Colorado Political Director

Unite America seeks a full-time Colorado Political Director. This position is responsible for managing the organization’s advocacy, state affairs and government relations program in Colorado, primarily focused on building broad cross-partisan coalitions to adopt, implement, and defend pro-voter electoral reforms in the state. This position offers the chance to engage in a sophisticated strategy to support candidates, legislation, ballot initiatives, and partners who believe in putting voters first.

OUR ORGANIZATION

Unite America is a coalition of Democrats, Republicans, and independents that aims to foster a representative and functional government committed to solving our major challenges. We invest in candidates, campaigns, and organizations to advance nonpartisan electoral reforms that improve governing incentives and put voters first.

Founded in 2014, Unite America and its 20+ person team has grown to be a leader in the democracy reform movement — supporting, coordinating, and executing to advance policy and elect pro-reform candidates. The Unite America Fund launched in 2019 and has since mobilized 10s of millions of dollars from dozens of philanthropists to reform campaigns and candidates across the country.

Over the last three years, the Unite America Fund has been the driving force behind passing and implementing Ranked Choice Voting in NYC, the largest expansion of RCV in history; defeating the most extremist member of Congress in their primary election in 2020; adopting a first of it's kind final-four voting system in Alaska to address the “primary problem;” winning an anti-gerrymandering campaign in Virginia; and electing state lawmakers across the country who have formed cross-partisan legislative caucuses already advancing groundbreaking electoral reforms. We are focused on dramatically scaling our impact in the years to come.

At Unite America, we are working to build a more representative and functional government that puts voters first and reflects the diversity of our country. An inclusive democracy where leaders embrace problem solving over fueling divisiveness. Likewise, organizationally, we have a vision of building a team that reflects diverse identities, experiences and perspectives; a culture of working across differences toward common goals; and a workplace where everyone feels included, respected and heard. To that end, Unite America is proud to have made diversifying our team, ensuring more equitable opportunity, and fostering a culture of belonging a priority. Our organizational values reinforce this commitment as we work to model the leadership we seek, solve problems together, and take care of one another, to name a few.

THE ROLE

The Colorado Political Director will primarily be tasked with managing the Voters First Colorado program, part of The Voters First Project. The Voters First Project is incubated by Unite America and launched approximately three years ago. The state program includes efforts to advance organizational objectives municipally, legislatively, and by ballot measure. The Colorado Political Director will help conceive, build and implement state strategy to advance a suite of policy priorities throughout various modes of engagement.

The Colorado Political Director will be based in the Denver, Colorado metropolitan area and report to the Sr. Program Director. This is a full-time role with benefits.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Manage comprehensive Voters First Colorado program through electoral, legislative, coalition, and ballot initiatives.
• Help create and execute a comprehensive advocacy strategy, including drafting, lobbying, and passing legislation in partnership with contract lobbyists, partners, and other Voters First Project staff.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders, including individuals, elected officials, and organizational allies around program strategy.
• Assist with development and management of cross-team and cross-organization programs and projects, including state communications plans and fundraising strategies.
• Represent the Voters First Project at events and in partnerships consistent with our organization’s values.
• Keep the team apprised of important updates related to the Colorado program, including electoral, legislative, and movement to support marketing, development, communications, political, and other needs.
• Support defense and implementation of pro-voter electoral reforms in Colorado.
• Occasional travel as necessary in state for meetings and events; travel to two team retreats a year; occasional other travel requested for organizational needs.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

Must haves:

• You have a strong desire to fix a broken political system and passion for our cause.
• You have at least 4 years of issue advocacy or lobbying experience at the state level.
• You support candidates and legislators in both political parties who believe in country over party and will put voters first.
• You have excellent project management skills, and can multitask, prioritize, and execute at a high level.
• You have a high standard of professionalism and personal integrity.
• You are energized by a fast-paced, innovative environment with high expectations.
• You are an excellent collaborator and are able to work with a diverse set of teammates.
• You are an excellent written and verbal communicator.
• You don't mind traveling for work from time to time.

Preferred:

• You understand the Colorado ballot initiative requirements, regulations, and process and can knowledgeably answer questions about it.
• You have led legislative advocacy or lobbying efforts around issues at the state level.
• You have a track record of conceiving, building, and scaling effective advocacy or lobbying campaigns.
• You have experience managing direct reports, contract lobbyists, pollsters and vendors.
• You have experience with successful media advocacy, including messaging, earned and opinion media, developing talking points, and working with reporters.
• You have experience in building successful cross-partisan political coalitions around issues.
• You are adept at designing, drafting and analyzing political surveys.
• You have the ability to evaluate, improve, manage, and maintain systems and processes for program and organization.

Benefits

THE PERKS

• Competitive Compensation (est. $80k - $120k)
• 401(k) Plan (with up to a 3% employer contribution match)
• Health Care Plan (medical, dental, and vision)
• Unlimited Paid Time Off (vacation, sick days, and public holidays)
• Family Leave (maternity, paternity, and adoption)
• Training & Professional Development
• Wellness Resources
• Opportunity to join an inclusive, vibrant, and diverse team
• Ideal location: our office headquarters is in the heart of Denver