Advocacy Director

Reports to: Chief of Staff

Position Status:

• Exempt, Salaried; FTE (40 hours/week).
• Salary: $110,000 - $120,000 FTE/year plus benefits.
• Office in St. Paul, MN; currently working remotely from home.
• This is a Twin Cities-based position.

To apply: Submit resume and cover letter to this link to apply. We will consider applications

on a rolling basis so please apply as soon as you are able.

Organization

Gender Justice [501(c)3] and Gender Justice Action [501(c)4] are nonprofit legal, policy, and political

advocacy organizations working in Minnesota and North Dakota to advance gender equity through the law. We work to create a world where everyone can thrive no matter their gender, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation. Central to this work is dismantling the legal, political, and structural barriers to gender equity. We represent clients directly in state court and before administrative agencies in impact litigation cases. In addition to pursuing justice through the legal system, we advocate for policies that expand gender equity and seek to educate and shape public understanding about gender barriers.

We employ grassroots organizing, coalition building, and strategic communications and narrative strategies to create the movement momentum and cultural conditions for gender equity to flourish.

We’re a small but mighty organization looking for the newest member of our ambitious, highly-effective, and growing team.

Position Summary

Gender Justice is seeking a courageous, strategic, and collaborative Advocacy Director to lead the development and execution of our legislative and policy agenda across Minnesota and North Dakota. This is a senior leadership role at the center of our strategy to advance gender equity through systems change, movement-building, and public policy advocacy.

The Advocacy Director leads our “inside game,” driving proactive and defensive legislative strategies, shaping our policy goals, and cultivating deep relationships with lawmakers, coalition partners, and civic leaders. Working closely with the Executive Director, Political Director, Legal, and Communications teams, the Advocacy Director identifies key opportunities to advance gender equity through policy and advocacy while connecting the dots with litigation and narrative change.

You’ll bring your expertise in legislative advocacy, your understanding of how intersecting systems of oppression show up in law and policy, and your deep commitment to reproductive, racial, and gender justice to mobilize transformative change. From managing key campaigns like UnRestrict MN to representing Gender Justice with lawmakers and national coalitions, you will be a visible leader, a team coach, and a powerful force in advancing our mission.

As a member of the Leadership Team, you will also shape organizational strategy, integrate advocacy into our cross-functional campaigns, and ensure our values of equity, dignity, and collective power are reflected in how we advocate and organize. The Advocacy Director supervises the Advocacy and Engagement Manager and partners with the Political Director and North Dakota Program Manager to achieve long-term cultural and policy shifts through c3 and c4 strategies.

This role is ideal for someone who is passionate about policy, energized by collaboration, and committed to building a more just world by changing the systems that shape our lives.

Responsibilities

The Advocacy Director will be responsible for the following activities, in addition to other duties as assigned:

Legislative & Policy Advocacy

• Lead the development and implementation of Gender Justice’s proactive and defensive legislative strategy in MN and ND, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, community needs, and political realities.
• Collaboratively define and refine advocacy goals, agendas, and legislative session priorities—drawing on community input, litigation activity, strategic planning efforts, and the broader policy landscape.
• With support from the Legal team, draft and analyze bills, develop amendment strategies; help draft and direct the creation of policy briefs, talking points, testimonies, and fact sheets for priority legislation.
• Serve as the lead strategist and lobbyist, and point of contact for Gender Justice’s contract lobbyists in MN and ND.
• Draft legislative support letters, provide policymakers with technical support, and ensure narrative alignment with Communications.

Coalition Building & Campaign Leadership

• Provide leadership for the UnRestrict MN campaign, including acting as Campaign Manager in the absence of a dedicated staff member.
• Partner with the Political Director and North Dakota team to grow public support for transgender rights and gender equity in policy.
• Represent Gender Justice in coalitions, task forces, and national/state networks, deepening alignment with gender, racial, and economic justice movements.
• Build and maintain strategic partnerships with reproductive justice, LGBTQ+, civil rights, and community-based organizations to expand collective impact.

Strategic Leadership & Organizational Alignment

• Serve on the Leadership Team, contributing to high-level organizational direction, planning, and alignment between departments.
• Lead the integration of advocacy strategy into broader organizational, programmatic, and campaign strategies, ensuring alignment across litigation, communications, and organizing functions.
• Actively identify and pursue advocacy opportunities related to litigation, public narrative shifts, and national/state-level movement moments.
• Collaborate with the Political Director to develop c3 and c4 campaign activities, creating the conditions for successful policy change, public support, and electoral gains.
• Embrace adaptive leadership by incorporating evolving political, legal, and cultural analysis into the organization's strategy and responses.

