Associate State Director - Outreach and Advocacy

AARP • Dallas, TX

21h • Hybrid

About The Position

AARP is seeking an Associate State Director for Advocacy and Community Engagement to lead mission-driven efforts in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and surrounding region. This role involves spearheading community engagement, grassroots outreach, and mobilization. The position requires building relationships with community leaders, academic institutions, businesses, policymakers, and volunteers, while championing issues impacting older adults. The Associate State Director will represent AARP in the region, implement projects and issue campaigns, and recruit, train, and empower volunteer teams. This role is crucial for establishing strategic partnerships and amplifying AARP's impact to create a stronger, more connected community.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree and 5 or more years of related experience, including advocacy, community engagement, grassroots organizing and mobilization, coalition and relationship building.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute nonpartisan strategies, including the ability to develop and execute strategies that address issues related to AARP’s social mission.
• Ability to lead and manage multiple projects and issues, including developing both short- and long-term strategies and tactical plans to achieve success in both advocacy and grassroots organizing.
• Solid interpersonal skills with the ability to work in a highly matrixed work environment with many key stakeholders and the ability to develop strategic relationships with external partners.
• Demonstrated ability to lead advocacy initiatives and cultivate strategic relationships with local leaders, community organizations, and stakeholders to advance organizational priorities.
• Experience developing and implementing advocacy campaigns that advance community or public policy priorities through grassroots engagement and coalition building.
• Demonstrated experience building and maintaining relationships with elected officials, government agencies, community coalitions, and volunteer activists, including recruiting, training, engaging, and mobilizing volunteers to support advocacy and community engagement efforts.
• Regular and reliable job attendance
• Effective verbal and written communication skills
• Exhibit respect and understanding of others to maintain professional relationships
• Independent judgement in evaluation options to make sound decisions

Nice To Haves

• AARP will not sponsor an employment visa for this position.

Responsibilities

• Identifies issues of public policy and organizational importance, and develops and implements advocacy strategies at the local, state, and federal levels, collaborating with cross-functional teams, as well as internal and external partners to achieve the organization’s legislative goals.
• Collaborates with internal/external partners on advocacy campaign communication strategy development. Utilizes direct action organizing tactics and implements grassroots advocacy tools to build constituent support for the organization’s legislative priorities.
• Works with staff, volunteers, members, and other cross-organization teams to achieve the organization’s community engagement goals at the state and local levels. Establishes a presence for the organization in targeted communities by engaging multicultural audiences, developing community partnerships, building volunteer capacity, and designing and executing engaging community programs and events.
• Represents the organization and its interests to federal, state, local government agencies and media outlets. Builds and maintains relationships with governmental representatives, with the goal of advancing and promoting the organization's goals.
• Develops and manages relationships with elected officials at all levels.
• Establishes strategic community partnerships and leverages internal/external resources to raise the visibility of the organization within communities.
• Develops and communicates persuasive narratives aligned with the organization’s priorities to diverse audiences. Confidently represents the organization in public facing settings to the media, the public, and members.
• Serves as a subject-matter-expert on the state office’s advocacy issues, utilizing data and input from diverse stakeholders. Produces written reports and/or convenes public meetings to disseminate findings, share best practices, and advance solutions through relevant communication channels.
• Recruits, trains, develops, and deploys volunteers in accordance with organizational goals. Aligns volunteers’ interests with organizational priorities. Supports volunteer needs and designs opportunities to maximize volunteer engagement. Ensures inclusion of volunteer perspectives in strategic planning.

Benefits

• 401(k)
• 100% company-funded pension plan
• health, dental, and vision plans
• life insurance
• paid time off to include company and individual holidays, vacation, sick, caregiving, and parental leave
• performance-based and peer-based recognition
• tuition reimbursement

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level