Director/Senior Director of Policy and Campaigns

Job Title: Director/Senior Director of Policy and Campaigns

Reports to: Executive Director

Status: Full-time exempt

Healthier Colorado is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to raising the voices of Coloradans in the public policy process to improve the health of our state’s residents. Healthier Colorado believes every Coloradan should have an equal opportunity to live a healthy life. Healthier Colorado aims to make meaningful changes to improve people’s health throughout our state’s diverse communities. Our brand is fun, engaging, and approachable–we tackle serious health issues with charm, humor, and a willingness to think creatively and “around corners.”

Position Summary

Healthier Colorado seeks a Director/Senior Director of Policy and Campaigns, a senior leadership role responsible for translating Healthier Colorado’s mission into integrated campaigns that drive policy change, shape public conversation, and build long-term momentum for healthier communities across Colorado.

Reporting to the Executive Director, this position serves as a strategic leader at the intersection of policy development, advocacy campaigns, external affairs, coalition leadership, and project management. Working across physical health, mental health, and social determinants of health, the Director/Senior Director of Policy and Campaigns helps identify emerging opportunities, develop policy and advocacy strategies, manage cross-functional campaigns, and cultivate relationships with policymakers, coalition partners, funders, and community leaders.

Healthier Colorado utilizes a campaign-based approach to advocacy that integrates policy, communications, and fundraising as equal and mutually reinforcing drivers of impact. As a peer to the Communications Director and Development Director, this role plays a central leadership function in shaping organizational priorities, coordinating campaign execution, and ensuring advocacy efforts are strategically aligned, publicly resonant, and operationally effective.

The ideal candidate is a strong project manager, systems thinker, and external-facing leader who can move fluidly between high-level strategy and day-to-day execution. This individual should be comfortable managing complex initiatives across multiple stakeholders, navigating political and policy environments, supervising staff, and translating complex issues into actionable campaign strategies and compelling public narratives.

The successful candidate will be an innovative and collaborative individual who leads with optimism, humor, and a “sunshine warrior” approach, tackling serious challenges with approachability and levity.

Core Responsibilities

Campaign Strategy, Project Management, and Organizational Leadership

• Drive the development and execution of integrated advocacy campaigns from concept through implementation in collaboration with the team.
• Develop and manage campaign plans, timelines, deliverables, stakeholder engagement strategies, and measurable objectives.
• Ensure strong project management systems, internal coordination, and operational accountability across campaign work in collaboration with the team.
• Evaluate campaign opportunities through multiple lenses, including policy impact, political viability, public resonance, coalition support, and fundraising potential.
• Manage external consultants, campaign partners, and vendors as needed.
• Contribute to organizational strategy, annual planning, and cross-department coordination.

Policy Development and Legislative Affairs

• Monitor Colorado’s political, legislative, and public policy landscape to identify strategic opportunities and emerging issues.
• Develop policy frameworks, advocacy positions, and legislative strategies informed by research, community engagement, and field insights.
• Translate public opinion research and complex policy concepts into actionable strategies, public-facing narratives, and campaign priorities.
• Support lobbying and advocacy efforts at the Colorado General Assembly and, when appropriate, local and federal levels.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with legislators, government agencies, legislative staff, and policy stakeholders.
• Ensure compliance with lobbying registration and reporting requirements.

External Relations, Coalition Building, and Public Engagement

• Build and maintain strategic relationships with advocacy organizations, public health partners, healthcare stakeholders, funders, community leaders, and aligned coalitions.
• Convene and facilitate coalitions, stakeholder groups, and cross-sector partnerships to advance shared priorities.
• Represent Healthier Colorado in legislative meetings, coalition settings, conferences, media engagements, and public events.
• Serve as an organizational spokesperson and help shape compelling public narratives around Healthier Colorado’s work.
• Partner closely with communications staff to integrate campaign messaging, public engagement, earned media, digital storytelling, and rapid response strategies.
• Support campaigns that effectively engage everyday Coloradans through innovative communications approaches, public activations, and community-centered storytelling.