Team Management & Internal Collaboration

• Supervise the Advocacy and Engagement Manager, providing coaching, accountability, and professional development.
• Lead internal Advocacy Team meetings, including agenda setting, decision-making clarity, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Support planning and staffing for major events like Lobby Day, ensuring effective engagement of staff, volunteers, and coalition partners.

External Relations, Storytelling & Public Engagement

• Serve as a public-facing spokesperson for Gender Justice/Action in the media, at events, and via platforms like the Gender Justice Brief podcast.
• Represent the organization at conferences, seminars, and policy forums, offering legal analysis, policy updates, and advocacy perspectives.
• Work in close partnership with Communications to ensure message discipline, strong storytelling, and values-aligned narrative strategies.

Fundraising, Development & Grant Support

• Partner with the Development Team to provide compelling advocacy updates and insights for grant applications, reports, and donor communications.
• Attend donor and funder meetings to represent the advocacy strategy and demonstrate impact.
• Ensure the Advocacy Program is appropriately resourced by aligning fundraising needs with strategic priorities.

Skills, Experiences, and Attributes

The ideal candidate will bring many of the following skills, experiences, and attributes. We don’t expect any one person to have every qualification listed below. If this role aligns with your values and experience, we encourage you to apply.

• Courageous, visionary strategist and skilled public communicator who knows how to build and manage a thriving team, coalition, and community relationships.
• Demonstrated senior leadership experience with the ability to facilitate collaboration, set goals, coach teams, coordinate cross-departmental work, and operate with a high level of independence,strong judgment, and excellent communication skills across lines of power and difference.
• Proven expertise in statewide legislative advocacy, public policy, lobbying, and grassroots organizing, with a strong track record of coalition-building and authentic engagement with communities most impacted by injustice, grounded in a demonstrated commitment to gender equity, racial justice, and reproductive justice.
• Issue expertise in reproductive health, rights, and justice and LGBTQ+ rights strongly preferred; experience in related gender justice areas such as economic and racial justice or gender-based violence is beneficial. Demonstrated experience working authentically with communities of color and LGBTQ+ communities, centering those most impacted in movement and policy work.
• Experience developing long-term plans, tracking progress toward goals, and prioritizing and managing multiple projects simultaneously while ensuring deadlines are met in dynamic and sometimes uncertain political and cultural environments.
• Strong communication skills, including exceptional writing and listening skills, the ability to analyze legal and policy issues, and the ability to inspire confidence and passion with both internal and external audiences including movement leaders, community members, policymakers, and donors.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with, and quickly gain the support of, a wide range of constituencies, including coalition partners, legislative representatives and staff, community leaders, and colleagues across the organization.
• Adept at building and maintaining strong, collaborative relationships; adept at working across lines of differences and identities to engage and relate to individuals; ability to build trust and credibility with people from varied backgrounds and communities.
• Willingness to take risks and initiative and to think boldly and creatively about strategies to advance gender equity. We seek a strategic thinker who understands Gender Justice’s policy advocacy as part of a larger gender equity and social justice movement.
• Self-motivated, resourceful, and adaptable, with strong judgment, creativity, and a collaborative spirit; brings a sense of humor and a commitment to contributing to a diverse, thriving, and solutions-oriented work environment.
• Commitment to Gender Justice’s mission and values, which include racial, social, and economic justice, and to fostering a work culture rooted in inclusiveness, trust, respect, and mutual accountability.
• Demonstrated understanding of intersectionality and systems of oppression and the ability to apply that lens to policy analysis, leadership, and strategy development.
• Ability to travel quarterly regionally and nationally and to work flexible hours, including occasional evenings and weekends.

Benefits

Full time employees are eligible for the following benefits:

• Employer-subsidized health and dental insurance
• Unlimited paid discretionary leave
• 3% employer contribution to 401k retirement plan
• 12-weeks fully paid parental and medical leave
• 12-weeks fully paid sabbatical leave after five years

Relocation assistance for moving costs available for candidates not located in the Twin Cities.

Gender Justice is an equal opportunity employer. We seek to build a staff reflective of our values of

equity and inclusion with regard to race, culture, ethnicity, class, religion, physical ability, age, gender,

gender identity, and sexual orientation. As an organization working in solidarity with the reproductive

justice, economic justice, and racial justice movements, Gender Justice is committed to fostering the

leadership of women, people of color, Native and indigenous people, LGBQ and trans people,

immigrants, and others living in marginalized communities.