Senior Director, Organizing

We are looking for a strategic and results-driven Senior Director of Organizing to lead our national and state organizing strategy to build a democracy that works for all. This senior leadership position will oversee grassroots power-building work across the organization, ensuring that organizing remains a central pillar of our fight to protect democracy.

As we shift to meet the urgency of the moment, our organizing strategy must be disruptive, adaptive, and deeply rooted in long-term power building. You will cultivate a base of activists, members, and volunteers to organize effectively in their communities and build sustained leadership and political power that can both resist authoritarian threats and advance an inclusive, multicultural democracy.

Organizing and campaigns together form the two halves of our movement-building strategy: organizing focuses on building lasting grassroots power, and our campaigns team will develop strategies that leverage that power to create systemic change. 

As a key member of our Campaigns & Organizing leadership team, this position will work in lockstep with the Senior Vice President of Campaigns and Organizing and the Senior Director of Campaigns to set the strategy to achieve our organizing goals, manage a team of four staff who work directly with states and coalition partners, and collaborate with teammates on teams across the organization, including Policy and Litigation, Communications, States, and External Affairs.

This is a full-time role reporting to the Senior Vice President, Campaigns & Organizing; this role is based in Washington, DC, with an expectation to come into our office at least two days per week, and to travel across the country up to 40% of the year to meet with our state teams, be in coalition meetings, and for organizational retreats. We hope our new Senior Director, Organizing will start in July. 

Responsibilities

Develop and lead Common Cause’s organizing strategy

- Own and implement the organization’s theory of action, ensuring that organizing remains a core driver of Common Cause’s democracy work

- Develop and execute a clear, multi-phased organizing strategy that integrates disruptive campaigns, rapid-response mobilization, and long-term power-building efforts

- Ensure that organizing efforts are deeply aligned with our policy priorities, electoral strategy, and democracy reform goals

- Innovate and experiment with new organizing tactics, digital mobilization strategies, and coalition-building approaches to expand our reach and impact

Lead & mentor the Organizing team

- Manage the Organizing team: coach and develop 3-4 experienced organizers towards their goals and support their career progression and retention at Common Cause

- Develop training programs, leadership pipelines, and mentorship structures to build organizing capacity across the organization and ensure that the Organizing team provides coaching and leadership to state-based organizing staff

- Ensure that organizers are equipped with the tools, resources, and strategies they need to succeed

- Foster a culture of collaboration and innovation, where organizers can adapt, iterate, and lead in response to political challenges

Drive movement-building efforts

- Oversee state and national organizing efforts, ensuring that Common Cause is engaging people in meaningful, high-impact democracy fights

- Work closely with campaigns, policy, advocacy, and legal teams to ensure our organizing efforts are politically strategic and campaign-driven

- Ensure our long-term organizing work is building sustainable power at the state and national level, beyond any single campaign or election cycle

Strengthen external partnerships and coalition engagement

- Build and maintain relationships with national and state-based movement partners, ensuring Common Cause is a leader in democracy organizing spaces

- Represent Common Cause in high-level organizing coalitions, ensuring our theory of action is aligned with movement-wide efforts

- Work in partnership with elected officials, grassroots organizations, and advocacy groups to develop shared strategies for defending democracy

- Ensure that our organizing model is intersectional, community-driven, and deeply rooted in equity and inclusion

Ensure strategic alignment across the organization

- Work closely with the Senior Vice President, Campaigns & Organizing to set big-picture strategic goals for organizing at Common Cause

- Partner with state directors, state organizing staff, digital teams, and communications staff to integrate organizing into all aspects of our work

- Build systems for tracking and evaluating organizing impact, ensuring data-driven adjustments to strategy and tactics

- Align organizing and fundraising efforts, helping to shape development strategies that sustain long-term power-building initiatives

Perform administrative and other duties

- Perform other duties as assigned

- Complete administrative tasks as needed

• A strong commitment to Common Cause’s nonpartisan mission with a demonstrated commitment to democracy reform movements
• A commitment to equity in the goals of your work and in how you work with others 
• A track record of working collaboratively with others, with the ability to build rapport, trust, and credibility with multiple stakeholders with diverse interests 
• Ability to navigate organizational and power dynamics, respectfully navigate conflict while maintaining your values, and influence others to adopt changes to meet common goals 
• Ability to compel action through both written and verbal communication, including distilling complex concepts for a broad audience, and to differentiate communications as needed for various audiences
• Innovative and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to navigate through ambiguity to achieve goals, and a resourceful approach to solve problems
• Ability to manage and meet deadlines for multiple short- and long-term priorities at once, with high attention to detail; strong organization skills, and the ability to manage your time independently 
• Openness to feedback and awareness of your own strengths and areas for growth    
• Familiarity with office productivity tools including Microsoft Office, Slack, and Zoom

• Experience leading successful grassroots organizing and base-building efforts at the local, state, and national levels
• Demonstrated expertise in relational organizing, both virtual and in-person, and using digital organizing tools
• Demonstrated ability to lead and facilitate effective trainings for leadership development; ideally you are familiar with ‘popular education’ methodology
• Proven ability to train and coach organizers to improve their skills and impact, both in-person and virtually 
• Experience leading successful public advocacy campaigns related to democracy, elections, voting rights and civil rights, including creating and managing campaign or annual plans
• Demonstrated knowledge of the unique aspects of our national political dynamic, as well as funders and decision-makers within at least one state, and ideally across multiple states
• Experience managing coalitions or groups that represent stakeholders with diverse interests to achieve a goal
• A track record of leading organization-wide change initiatives 
• Experience managing and developing a team; setting strategic direction for a team, and building a unified approach to achieve goals 
• Willing to have a social media presence on behalf of Common Cause, including being tagged on posts and creating content on behalf of the organization (as needed, Common Cause may provide accounts for staff members to use)
• Ability to work in our DC office at least two days per week, and ability to travel regularly around the country (up to 40% of the year, especially during legislative cycles)
• Per our nonpartisan policy, Common Cause staff members may not currently be in elected office (or running for office); on the Steering Committee or Finance Committee for any political candidate; or affiliated with the leadership of a political party

• This position is classified as supervisory and therefore not included in the union-represented collective bargaining unit.
• Common Cause is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time; please note that if hired, you will be asked to produce documentation for authorization to work in the US. 

Common Cause is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applicants of any race, creed, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, income class, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or marital status, as well as applicants who have been previously incarcerated.

Common Cause (501(c)(4)) and Common Cause Education Fund (501(c)(3)) are nonpartisan, nonprofit grassroots affiliate organizations dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create an open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.  

Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Washington, DC, Common Cause has more than 1.5 million members and supporters living in every congressional district in the United States, and offices in 23 states around the country.