Summary of Position: The Senior Director of Advocacy will provide strategic leadership to advance Connection’s goals to increase affordable housing in Illinois through state, county, and municipal policy advocacy. The Senior Director will lead the policy and advocacy team, driving strategy and methodology, manage day-to-day operations, build operational structures and processes, leverage technology to expand organizing capacity, and deepen a culture of cross-departmental collaboration. The position drives the vision and methodology to substantially expand volunteer municipal chapters that work to affect local housing policies, with the technical support of Connections’ advocacy staff, and leverages chapters in support of state policy campaigns. The Senior Director supervises a team of staff including a Director of Public Policy and two Associate Directors.
Specific Duties:
Organizing and Leadership Development (60%)
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Oversee the development and implementation of an organizing framework and strategies that build a volunteer chapter network across northeastern Illinois to advance municipal policies that create more affordable housing.
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Build the technology infrastructure needed to facilitate organizing, direct policy actions, and leadership development of advocates.
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Develop annual goals that align with agency priorities that result in sustainable expansion of impact.
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Guide the development of a comprehensive library of affordable housing trainings to be used for general education, advocate identification, and chapter development and organizing skills.
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Consistently develop the housing policy acumen of the municipal team to effectively support local advocates in advancing affordable housing policy.
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Oversee the development of strategies to engage internal stakeholders including clients, staff, and volunteers in policy advocacy efforts including supporting our participant advisory board and staff advocacy committee.
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Engage with elected officials, advocacy groups, and community leaders to promote housing affordability and homelessness solutions.
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Build out data tracking processes to measure outputs and impact of policy and advocacy work and ensure consistent and timely reporting.
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Oversee the full utilization of advocacy CRM to enhance impact and grow advocate engagement and development.
Policy (20%)
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Set strategy and oversee the development of the agency policy platform and ensure the timely delivery of an annual policy agenda.
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Build a vision to engage municipal chapters in policy agenda priorities.
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Provide strategic counsel to the CEO and executive leadership team on emerging policy and advocacy opportunities, risks, and strategies.
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Ensure the development of strategies to cultivate relationships with government officials at all levels of government and effective tracking and reporting systems to keep executive leadership informed of relationship cultivation status.
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Ensure the development of effective research and data collecting and analysis strategies to drive innovative policies, provide evidence-based solutions, and build a repository of best-practice policy templates.
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Identify and implement opportunities for the organization to raise its national and regional profile.
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As a lobbying compliance officer, ensure adherence to agency policies and protocol that support lobbying recordkeeping and reporting. As needed, engage in lobbying activities.
General Responsibilities (20%)
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Develop and manage staff, providing leadership, and coaching to achieve departmental goals.
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Build operational structures that facilitate efficient, effective results and ensure transparency of work output to executive leaders.
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Ensure efficient planning and execution of all policy and advocacy events in collaboration with key internal stakeholders.
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Assist in developing funding proposals and reports and collaborate with CEO and development to cultivate funder relationships, raising the profile of the organization across the region.
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Develop and manage department budget and ensure department adherences to finance protocols.
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Build effective relationships with organizational leaders to ensure cross-departmental collaboration, leveraging resources and information to advance the mission of the organization.
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Ensure team compliance with agency policies and standards.
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Maintain and strengthen Connections’ relationships with external advocacy partners, coalitions, and policymakers.
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Represent Connections externally at key policy, advocacy, and coalition meetings, advancing organizational advocacy priorities.
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Collaborate with communications team to set comprehensive marketing and communications strategy to advance policy and advocacy goals.
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Provide staff leadership for the advocacy committee of the Board of Directors.
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Adhere to the Code of Conduct for Connections for the Homeless.
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Perform other duties as assigned.
The following qualifications are requirements for the position:
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Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in advocacy, public policy, government relations, community organizing, or a related field, including a minimum of 5 years of leadership and people management experience.
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Experience utilizing technology to amplify movement building and influence power over decision makers.
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Demonstrated success in managing teams with staff at different levels of an organization.
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Experience in evaluating program outputs and impact.
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Strong external relationship-building, coalition engagement, and public advocacy skills.
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Bachelor's degree or higher in public policy, nonprofit management, political science, urban planning, or a related field or equivalent experience.
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Valid driver's license, proof of insurance, and reliable transportation to travel throughout the region as needed to perform essential job duties.
The following qualifications are highly desirable:
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Deep knowledge of affordable housing, homelessness policy, and community-based advocacy.
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Experience with a federated advocacy model.
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Experience developing and mobilizing people with lived experience.
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Familiarity working with Boards of Directors and executive leadership teams.
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Experience with lobbying regulations and reporting requirements.
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Experience with budgeting and fiscal management.
Other requirements:
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Must submit to a criminal background check and provide evidence of a recent tuberculosis test.
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Must be able to work evenings and weekends as necessary to support advocacy initiatives and stakeholder engagement.
For nearly 40 years, Connections for the Homeless has served and catalyzed our community to end homelessness, one person at a time. Each year we provide eviction prevention, shelter, and housing services to 4,000 people from across north suburban Cook County. Beyond providing direct services we also operate a robust advocacy and community organizing program to address the root causes of homelessness. The COVID pandemic accelerated our growth in the depth and breadth of services we offer and the organizational infrastructure to sustain this highly impactful organization. Connections is a radically reshaped organization deeply committed to demonstrating our core values in all relationships with participants, colleagues, donors, partners, and volunteers.
Join our dedicated team at Connections for the Homeless, where we blend a commitment to making a difference with a competitive rewards package. Our full-time employees enjoy a range of benefits, consciously crafted through an equitable lens, to support their well-being and professional growth.
At Connections for the Homeless, we recognize that supporting our employees is essential in achieving our mission. We are ready to invest in you as you make a difference in our community. We can't wait for you to join us!
