Deputy Director, State and Next Gen Organizing

Job Description

Job Description

DEPARTMENT: Organizing and Faith Engagement

REPORTS TO: Director of Organizing/ Faith Engagement

LOCATION: Remote (NE Region)

Bread for the World is a Christian advocacy organization urging U.S. decision makers to do all they can to pursue a world without hunger. Our mission is to educate and equip people to advocate for policies and programs that can help end hunger in the U.S. and around the world.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To assist in providing departmental leadership by assisting with strategy development, supervising/supporting staff and being a subject expert or lead as requested by the director in one or more areas.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES/ACTIVITIES:

Deputy Director Responsibilities (75%):

1. Under parameters set by the Director, supervises regional staff in roles of State Organizer or Regional Organizer:

• In cooperation with Director, develops strategies and tactics to enable organizing department and Next Gen to advance the organization's mission and goals.
• Builds and supports strong State organizers.
• Builds and supports strong Next Gen staff.
• Provides recommendations for hiring, orienting, disciplining and firing.
• Oversees the development and implementation of staff work plans, including conducting annual performance reviews.
• Ensures data is entered accurately and in a timely manner in Raiser’s Edge.
• Approves time sheets after ensuring they have been completed accurately and timely and ensures the accuracy, appropriateness, and timely processing of expenses.
• Creates clear standards and promotes sharing of best practices between regions.
• Coaches, mentors, and provides training to strengthen each organizer’s work and performance.
• Assists the Director of Organizing and Faith Engagement in the development of annual and long-range plans and budgets for the department, which support the overall Bread for the World goals.
• Conducts regular meetings with individual staff and regional offices. Actively supports staff in meeting their goals and providing technical assistance when needed.
• Improves and implements reporting structures (including field reports from events, activist meetings, and legislative meetings) and monitors regional budgets.
• Leads the work of the department in the absence of the Director of Organizing and Faith Engagement.
• Performs other duties as requested by the Director of Organizing and Faith Engagement.

2. Reviews and approves key documents prepared by regional staff, ensuring accuracy, consistency with the Bread Brand and Style Guide, and consistency with Bread policies. Consults with Director on nonroutine items.

3. Deputy Responsibilities that will be assigned specifically:

• Attends meetings in place of the Director as requested; occasionally attends meetings with the Director to facilitate rapid responses.
• Serves as Acting Director and chairs Staff Meeting.
• Serves as national lead for Bread Team Manual.
• Serves as national lead for ORG Training.
• Serves as national lead for local church engagement.
• Serves on major organizational teams such as Publications Team or Digital Strategy Innovation and Integration Team.

Organizing Responsibilities (25%):

1. Engages, educates and motivates a hub network of members, activists, churches, campuses, volunteers, grasstops and other organizational groups on hunger related issues and advocacy through Bread team formation, Offerings of Letters, workshops and training sessions, speaking to groups, media work, lobbying visits, and other means; seeks endorsements from denominational leaders.
2. Recruits new members, churches and campuses for financial and advocacy support; ensures that diversity (race, ethnic, age, denomination) is an active part of recruitment.
3. Recruits people from the hub to participate in annual national conference and/or lobby day; leads workshops, organizes congressional visits and prepares participants for lobbying.
4. Trains volunteers in lobbying, media engagement and community organizing; creates and manages training events and seminars.
5. Develops long and short-range goals and plans through analysis of hub area demographics, characteristics, congressional voting records and other data to strengthen organized networks for advocacy. Works with activists to develop networks within their districts and communities. Determines grassroots strategies, working with local activists and key national office staff.
6. Communicates regularly with activists and members. Develops and activates quick lines, listservs and email alert messages on legislative actions. Notifies membership and interested parties about upcoming events and actions and provides information to the national website manager for posting.
7. Stays abreast of legislative and organizational development.
8. Develops an annual work plan to support departmental and organizational goals.
9. Performs other duties as assigned.