Staff Management and Team Leadership

• Supervise and support the Policy Manager position, including goal setting, annual planning, performance management, coaching, and professional development.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and mission-driven team culture.
• Support cross-functional teamwork and ensure strong communication and coordination across departments.
• Mentor staff and help strengthen organizational capacity in policy development, advocacy strategy, and campaign execution.

Fundraising and Strategic Development Support

• Collaborate with leadership and development staff to align advocacy campaigns with fundraising and philanthropic opportunities.
• Contribute strategic narratives, policy expertise, and campaign framing for grant proposals, donor communications, and funder engagement.
• Participate in donor meetings, presentations, and external briefings as appropriate.
• Help identify opportunities to grow support for Healthier Colorado’s policy and campaign priorities.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree.
• 8–10+ years of experience in public policy, advocacy, campaigns, government relations, public affairs, nonprofit leadership, or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex advocacy campaigns, policy initiatives, or public affairs efforts.
• Strong understanding of Colorado’s political, legislative, and policy environment.
• Exceptional project management and organizational leadership skills, including the ability to manage multiple complex initiatives simultaneously.
• Experience managing staff, consultants, or cross-functional teams.
• Strong relationship-building skills with experience working across coalitions, government, philanthropy, and community stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including public speaking and persuasive writing.
• Ability to synthesize research and policy into actionable campaign and advocacy strategies.
• Commitment to cross-partisan public health advocacy and health equity.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree or Juris Doctor.
• Experience working in or around the Colorado State Legislature.
• Experience managing statewide advocacy campaigns, ballot initiatives, or public engagement efforts.
• Familiarity with lobbying compliance and political engagement rules.
• Knowledge of Colorado health policy, public health systems, or social determinants of health.
• Experience working in nonprofit advocacy, philanthropy, or mission-driven organizations.

Key Competencies and Leadership Attributes

• Strategic thinker with strong political judgment
• Strong project manager with operational discipline and attention to detail
• Skilled policy strategist and campaign leader
• Collaborative and cross-functional leader
• Excellent communicator and public-facing representative
• Relationship builder with strong coalition and stakeholder management skills
• Entrepreneurial, adaptable, and comfortable operating in ambiguity
• Commitment to equity, inclusion, and community-centered advocacy
• Accessible and hands-on leadership style with willingness to roll up sleeves alongside the team
• Ability to navigate conflict, competing priorities, and rapidly evolving political environments with professionalism and sound judgment
• Embodies a “sunshine warrior” ethos, approaching serious work with optimism, humor, collaboration, and resilience

Physical Requirements & Working Conditions

• Ability to work flexible hours including evenings and weekends during legislative sessions and campaign periods.
• Willingness to travel throughout Colorado for meetings, events, and advocacy activities.
• Comfort with a high-pressure, deadline-driven work environment.
• Ability to manage multiple competing priorities simultaneously.

Healthier Colorado Non-Discrimination Policy

Healthier Colorado is dedicated to the principles of equal employment opportunity in any term, condition or privilege of employment. Healthier Colorado does not discriminate in employment or advancement opportunities on the basis of race, sex, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, age, sexual orientation (including gender identity and gender expression), disability or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.

We believe that traditional hiring practices have historically and systemically marginalized entire groups of people — including people of color, people from different socio-economic backgrounds, women, and people in the LGBTQIA+ community, to name a few. We believe that we are better as an organization when we work to deconstruct barriers and build a team that has authentic representation from diverse communities, backgrounds and beliefs. Hence, we strongly encourage qualified candidates from those mentioned, as well as other marginalized communities, to apply for roles within our team.

Compensation and Benefits

Compensation

Salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience. The salary range is $95,000 - $120,000 annually.

Benefits

Healthier Colorado offers a very generous benefits package. We value the opportunity for our employees to support their physical, mental, and social health as well as practice a work and life balance. Our benefits package includes:

• Health, vision, and dental insurance;
• Retirement plan (no match requirement);
• 20 days of PTO to start;
• Eight paid holidays;
• Summer Fridays;
• Professional development stipends;
• Wellness, parking and cell phone benefit reimbursed monthly; and
• Paid sabbatical after five years of employment.