Reports to: Organizing Director
Location: Remote (U.S.-based), with occasional travel as needed.
Type: Full-time, Exempt
Compensation: $80,000 to $100,000 per year, plus benefits including healthcare, unlimited PTO, and access to a retirement plan.
Position Overview
The Deputy Director of Training & Organizer Leadership Development is a senior leader on Common Defense’s Organizing Team responsible for building the leadership infrastructure that transforms members into organizers, organizers into leaders, and leaders into powerful drivers of campaigns and organizational growth.
As a member of the Organizing Department leadership team, this position helps shape organizing strategy, supervises organizing staff, and ensures training and leadership development is integrated into every stage of member engagement. The Deputy Director combines field organizing expertise, volunteer leadership development, political education, and training strategy to help build a strong and scalable veteran-led movement.
Core Responsibilities
1. Training and Leadership Development Strategy
- Develop and implement a comprehensive training and leadership development strategy aligned with Common Defense’s organizing, campaign, and membership goals.
- Maintain a year-round training calendar supporting member onboarding, leadership development, campaign readiness, and volunteer engagement.
- Establish organizational standards, curricula, facilitation practices, and evaluation systems that ensure consistent, high-quality learning experiences across the organization.
- Evaluate training effectiveness through participation, leadership advancement, member engagement, and organizing outcomes.
- Establish organizational benchmarks and metrics for leadership development, retention, advancement, and leadership diversity.
- Partner with organizing managers to ensure leadership development is integrated into member recruitment, engagement, and campaign work.
2. Organizing Leadership & Staff Supervision
- Serve as a member of the Organizing Department leadership team, contributing to departmental strategy, annual planning, goal setting, budgeting, and organizational decision-making.
- Supervise and develop organizing staff, providing coaching, performance management, professional development, and strategic support.
- Support the hiring, onboarding, training, and retention of organizing staff and leadership development personnel.
- Establish clear goals, work plans, and accountability systems that align staff performance with departmental and organizational priorities.
- Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team culture grounded in Common Defense's values.
- Support cross-department coordination and ensure organizing staff are equipped to effectively integrate leadership development, training, and political education into their work.
3. State Organizing Committee (SOC) & Organizer Development
- Oversee leadership development and training programs for State Organizing Committees and volunteer organizing leaders.
- Provide state and regional leaders with coaching, facilitation support, tools, and resources that strengthen organizing effectiveness and leadership capacity.
- Ensure training programs maintain consistent quality while adapting to local organizing needs and campaign priorities.
4. Member Onboarding & Training Infrastructure
- Design and oversee onboarding systems that provide clear pathways from membership to active organizing, leadership, and campaign participation.
- Develop scalable learning infrastructure, including virtual trainings, self-guided modules, facilitator pipelines, and recorded resources.
- Partner with Data and Technology teams to track participation, engagement, leadership progression, and retention.
- Ensure training and onboarding programs are accessible, inclusive, and responsive to diverse member constituencies.
5. Political Education
- Integrate political education throughout training and leadership development programs to build shared analysis, deepen members’ understanding of power and systems, and strengthen campaign effectiveness.
- Collaborate with organizational leadership and facilitators to develop and deliver engaging political education aligned with Common Defense’s mission, values, and strategic priorities.
Qualifications
Required
- 5+ years of experience in community, labor, electoral, advocacy, or movement organizing.
- 3+ years of experience designing and facilitating trainings, leadership development programs, or organizer education initiatives.
- Demonstrated experience developing volunteer leaders and building leadership pipelines.
- Strong curriculum development, facilitation, and adult learning skills.
- Experience managing complex projects involving multiple stakeholders, timelines, and deliverables.
- Demonstrated success identifying, developing, and advancing volunteer leaders into positions of increasing responsibility.
- Experience coaching organizers, volunteer leaders, or campaign leaders.
- Experience building leadership development systems within organizing, advocacy, labor, electoral, or movement-based organizations.
- Commitment to racial equity, inclusion, and veteran-led organizing.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to travel regularly, including evenings and weekends as needed.
Preferred
- Experience leading large-scale training programs, institutes, fellowships, or leadership development initiatives.
- Experience working in veteran, membership-based, labor, or social justice organizations.
- Familiarity with distributed organizing and volunteer-led organizing models.
- Experience utilizing digital learning platforms and virtual training technologies.
- Supervisory or team leadership experience.
- Experience managing organizers or leadership development staff.
- Experience designing leadership pipelines within a membership-based organization.
- Experience facilitating political education and leadership development programs for adult learners.
About Us
At Common Defense, we believe veterans and the military community are a powerful source of grassroots energy that can drive transformational change. Guided by our commitment to service, sacrifice, and equality, we're fighting to make America a place where liberty and justice truly exist for all people.
We are not your average "veterans organization." We are a multiracial, multigenerational grassroots movement doing real organizing to win change for our country and our communities. From expanding voting access to ending forever wars to building a clean energy workforce, we're fighting for bold solutions that protect working families and preserve our rights. Together, we're proving that the same commitment we brought to our military service can transform the future of our nation.
Our Team & Culture
We are a results-driven organization where strategy, collaboration, and impact go hand in hand with equity, inclusion, and a deep sense of collective responsibility. We believe that when we invest in our people, we strengthen our ability to win big fights. We take care of each other, celebrate victories big and small, and make space for everyone to grow.
If you're ready to bring your skills to an ambitious, growing movement, we'd love to have you on our team.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
Common Defense is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that reflects the values we fight for every day. We are an equal-opportunity employer and strongly encourage women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with disabilities to apply.
As a majority-veteran organization, we strongly encourage veterans and military family members to apply. We recognize the unique perspectives and experiences that come from military service and believe they are critical to our work. However, we also welcome applicants from all backgrounds who are passionate about our mission, regardless of prior military experience.
Pay: $80,000.00 - $100,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply
Application Question(s):
- Are you a U.S. veteran or military family member?
Work Location: Remote
