State Program Director Washington State

The Organization: Poder Latinx is a civic and social justice organization. Our vision is to build political power for the Latinx community to become decision-makers in our country’s democracy and win on economic, immigrant, and environmental issues. Our mission is to work to build a sustained progressive voting bloc of Latinxs in battleground states across the country. We do this by leading a voter-integrated engagement program where all aspects of voter engagement, issue-based campaigns, leadership development, voter protection, and narrative change form a continuous cycle of political consciousness. Through our work, we empower and equip Latinxs to become agents of change now. Founded in 2019, Poder Latinx operates in Central Florida, including Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, Polk, counties, Arizona East Valley of Maricopa county, and in Georgia including Gwinnett, Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton, and Clayton counties. 

The Position: Responsibilities for the State Program Director will center around management of the staff, implementation of all Poder Latinx operations in the programmatic region, and organizational representation with state allies, coalitions and funders.

Responsibilities:

1. Organizing and Voter Engagement:

• Manage Poder Latinx's organizing efforts on our core issues and end-to-end voter engagement plans which aim to engage the Latinx community year-round
• Design state-based strategic plans and ensure execution of these plans
• Lead state-wide political and geographic analysis to plan for programmatic expansion to key Latinx-dense areas
• Lead data and metrics tracking

2. State Leadership:

• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with C3 and C4 civic tables and coalition spaces that support the advancement of our mission
• Represent PoderLatinx in the media
• Strengthen a local and national presence that helps establish, publish, and communicate the success of Poder Latinx’s programs and elevate the voices of Latinxs from our community
• Identify funding leads and work with Poder Latinx's national development team to raise funds, including writing impact reports as needed

3. Staff Management:

• Recruit, hire, train,and retain a strong, diverse team
• Ensure that each member of the team has clear annual goals and knows what success looks like for their role.
• Ensure that staff deliver great results using strong and equitable day-to-day management practices. 
• Serve as a coach and champion for your staff and support them to do their best work through frequent feedback.
• Track progress towards goals; support and troubleshoot when a project is off-track.
• Manage personnel challenges directly, kindly and firmly using the organization’s progressive discipline procedures. 
• Build a collaborative and inclusive team culture where all staff feel a sense of belonging.

4. Operations and Administration:

• Working closely with national operations staff, implement processes and procedures on administrative matters, such as payroll and budgeting.
• Serve as a liaison between staff and Human Resources, as needed
• Manage the operational aspects of the day-to-day office activities

Qualifications

• Relationship- and trust-based leadership: Ability to builds authentic relationships with a range of stakeholders (coalition members, staff, members, funders, media etc) and across lines of difference, such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, ability, gender identity, citizenship status, or other identities. Listens closely to understand needs or concerns and takes steps based on that input. Follows through on commitments.
• Strong manager: Demonstrated experience leading advocacy campaigns or voter engagement teams to accomplish results; and ability to cultivate staff development through direct feedback and strong inclusive and equitable management practices. Able to work through conflict directly and in ways that build trust and relationships. Able to build an inclusive and equitable culture. Ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures to successfully motivate staff and meet programmatic goals.
• Strong tech aptitude: Proven ability to quickly learn and effectively use GoogleSuite, administer and train others on CRM platforms and other tech tools. Strong preference for experience with Voter Activation Network (VAN).

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills: Ability to effectively communicate verbally and in-writing with funders, partners, media, and staff.

• Manages a high volume of work with efficiency: Ability to perform well in a fast-paced environment and handle multiple priority projects while meeting established deadlines. Strong attention to detail. Ability to be flexible and be able to adapt with changes.

• Mission alignment: Committed to our mission of building a sustained progressive voting bloc of Latinxs in battleground states across the country and winning on economic, immigrant, and environmental issues that impact Latinx communities.

Bilingual English/Spanish (written and oral) skills are necessary.

We are also looking for candidates with a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in organizing and civic engagement. Knowledge on civic engagement and immigration, economic and environmental justice strongly preferred.

The salary range for this position is $70,000 - $85,000 commensurate on experience. Benefits include paid family leave, sick time, vacation, generous health benefits, and retirement match.

Additional Requirements:

• Ability to work on long hour, nights, weekends, and tentatively travel
• Working cell phone
• Active Driver’s license, with reliable transportation with valid auto insurance coverage
• Must be based in the Rio Grande Valley and surrounding areas of Texas,  northern Atlanta region in GA, Yakima Valley in WA or willing to travel to the region to supervise in-person activities.

COVID Disclosure: Poder Latinx has transitioned to lead operations on the ground, staff should be comfortable with attending in-person activities and must meet the following requirements: 

• Must be fully vaccinated and boosted, have proof of vaccination card and be willing to update vaccine status as required.
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To apply: Please email your resume, cover letter, and three references to gigasca@poderlatinx.org . The email-subject line should read “State Program Director WA” or may be missed. All resumes not matching the listed qualifications or following the application process will not be considered for the position. Lastly, no phone calls or additional unsolicited follow-ups, please.

The above job description is intended to help describe the general work level of performance, knowledge and expectation from the person holding this position. This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities or qualifications associated with the role. Poder Latinx (c)(3) and (c)(4) reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet organizational needs as necessary. Poder Latinx is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage women, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities and LGBT candidates to apply. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all our staff, volunteers, community members, subcontractors, and vendors.