Director of Federal Affairs

About The Working Families Party and Working Families Power

The Working Families Party is the party for the working people of all races. We all work hard to take care of our families and contribute to our communities. We deserve respect and leaders that will fight for us. The Working Families Party is regular people coming together to fight for a country that puts working people first.

WFP is building our own party infrastructure. We recruit, train and elect the next generation of leaders who will fight for us – and then win laws that will make a difference in the lives of working people. WFP is made up of organizational and individual members who come together to build a new political movement to change America.

Working Families Power is the 501(c4) sister organization of the Working Families Party. It focused on advocacy, organizing, research and leadership development to build a nation that works for working people.

About The Director of Federal Affairs

The Working Families Party and Working Families Power are seeking a Director of Federal Affairs to lead our federal strategy and bring our federal powerbuilding to the next level. WFP and WF Power were founded with a focus on building power at the state level. But as we have grown and strengthened around the country, over the last few cycles, we have begun to flex significant muscle at the federal level as well.

The Federal Affairs Director leads the development of and oversees the execution of WFP’s federal strategy. That includes political and electoral work, especially helping to elect the next generation of WFP candidates to Congress. It also includes organizing work to unify and grow a bloc of WFP-aligned members of Congress who can drive a progressive governing agenda with and for the multiracial working class, as well as advocacy work to advance their goals. The job will also require assessing and navigating relationships with Congressional legislative leadership, with allied organizations, advocacy groups or big spending PACs.

The Director of Federal Affairs is a senior strategic leader inside the WFP, a talented organizer and coalition builder and a thoughtful manager who oversees all aspects of the WFP’s federal work. The job also requires collaboration across departments and geographies.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Elections and Politics:

• Oversee our coordinated electoral work with our priority federal candidates, including mapping of priority districts and recruitment and identification of candidates.
• Develop and maintain close relationships with WFP champion members of Congress and their staffs, both legislative and campaign-side.
• Build networks of political support for WFP candidates and WFP incumbent champions.
• Navigate relations with important centers of power, including legislative leaders, caucus leaders, unions and other outside groups.

Legislative advocacy and campaigns:

• Facilitate the creation of aligned objectives and strategies with WFP champions in Congress, to advance our shared goals including directing the work of WFP’s Congressional strategic communications consultant.
• Represent WFP in partnerships and national coalition spaces with allied organizations, including coalitions focused on advocacy and legislative strategy.
• Oversee the implementation of WFP federal advocacy campaigns in alignment with WFP members in Congress.
• Exercise leadership in identifying pathways to success in legislative and other fights within Congress.

Leadership, Management and Collaboration:

• Lead development and execution of WFP’s overall federal strategy, including identifying priority races, supervising WFP staff involved in those efforts, and representing WFP within the campaigns of priority candidates.
• Manage, mentor, support and develop the WFP Federal Affairs team staff.
• Collaborate across functional teams within the WFP staff to execute the objectives of the WFP federal affairs team.
• Collaborate with senior staff across the party’s state chapters and regional teams to drive priorities and maximize impact.
• Support the development and execution of WFP’s federal communications strategy, including engaging with reporters and serving as an on-the-record spokesperson.
• Identify the development and growth path, taking into account fundraising opportunities and partnerships, to grow the power of the WFP Federal Affairs program and our federal elected champions.
• Serve as a senior leader with the overall development of the WFP’s national political strategy, within the National Politics and Program division.
• Serve as a public spokesperson for the WFP as needed.

Fundraising:

• Fundraises for the Federal Affairs team’s programmatic budget (roughly $750k+ annual goal) with the support of the development team, as well as to support the Federal Affairs teams coordinated-side PAC budget.
• Develop a program and systems to support WFP champion federal candidates with their coordinated fundraising efforts.

Skills and Qualifications

• 10+ years experience in legislative, electoral and organizing work. Preference for significant experience working in Congress or another legislative body.
• Significant and high level experience with electoral campaigns.
• Extremely strong relationship building skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills.
• Experience with fundraising (candidate, organizational or both) or a strong willingness to learn.
• Management experience, ideally including managing managers.
• Excellent listening and interpersonal skills, including facilitation.
• The ability to work independently and hold yourself accountable in a remote work environment.
• A commitment to building independent political power for and with the multiracial working class.

What Else Should You Know

Compensation: The salary range for this position is $125,000 to $165,000 for a candidate based in Washington, DC. The final salary will be determined based on an internal equitable scale that takes into consideration years of experience, geographic location and local cost of living, and final job description.

For candidates in moderate cost of living metros (including cities like Cleveland or Phoenix) the salary range for this job is $110,000 to $142,800

For candidates in medium-high cost of living metros (including cities like Hartford, Denver and Portland, OR) the salary range for this job $115,000 to $156,400

For candidates in high cost living metros (including DC, NYC or the SF Bay Area) the salary range for this job is $125,000 to $165,000

We also offer a robust benefit package for full time employees including paid time off; health, dental, vision, and life insurance; flexible spending accounts; retirement plan options; professional development funding; and remote work support.

Location: The position is located in Washington, DC. We have a strong preference for applicants who either live in the DC metro area or are willing to move there. We will consider applicants who do not live in the DC metro area but can travel there at least once per month. The role involves some travel in connection with WFP’s federal electoral program.

Schedule: Full Time

Union Affiliation: WFP is a unionized workplace. This is a managerial position, not included in our bargaining unit.