Senior Director of Economic Security

Position description

The National Employment Law Project (NELP) seeks a highly collaborative and strategic leader to advance our mission to build a good-jobs economy. The Senior Director of Economic Security will lead and manage a team focused on ensuring that workers have economic security throughout their lifetimes. We seek to advance bold, long-term transformative policy solutions that reflect the needs of all workers—including historically marginalized groups such as women, Black, immigrant, and low-wage workers, and workers with records. Checkourcareers pagefor upcoming opportunities. Join us!

About The National Employment Law Project

Founded in 1969, the nonprofit National Employment Law Project (NELP) is a leading advocacy organization with the mission to build a just and inclusive economy where all workers have expansive rights and thrive in good jobs. Together with local, state, and national partners, NELP advances its mission through transformative legal and policy solutions, research, capacity building, and communications. Our victories over the last decade have impacted the lives of an estimated 100 million workers and their families. We lead and collaborate in fights for higher pay and just benefits, secure and safe jobs, and support at each stage in a worker’s life. For more information, read ourannual reportsand explore our website:www.nelp.org

NELP has a team of 55 staff people based across offices in New York City, Washington D.C., and Berkeley, CA, with a 9-person Board of Directors, an annual budget of $14M, and hundreds of partners in the field with whom we work to further our mission. This position can be located any of our three locations.

What You Will Do

The Senior Director Of Economic Security Leads Our Federal, State, And Local Campaigns To Secure Lifelong Economic Security For All Workers. You Will Be Responsible For Cultivating Policy Influence, Managing a High-performing Team, And Ensuring Alignment Between Our Advocacy Work And Organizational Vision, Mission, And Strategic Plan. You Will Be The Supervisor For Four Team Members Focused On Improving And Expanding Unemployment Insurance Benefits, Retirement Security, And Climate Justice For All Workers, Including Those Historically Excluded From Rights, Benefits, And Protections. As Part Of The Management Team, You Will Partner Closely With Leadership. Key Responsibilities Include:

Lead and Drive Policy Advocacy (40%):

The Senior Director Engages In And Oversees Multi-faceted Efforts And Campaigns With Partners To Leverage Our Legal And Policy Expertise, Strategic Communications, And An Extensive Network Of Stakeholders To Advance Our Good-jobs Economy Agenda. You Will:

• Lead local and state advocacy in key policy priority areas, as described above in the Economic Security portfolio, by engaging key constituencies, allied organizations, policymakers, and federal, state, and local agency staff.
• Provide or direct legal, policy, and strategic support to federal, state, and local partners and for campaigns across the country, including drafting or overseeing the development of model legislation, policy briefs, legal analyses, and amicus briefs.
• Represent NELP in advocacy coalitions, public forums, legislative and agency hearings, and in the media.
• Shape public narrative by drafting or overseeing reports, op-eds, blogs, and educational materials, and engaging in strategic communications that influence stakeholders and build support.
  
  

Team Leadership, Supervision, and Management (60%):

The Senior Director Serves As An Active Member Of The Leadership Team Who Shapes Our Organizational Direction. The Senior Director Is Responsible For Staff Development And Fostering a Team Culture Grounded In Mutual Respect, Shared Accountability, Inclusion, And High Performance. You Will:

• Supervise a high-performing team, providing coaching, mentorship, and professional development support.
• Set and evaluate clear performance goals, oversee progress, and conduct annual performance evaluations.
• Assign and reassign work based on campaign needs, organizational strategy, and staff strengths.
• Lead hiring processes, make hiring recommendations, and recommend promotions and other performance-based personnel decisions.
• Direct and manage the team in translating our strategic plan into campaigns and staff work plans that are aligned and accountable to the organizational priorities.
• Support broader organization development and change management efforts, including evolving strategies, structures, and priorities.
  
  

Who You Are

• You have 10+ years of senior-level leadership in public policy, legal, and/or legislative advocacy in a complex nonprofit, government, or mission-driven agency setting; background in workers’ rights advocacy is preferred, particularly in the economic security portfolio described above.
• You have 4+ of demonstrated success in supervising and leading a team to success.
• You have a J.D., an advanced degree in a relevant field, or equivalent relevant experience.
• You are an effective, persuasive communicator with strong presentation, speaking, written, and nonverbal skills, who conveys information clearly and concisely, internally and externally, with high emotional intelligence and professional judgment.
• You bring innovative and creative ideas, as well as the ability to develop and implement holistic communications strategies.
• You are a high-level strategic thinker who has a track record of increasing organizational success, building effective cross-team initiatives, operationalizing a vision across an organization, and using evaluation tools and metrics to support accountability.
• You have strong interpersonal and collaboration skills and a demonstrated ability to work well with others and influence other teams, leadership, and partners. You cultivate and manage internal and external relationships with trust, nuance, and thoughtfulness.
• You are a self-aware leader who cultivates empathy through open and honest dialogue, builds relationships that foster trust and transparency across lines of difference, and offers direct, honest feedback with compassion and clarity of purpose.
• You have strong project management skills. You set clear priorities, oversee staff, track details, and deliver timely results.
• You are a problem solver. You are proactive with the ability to get things done and manage complex projects, exhibiting judgment under pressure.
• You are a highly skilled facilitator and coach, who is an inspirational, curious, and relational leader with strong interpersonal skills fostering a sense of purpose and community, empowering staff to grow and develop professionally, and has high standards for holding yourself and others accountable.
• You are flexible and agile, responsive to feedback, open to changing direction, and focus on continuous improvement and innovation.
• You foster inclusive and trusting team environments by supporting the success of others, building relationships across lines of difference, and mutual accountability.
• You operate with a commitment to excellence, integrity, diplomacy, humility, and camaraderie.
• Candidates must be eligible and authorized to work in the United States.
  
  

Start Date, Location, Compensation & Benefits: This full-time exempt position is based out of one of our three offices (New York City, Washington D.C., or Berkeley, CA). NELP has a hybrid model that requires staff to work in-person at least six days per month. This hybrid model seeks to leverage both the benefits of working with colleagues in-person and the benefits of flexible remote arrangements. This position will require some travel, including for NELP internal meetings or conferences. The start date will be as soon as possible. The salary for the Senior Director of Economic Security is $140,000-$155,000 depending on education and years of experience.

Compensation at NELP includes an excellent comprehensive benefits package, including full coverage of family health insurance, a medical reimbursement plan, generous vacation and sick leave, plus additional organization-wide holidays, significant contribution from the employer to a retirement plan (both an unelected contribution and employer match); and for qualifying participants, up to 26 weeks paid parental leave, 12 weeks paid medical leave, 6 weeks of paid family medical caregiving leave, childcare/eldercare reimbursement assistance, and student loan repayment assistance. Staff at NELP are represented by Local 2320, UAW, excluding management and certain other categories. This role is a non-bargaining unit position.

Application instructions

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