Deputy Director of Policy Advocacy

Organizational Summary:

The New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ) is the state’s largest immigration coalition. Together with over 60 member organizations, NJAIJ fights for policies that empower and protect immigrants. We are seeking applications for Deputy Director of Policy Advocacy.

NJAIJ brings together the power and strength of our member organizations to ensure immigrant communities are leaders in campaigns that advance justice, inclusion, and belonging. NJAIJ is at the forefront of every major immigrant justice fight. We are the first to speak up and the last to stand down. Joining our staff means joining an active team of leaders who are compassionate as they are courageous and working in coalition with some of the state’s brightest minds.

The Role:

The Deputy Director of Policy Advocacy leads NJAIJ’s non-partisan legislative and budget advocacy campaigns. The role manages a 3-5 person team of associates, program coordinators, and interns and supports strategy and direction for the organization’s advocacy work on the whole. The qualified candidate for this role will be New Jersey’s premier expert on all issues immigration, whether they’re happening in a rural New Jersey farm town or in the halls of Trenton or Washington DC.

This is a hybrid position that combines some remote working from (from the field or home) with presence in our Newark, New Jersey office. The Deputy Director is expected to maintain a prominent, visible profile in Trenton, with near-weekly presence during the legislative session. Given the external-facing nature of the Deputy Director role, a significant amount of time will be spent communicating with a wide variety of audiences: media, elected officials, grassroots activists, the community, and other stakeholders in our coalition and across New Jersey. The role may require both long periods of standing, walking, and/or light lifting (boxes with outreach materials, banners, folding tables, etc), as well as stationary desk, sitting, phone, and screen time when not in the field (office days, public hearings, research and reporting, etc). The ideal candidate can transition quickly between environments and tasks to meet the ever-changing and ‘breaking news’ pace of NJAIJ’s work.

This is a senior leadership role within NJAIJ and reports to the Executive Director. NJAIJ requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination for all staff.

Role Responsibilities:

• Manage NJAIJ’s Policy Advocacy team, which includes program coordinators and research and policy associates, by:
  • Providing management, supervision, and oversight of NJAIJ’s Policy & Advocacy staff, including weekly meetings, 1-1s, and annual performance evaluation.
  • Identifying opportunities for the Policy & Advocacy team’s professional and network development, career growth, and acquisition of new skills
  • Regularly updating all NJAIJ staff so our team is up to speed and aware of political, advocacy, and policy developments and can continue to lead the statewide conversation on immigration
  • Serving as primary point of contact and the lead “voice” of NJAIJ’s policy & advocacy work
• Lead NJAIJ’s policy advocacy through coalition with our member organizations by
  • Developing relationships with elected and public officials who are decisionmakers on NJAIJ issues and being able to strategically power map players relevant to each of NJAIJ’s campaigns
  • Deepening the work of NJAIJ’s 60+ member organizations by providing opportunities for them to amplify their work and lead on local issues
  • Modeling healthy facilitation and coalition practices, like strong, secure note taking, building consensus, accountability and repair, and generative conflict
  • Identifying opportunities to ramp up or sunset advocacy campaigns in response to political developments at the local, state, and federal level and make decisions about the coalition’s core and support campaigns
  • Monitoring, tracking, and drafting legislation in response to emerging needs and persistent trends in NJ’s immigrant communities
• Position NJAIJ as a leader and NJ as a leader in the state, and position New Jersey as a leader on immigration by
  • Providing regular public testimony, publishing rigorous research, one pagers, and other advocacy collateral on key NJAIJ issues
  • Regularly serving as a spokesperson on developing issues and providing disciplined messaging and framing strategy for our members who engage with press
  • Regularly sharing work with NJAIJ’s Movement Building Team so that trainings, templates, and workshops can best address the needs of NJAIJ member organizations
  • Identifying opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and bridging relationships between NJAIJ members and partners
  • Monitoring, drafting, and publicizing NJAIJ’s positions and work on our website and social media platforms

Qualifications & Core Competencies:

The selection process will consider a wide range of lived and earned experiences.

All candidates must be able to demonstrate the following experiences and competencies:

• 3-5 years managing direct reports and/or small teams.
• Ability to lead research and communicate complex ideas in concise, accessible language (verbal and written).
• Media training and public speaking discipline.
• Experience in advocacy coalitions, especially in facilitating consensus and understanding appropriate times for generative conflict vs conflict resolution.
• Strong commitment and personal ties to immigrant, racial, social, and economic justice and critical analysis of systemic racism and structural inequities in New Jersey.

Once satisfying the above, competitive applicants will also possess a majority of the following:

• Eagerness to work in fast-paced environments that require transitioning quickly between tasks.
• Sense of independence and ability to make strategic decisions, even with limited information.
• Careful attention to detail and well-developed time and project management skills.
• Experience with the New Jersey legislature or in State-level issue-based campaigns.
• Bi- and multilingual candidates who have reading and writing proficiency in Arabic, Haitian Creole, French, and/or other West African languages, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Spanish are strongly encouraged to apply.
• A strong track record of collaboration, organizing toward collective change, and demonstrated experience building deep, trusted relationships, even across diverse communities, backgrounds, and beliefs (we know this can mean many things, tell us how it manifests in your work!).
• Enthusiasm for snacks, cute pictures of animals, and building collective community power.

Compensation:

Full time NJAIJ staff receive a benefits package including health care, dental, vision, life insurance, commuter benefits, and more.

NJAIJ staff receive 15 vacation days per year in their first year and 20 days per year in all subsequent years. Annual leave also includes 4 personal days, 12 sick and health days. Staff leave also includes 14 paid holidays, and 3 heritage days for staff who observe celebrations outside those 14 days.

This position has a salary range between $70,000 - $75,000 annually. NJAIJ uses a fixed compensation structure to provide pay parity across similar roles in the organization. To preserve equity, the salary range is not up for negotiation.

To Apply:

Interested applicants should submit PDF versions of their resume to jobs@njimmigrantjustice.org with the words, “Deputy Director of Policy & Advocacy: (First & Last Name)” in the subject line. Cover letters are encouraged and applicants that include past portfolios of previous testimony or references to past work will receive priority consideration for interview.

Interview Process:

Applicants will be notified if they are invited to a first round screening. Following first-round screenings, applicants will be notified if they have proceeded to the next stage of the interview process and will be expected to complete a case exercise. Applicants will have 4 days to complete the case exercise, for which all participating applicants will be compensated $100 for their labor, regardless of final selection for this position.

Following the completion of the case exercise, final applicants will be notified if they have been selected for final interview, during which we will request candidates provide 3-5 contacts for professional reference, one of which should be a prior direct report.

NJAIJ is fiscally sponsored by NEO Philanthropy.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer that fosters belonging and empowerment in our work.

We strongly encourage a diversity of identities and experiences to apply.

Bi- and multilingual candidates who have reading and writing proficiency in Arabic, Haitian Creole, French, and/or other West African languages, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Spanish are strongly encouraged to apply.