Chief of Strategy and Partnerships

About People’s Action/Institute

People’s Action Institute (501c3), and sister organization People’s Action (501c4), are national progressive organizations supporting the mobilization and leadership of the grassroots in support of an agenda that reflects people over profits. People’s Action/Institute builds the power of poor and working people in rural, suburban, and urban areas to win change through issue campaigns and elections.

With offices in Washington, DC, and Chicago, IL, and remote staff across the country, we support and advance state-based and national fights for progressive policies on the environment, decarceration, health care, economic security, housing, education, and more. Our member organizations, 40 organizations across 30 states, improve lives by running local- and state-level issue and electoral campaigns, leading statewide tables, and collectively coming together to change national policy and politics.

People’s Action/ Institute has a track record of leadership in coordinating field mobilization and advocacy in advancing an array of issues at the local, state, and federal levels. Our member organizations have won important victories at the national, state, and local levels, including health insurance for millions and the reversal of health care laws that discriminate based on citizenship, stopping Wall Street banks from selling predatory payday loans to their customers, and historic legislation like the Community Reinvestment Act to victory and the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

For more information on PAI, please visit https://peoplesaction.org/.

The Opportunity

Do you consider yourself a strategist and a connector that proactively seeks to build, drive and engage in strategic opportunities at both the national and local level? Have you always had a keen eye for seeking out strategic partnerships that help organizations collaborate and thrive on ideals they align with and achieve long-term goals together? Do you have a combination of organizing experience, policy/strategy expertise, and strong relationships in the social justice ecosystem, including funders? If this sounds like you, People’s Action Institute is hiring for a Chief of Strategy and Partnerships!

Overview of the Position

The Chief of Strategy and Partnerships’ role is to make sure the organization grows its network of influential friends and allies, including funders, progressive think-tanks, the White House and federal agencies, and strategic partners.

As a Chief of Strategy and Partnerships, your typical day will include (but isn’t limited to):

• Managing and Building Strategic Partnerships: Serve as a senior advisor to the Executive Director and Senior team on Strategy and strategic partnerships. Identify, develop, and drive new initiatives, projects, and programs that are a deep part of People’s Action Institute's work. Maintain and build relationships with existing and emerging leaders in key sectors of the progressive movement. Assess speaking engagements and other external engagement opportunities and advise Executive Director and senior staff on if and how to engage.

• Overseeing Fundraising Strategy:With the Executive Director and Director of Development, help create a strategy, develop new funder relationships, and help drive certain renewals. Manage and supervise the Development Director and team while facilitating the team’s growth. Ensure all development functions are C3 and C4 compliant.

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• Supervision: Provide supervision and strategic support to senior staff and their teams

The ideal Chief of Strategy and Partnerships should have the following experience and qualifications:

• Strong commitment to racial, gender, and economic justice and their intersections, both inside and outside the organization.
• Ability to work with diverse people and organizations
• 20+ years of relevant professional experience, including people management experience, with a strong focus on deep and relational base-building grassroots organizing, democratic participation, co-governance, civic engagement, electoral and legislative campaigns, and issue-based organizing.
• Highly effective relationship-building skills, including one-to-one interpersonal networking; ability to leverage and communicate effectively with diverse audiences: executive leaders, board members, donors and institutional funders, leaders of progressive organizations, constituents, and PAI team members.
• Experience with directly raising funding for other organizations and/or experience and strong relationships in the progressive philanthropy ecosystem.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with an emphasis on the ability to persuade and influence others around ideas, decisions, and financial support in individual and group settings; confidence to assert, present perspective, engage others and influence outcomes.
• Flexible and adaptable style with the ability to be a collaborative team player
• Previous experience running strategic campaigns from a long-term, base-building and leadership development perspective.
• Experience in membership and leadership development or working in organizations that prioritize building the power of traditionally marginalized constituencies.

Compensation and Benefits:

Status: Full-Time and benefits-eligible

Union Position (Yes/No): No

Salary Range: Level H - Salary is starting at $172,375 and commensurate with experience

Location: Can be based in our Chicago, IL or Washington, D.C. office, but remote locations may be considered anywhere within the United States except Hawaii and Alaska.

Reports to: Executive Director

Travel Requirements (Yes/No): Yes, Minimum of 6 times a year or as needed

Benefits include: Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance, Medical, on the first day of employment, and Dependent Care Flex Spending Account after 90 days, 401(k) plan after 30 days, Long-Term Disability Insurance, Life Insurance, 4 floating holidays (Presidents Day, May Day, Indigenous People’s Day, Veterans Day, a week off during the summer, 10 paid holidays plus the last two weeks of the year that include Christmas Eve/Christmas Day as well as, New Year’s Eve, and you accrue two weeks of vacation your first year of employment.

Commitment to Disability, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:

People’s Action/Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer; womxn, people of color, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQI people are strongly encouraged to apply.

Our Commitment to Equitable Compensation:

We believe in fair compensation for your work - no matter where you live. Our salary scale is comparable to salaries you would find in Chicago, IL, where our headquarters is based. It is based on your months/years of work experience. While we do not determine education as a factor in whether we hire someone to work for People’s Action Institute, we do factor in any relevant higher education experience that you have. To further counter pay inequities and inequality on the team, we have a non-negotiable compensation practice and provide opportunities for advancement for full-time employees based on performance evaluation. Your starting pay reflects where you sit within our salary scale and is based on the information that you provide us on your resume. PAI continues to monitor wages through triennial compensation analysis to ensure that we continue to offer our prospective and current employees fair wages.

Union

People’s Action Institute recognizes our staff bargaining unit affiliated with Chicago Midwest Regional Join Board, Workers United (CMRJB). Any position that is indicated as included in People’s Action Institute’s bargaining unit will be covered under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

Close date: February 4, 2024

No phone calls, please.