Advocacy Director

At Walk San Francisco, we believe when you walk out the door to go to work, to school, to the park – anywhere – you shouldn’t be risking your life by simply crossing the street. But every day an average of three people are hit while walking in San Francisco.

Walk SF exists to change this. Every day, we push for solutions to make our streets dramatically safer for everyone, of every age and ability. We believe San Francisco can become the most pedestrian-friendly city in the nation. When walking is truly safe and joyful for all, this will bring so many health, equity, economic, and environmental benefits to our city.

We're looking for a new team member to help us with our lifesaving mission!

The Advocacy Director leads Walk SF's Advocacy Team and will be our chief advocacy campaign organizer. This role will be responsible for growing the grassroots base, deepening community relationships, and strengthening the power-base. This is a senior leadership role for someone who excels at constituency development, coalition-building, community organizing, and building grassroots power into lasting policy change.

The Advocacy Director is a member of Walk SF's leadership team alongside the Executive Director, Communications Director, and Development Director. This position directly supervises the Advocacy Manager, and reports to the Executive Director.

KEY RESPONSIBILITY AREAS

Principal responsibilities of the Advocacy Director include, but are not limited to:

Advocacy Campaign Strategy & Implementation

• Co-develop and lead Walk SF's advocacy campaign strategy in collaboration with leadership team: create campaign plans with measurable, achievable goals and informed tactics; develop campaign messaging and messengers; and ensure day-to-day work advances campaign success.
• Lead weekly Advocacy Team meetings, facilitating discussion and tracking progress across campaigns and organizing activities.
• Approve contract reports and deliverables for Advocacy Team grants and programs.

Coalition Building & Community Organizing

• Lead Walk SF's community organizing and base-building work: grow and deepen engagement with the Vision Zero Coalition (VZC), Families for Safe Streets (FSS), and Walk SF's broader supporter base, plus expand Walk SF's reach into communities most impacted by traffic violence.
• Serve as Walk SF's public representative at local partner meetings and public meetings such as the SFMTA Board, SFCTA, and Commissions. This includes preparing and delivering testimony and public comment on behalf of the organization, plus overseeing the Advocacy Manager in working with constituents on public comment, etc. .
• Identify and develop community leaders, create meaningful opportunities for deeper advocacy participation, and build a reliable and diverse pool of spokespeople.

Policy & Research

• Monitor relevant legislation, city agency projects, and policy developments; identify strategic opportunities and flag threats to Walk SF's campaigns, and translate policy developments into clear organizing and advocacy actions.
• Oversee Walk SF's policy research and analysis work such as analyzing city policies, reports, and project plans, plus looking at best practices and data from beyond San Francisco. Connect findings to community organizing strategy and campaigns.
• Collaborate with Communications Director to develop policy briefings, talking points, media strategy, outreach materials, and online organizing in support of campaigns.

Team Leadership & Staff Development

• Directly supervise and develop the Advocacy Manager (to be hired with involvement from the Advocacy Director), providing coaching, feedback, and professional development support. Ensure clear direction, detailed workplans, and deliverables for the team.
• Foster a collaborative, equity-centered team culture that reflects Walk SF's values of community empowerment and persistence.
• Drive cross-team collaboration with Communications and Development to ensure campaigns are well-resourced and effectively communicated.

Organizational Leadership

• Serve as a full member of Walk SF's leadership team, contributing to organizational planning, budget development, and strategic decision-making.
• Support fundraising by contributing to grant proposals and reports, and participating in donor and funder engagement as needed.
• Represent Walk SF's mission and values as a strong public spokesperson for safe streets.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

While no one person will embody every quality, our ideal candidate will bring many of the qualifications and attributes listed below:

• 5+ years of increasing responsibility in community organizing, advocacy campaigns, community organizing, policy, or related work – with at least 2 years in a leadership or supervisory role.
• Demonstrated experience developing and leading advocacy campaigns from strategy through implementation — including base-building, coalition organizing, elected official engagement, and building community power to shift policy.
• Experience supervising and developing staff, with a coaching approach and commitment to building a collaborative, equitable team culture.
• Deep commitment to equity: understanding of how traffic violence disproportionately impacts communities of color, low-income communities, seniors, and people with disabilities, and experience centering impacted communities in advocacy strategy.
• Strong public presence and communication skills; comfortable representing an organization at rallies, community forums, coalition meetings, and giving public testimony as well as in meetings with city staff.
• Strong project management skills and ability to hold multiple campaigns and priorities simultaneously.
• Strong analytical and communication skills: able to research and interpret transportation data and policy documents, and translate findings into compelling advocacy materials, testimony, and action alerts that move people to act.
• Knowledge of Vision Zero, pedestrian safety, or transportation/urban planning policy strongly preferred.
• Proficiency with Google Suite, Salesforce (or similar CRM), and online advocacy platforms (Action Network or similar).
• Availability for occasional evenings and weekends for community meetings, hearings, and events; this is a regular part of the role.
• Commitment to Walk SF's mission to create the most pedestrian-friendly city in the United States.

The following are a plus but not required:

• Experience organizing in San Francisco, particularly in communities of color or in the Bayview and/or Western Addition neighborhoods.
• Familiarity with San Francisco city government and agencies (SFMTA, SFCTA, Public Health, SF Police and Dept of Public Works, Board of Supervisors).
• Spanish or Cantonese/Mandarin language skills.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Sedentary work that primarily involves sitting/standing
• Motorskills for typing, grasping mouse, carrying computer from one worksite to another
• Stand and give presentations in an office, civic building, community center or similar environment
• Carrying, adjusting, or moving objects up to 15 lbs in all directions

MORE ABOUT US

Our staff is focused on making positive change in the world, honors and supports diversity in the workplace, and is committed to being intentionally inclusive in all our relationships.

Walk SF sees our work to contribute to ending systemic racism as ongoing, and our Board and staff identify and take meaningful actions internally and externally as an organization in support of this. We recognize that transportation policy can play a key role in creating a more equitable city and world.

Walk SF is committed to providing a workplace that is free from discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, color, religious creed, national origin, age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, medical condition, veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.

Currently, we have a hybrid working environment with 2 days minimum in-office each week. Our office is in the Mission District and is ADA accessible and close to transit and bike share. We are a flexible, family-friendly, collaborative workplace that makes time for team bonding and volunteer service.

Walk SF's strategic plan commits our organization to determine our highest priority projects and campaigns through an equity lens, focusing on communities where issues of equity are most at play: communities with the most low-income people, immigrants, communities of color, seniors, children, and people with disabilities.

Benefits include three weeks of PTO and 10 national holidays (plus our office is closed between Christmas and New Year's); sick time; medical benefits plus a wellness flex fund; professional development funding; and 401k match.

Spanish or Cantonese/Mandarin language skills a plus