Manager of Legislative Affairs

The Manager of Legislative Affairs will support our efforts to create transformative policy conditions for high-quality charter public schools to serve students and families well. Reporting to the Director of External Affairs, the Manager of Legislative Affairs will be a key asset in educating members of the General Assembly on the impact of charter public schools by elevating the voices of charter school parents, alumni, and school leaders. Strong candidates will embody our core values of Excellence, Initiative, Service, and Commitment.

THE ORGANIZATION

The Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS) advocates for the improvement of public education by creating the conditions that allow high-quality charter public schools to grow, thrive, and serve students and families well. We work toward creating positive conditions for charter schools by informing community members of the value of charter schools and supporting elected officials who enact laws providing equitable funding and accountability. We partner with education leaders to maintain fair and transparent charter school policies and practices. As a membership organization, providing charter school leaders with the resources needed to ensure student success is a critical feature of our mission. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Support INCS’ various political, legislative, and electoral initiatives

• Implement and manage elements of our outreach strategy to increase legislative support for charter public schools
• Track all bills impacting charter public schools and those important to the broader K12 policy landscape, especially those related to funding and accountability
• Review and analyze bills, write summary briefs, and provide position recommendations
• Serve as INCS’ in-house expert on IL charter law, funding, and accountability
• Develop implementation materials for member schools after bills are signed into law
• Participate in weekly calls with lobbyists and coalition partners
• Manage school tours, in-district meetings, and other school-based events

Engage in ongoing outreach to Illinois General Assembly

• Participate in candidate interviews and endorsement process for INCS Action PAC
• Lead planning, outreach, and participation for INCS Lobby Day
• Support planning for advocacy summits and other events
• Collaborate on caucus targeting and outreach strategies
• Actively participate in regular advocacy meetings with member schools
• Ensure that parents and community members have current information regarding charter public schools and how parents can become charter advocates through INCS

Identify and track support for charter public schools with all members of the General Assembly

• Establish a system for tracking organization-wide engagement with elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels
• Build advocacy capacity, including supporting policy learning, providing advocacy skills-building and training, developing advocacy tools and resources, providing government relations technical support, and creating meaningful opportunities for engagement
• Oversee advocacy communications, including monthly legislative updates, monthly policy webinars, action alerts, web content, and social media content, in collaboration with the communications team
• Support Director of External Affairs in maintaining relationships with federal elected officials, including responding to requests for information, inviting them to site visits and volunteer opportunities, and sharing information about INCS policy agenda and legislative asks

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

First and foremost, candidates must believe that every child, regardless of socioeconomic factors or their academic starting point, has the potential to succeed in school, career, and life. Also, candidates should have an awareness of how public education systems have historically and disproportionately disadvantaged vulnerable communities. They must believe that charter schools have the power to transform public education and the lives of students.

Ideal candidates will possess the following characteristics:

Required

• BA/BS degree
• Minimum of 7 years of work experience, with at least 5 years of experience in public policy, advocacy, community organizing, government relations, political campaigns, public administration, or a related field
• Experience with the IL General Assembly and committees and an understanding of how the Assembly operates
• Strong ability to build relationships and work effectively with a wide range of people in complex and sensitive political environments
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) to create and present information clearly and effectively for a variety of audiences
• An organized self-starter with high expectations and a focus on results
• Confident, mature outlook and presence, sense of humor, relentless optimism, a spirit of problem-solving, and calm under pressure
• Experience with advocacy, coalition building, community engagement, and/or government relations required
• Keen political and interpersonal judgment
• Ability to travel throughout Illinois
• Deep understanding of the communities that Illinois charter public schools serve
• Proficiency in full suite of MS Office applications
• A commitment to embracing diversity and fostering an environment of inclusion and cultural competency (see our definition below)

Preferred

• Master’s degree
• Professional experience in education, law, politics, and/or campaign management

CULTURAL COMPETENCY AT INCS

Cultural competency is a lifelong process of building the knowledge, mindset, and skills necessary to engage fully and effectively with students, colleagues, and stakeholders of different backgrounds. This process requires us to deeply understand our nation’s history of injustice and its link to the persistent opportunity gaps that INCS and its member schools are focused on closing. It also requires us to strengthen our cultural competency by better understanding our own implicit and explicit biases and by reflecting on our words and actions through open dialogue.

INCS invests in building greater cultural competence and responsiveness across our team by supporting ongoing reflection, learning, skill-building, and positive actions. We know that culturally competent teams, especially when inclusive of individuals who share the racial, socioeconomic, and/or academic backgrounds (e.g., first-generation college-goers) of member schools’ student populations, are best equipped to take action to ensure fairness inside and outside of INCS. To that end, we believe in building a richly diverse and inclusive organization, including a mission-critical imperative for all staff to both model and contribute to the vision we hope to achieve.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

INCS believes it is critical for leaders to reflect the communities that they serve, and that diversity across multiple dimensions enables us to achieve our mission of transforming lives and communities through public education. We don’t just accept difference – we celebrate it, support it, and thrive on it for the benefit of our staff, member schools, and the broader community. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and seek and welcome a diverse pool of candidates in this search.

HOW TO APPLY

We will review candidates until the position is filled. Please visit our website to apply. https://www.incschools.org/join-our-team/