SUPERVISION EXERCISED: Senior organizers, regional organizers, intern(s) and fellows.

SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience.
• Proven track record in organizing. Minimum of 7+ years' organizing experience; professional training preferred; experience in developing and leading local, state, and/or regional issue policy campaigns; experience in building dues base a plus.
• Minimum of 7+ years’ leadership and management experience, including demonstrated success in supervising and developing direct reports and experience in remote supervision.
• Experience working with diverse groups, including ability to reach across political, racial, ethnic, generational, socioeconomic and denominational lines.
• Experience working with Churches and Faith Based Organizations.
• Experience translating national level organizing partnerships into success at the State and Local level.
• Possesses an inherent desire for accepting major challenges, developing clear measurements and feedback mechanisms, and meeting commitments through persistence and results.
• Familiarity or eagerness to learn digital organizing skills.
• Ability to articulate Bread’s Christian messages in an authentic manner.
• Ability to manage complex organizations, and organizational change.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, including ability to identify and engage target audiences and communicate complex ideas or issues tailored to the audience, using appropriate formats and media.
• Ability to develop/lead teams, develop collaborative relationships internally and externally which require a high degree of diplomacy and judgment in order to address and resolve substantive conflicts or escalate concerns to senior management.
• Ability to work independently as performance and outcomes are typically subject to broad organizational review 40% and up to 60% are subject to senior management review.
• Computer literacy in Microsoft Office, use of the Internet for research and experience with data collection and the importance of databases.
• Experience working with diverse groups, including ability to reach across racial, ethnic, generational, socioeconomic and denominational lines.
• Ability to write and speak English fluently is required; proficiency with Spanish is preferred.

WORK ENVIRONMENT ISSUES:

• Must be able to work from home.
• Regular travel required, overnight travel up to 13 weeks a year, including 3-4 weeks per year in Washington, DC. Must live within one hour of a major airport.
• Valid Driver's License and driving history that is consistent with the ability to be insured at an affordable, “safe driver” rate (Determined at Bread's discretion).
• This position will be deployed in the specified region or another location at Bread's discretion.
• Bread is a hybrid organization.
• Bread is committed to building a diverse staff and strongly encourages applications from candidates of color, and candidates with lived experience of hunger and/or poverty. 

CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS:

Bread is committed to advancing racial equity externally and internally, all staff members play a vital role. In the course of our work, each staff person should work to apply a racial equity lens to their work and practices; and participate in racial equity on-going training. Bread is also committed to being an equal opportunity employer.

OUR VALUES:

1. We value our faith. Our faith in Christ is the foundation for our hope, story, mission, and values, and compels us to love our neighbors near and far.
2. We value human flourishing. We believe that every human being, created in the image of God, has inherent dignity that affords an opportunity to be in right relationship with God, self, neighbor, and the environment, and to freely access enough nutritious food for good health.
3. We value justice. We seek to establish effective systems, structures, and policies that affirm equality and advance equity among all human beings and protect people who experience hunger and poverty from oppression.
4. We value courage and prophetic voice. In a spirit of wisdom and love, we will be bold in articulating and pursuing our vision of a world without hunger.
5. We value nonpartisanship. We believe that effective and sustainable public policies are made when, in good faith, we employ a civil and politically unbiased approach to develop and implement laws and programs to achieve our mission.
6. We value collaboration. We believe in working alongside and building community with diverse churches, institutions, and individuals, including people experiencing hunger, to achieve our mission.
7. We value impact. We strive for excellence in our work and hold ourselves and our nation’s leaders accountable in the pursuit of public policies that render measurable results and meaningful change for those affected by hunger.

DISCLAIMER:

Background and reference checks will be conducted on all final candidates. The information in this job description indicates the general nature and level of work expected of employees in this classification. It is not designed to contain, nor to be interpreted as, a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and objectives required of employees assigned to this job.