefs, sexual orientations, ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, and abilities. Because we work on a wide variety of issues with many different communities, we value what diversity and diverse perspectives bring to our work.

Position Summary

The Senior Director, Field and Organizing is a forward thinking, passionate leader for change who is excited to lead and collaborate with a dynamic team and organization, working together to fight for freedom without favor, and equality without exception.

You’ll be helping grow and mobilize a sustainable network of educated and engaged individuals and organizations that support church-state separation, inclusive religious freedom, and their dependent issues through visibility, education and activation efforts that are interconnected, impactful, and build upon each other.

The role focuses on developing, managing and growing a hybrid (virtual and in-person) state and local organizing network of distributed grassroots “hubs” – including programming – in support of the organization’s education, advocacy and other initiatives. A significant portion of time will also be dedicated to working with the Vice President of Outreach and in collaboration with other departments, to lead the development and execution of both integrated and standalone advocacy campaigns in support of AU’s legal cases, legislation, campaigns and other initiatives. This will often be done in collaboration with external partners and can include coalition building, digital advocacy, trainings, and field activities (e.g. text banks, rallies). The Senior Director will also provide or oversee the provision of non-legal technical assistance to individuals or groups that request help from Americans United.

A critical part of the position will be managing and growing your team to accomplish those key goals. The ideal candidate will be just as willing and able to empower their team to meet the moment as they are to jump right in to work any task alongside them. You’ll also have opportunities to collaborate internally and externally around the intersections of our key issues and communities (e.g. LGBTQ+, racial justice, pro-democracy, reproductive rights, faith and nonreligious communities, public education, fighting Christian nationalism & other forms of extremism).

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead state & local organizing initiatives
  • Collaborate across departments to lead the development, launch and growth of a hybrid (virtual and in-person) state and local organizing network of distributed grassroots “hubs” that meets the needs of the organization (e.g. chapters, networks, grassroots groups, affiliates).
  • Collaborate across departments to develop and launch a menu of core and dynamic programmatic activities as a nexus for engaging “hubs” in state and local organizing.
  • Create policies, protocols, budgets, technologies and staffing to manage the operation of the program.
• Support integrated advocacy campaigns, digital advocacy & grassroots assistance
  • Collaborate across departments and partner organizations to initiate, lead, and/or support integrated advocacy campaigns that support AU's legal cases, legislation, campaigns and other initiatives.
  • Collaborate across departments to lead and manage digital advocacy initiatives through AU’s email, text, and other digital platforms.
  • Manage and provide technical assistance related to organizing and advocacy in response to requests for non-legal support from grassroots activists.
• People management, project supervision & organizational support
  • Provide direct supervision, mentoring, and professional development support to team members and their work.
  • Manage hiring and onboarding; conduct regular check-ins and annual performance evaluations; support human resources functions
  • Set clear performance expectations and support staff in meeting them
  • Model and promote a collaborative, inclusive, respectful and personable team environment
  • Support and implement organizational initiatives, policies, and protocols
• Create, collaborate, & consult across the organization
  • Create, collaborate and consult with colleagues across the department, the management team, and organization, both proactively and responsively, including communications, public policy, development, events, the Summit for Religious Freedom, education & training, advocacy and activism, and other efforts as needed
• Be a public leader
  • Support AU’s public engagement portfolio (e.g. conferences, webinars) including:
  • Represent AU at these events with fluency on our organization, church state separation, inclusive religious freedom, and our core issues, especially those in your portfolio
  • Engage with a variety of audiences at tabling, organizing, public speaking and other public engagement events

Skills and Experience

• Research shows candidates from marginalized groups are less likely to apply for positions when they don’t meet 100% of listed requirements; please consider applying even if you don’t match 100% of these criteria.

Experience & Education:

• Minimum of 10 years of combined experience between both:
  • Leading and growing a hybrid (virtual and in-person) state and local distributed grassroots organizing model (e.g. chapters, grassroots groups, affiliates). This should include significant experience developing programming for these groups.
  • Designing and leading both field and digital advocacy campaigns in support of legal cases, legislation, campaigns, or similar initiatives.
• Minimum of 3 years of management experience including managing project teams and/or providing direct supervision and support to team members and their work

Skills & Knowledge:

• Creativity and excitement in imagining, implementing and growing new and existing initiatives
• Excellent project and time management skills; strong attention to detail; proactiveness in structuring and implementing programming, creating policies and protocols, and organizing information
• Demonstrated people management skills that build on individual strengths, empower professional growth, and inspire meaningful collaboration; willingness to also be hands-on and contribute directly to tasks when needed.
• Experience managing multiple and sometimes complex or rapid-response tasks with an ever-changing workload; ability to quickly pivot and improvise if unexpected changes arise
• Ability to work independently as well as delegate, multi-task, and manage both up and down
• Ability to collaborate productively with stakeholders of diverse and/or divergent viewpoints, and work successfully across difference to achieve shared goals
• Commitment to work across diverse communities (e.g. race, age, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion/nonreligious), and integrate diversity, equity and inclusion into our work
• Excellent writing, communication, and public speaking skills
• Experience with or comfort with learning relevant and evolving technologies (e.g. NGP VAN, Basecamp, Mobilize, Google Drive, Microsoft365, Slack, Zoom, ClickUp)
• Strong belief in church-state separation and inclusive religious freedom

Preferred but not required:

• Knowledge, experience, and/or existing networks related to any of our key constituency and community spaces:
  • church-state separation and/or inclusive religious freedom
  • faith communities (e.g. faith leaders, congregations, denominational and faith-based organizations, and/or people of faith)
  • LGBTQ+ rights, public education, pro-democracy, reproductive rights, young people, communities of color
• Experience working and managing in a remote office environment

Working Conditions & Physical Requirements

This is a remote position that primarily involves working from a home office but does require travel to represent AU at events around the country, as well as sometimes working night and/or weekend hours. The role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, and video conferencing tools. It requires the ability to remain in a stationary position for extended periods, communicate effectively, and occasionally move about within the workspace.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $127,500 - $153,000. The successful candidate’s placement within that range will be consistent with AU’s compensation framework, which is based on years of related experience. Employees who reside in higher-cost areas, including the Washington, DC metro area, receive a locality pay adjustment. For more information on AU’s compensation framework, see here.

Americans United offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes employer-paid premiums for health care, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) with match, and commuter subsidy.

Equal Opportunity Employer

AU is an equal opportunity employer. We consider applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status. If you need an accommodation for a disability to apply to this position, please let us know by emailing hr@au.org. 

Application Information

We will only be accepting applications from candidates in the following states: CA, DC, FL, IN, LA, MA, MD, ME, MT, NY, PA, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI and WY. Final candidates must reside in, or be willing to relocate to, a location within those states that has access to high-speed internet and a major airport.