Director of Community Organizing and Coalitions

Issue One • Washington, DC

8d • Hybrid

About The Position

Issue One is a leading cross-partisan democracy reform organization working to strengthen American democracy for the sake of freedom, fairness, and opportunity. We believe the biggest challenges facing our country cannot be solved until we address the political dysfunction that prevents the government from working effectively for the American people. Through policy advocacy, coalition building, and strategic engagement with leaders across the political spectrum, Issue One advances solutions that strengthen democratic institutions, promote accountability, safeguard elections, and ensure government serves the public interest, not special interests.

The Director Community Organizing and Coalitions leads Issue One's grassroots organizing, supporter engagement, and coalition-building programs, transforming public interest in democracy reform into sustained civic action. This role is responsible for building and scaling a nationwide network of volunteers, supporters, advocates, and local leaders who can advance Issue One's campaigns and policy priorities. Working closely with the Vice President of Citizen Engagement, the Director develops and executes grassroots organizing strategies that increase supporter recruitment, engagement, retention, and activation. The Director oversees grassroots campaign implementation, volunteer leadership development, community-building programs, cross-channel engagement strategy, and movement-building infrastructure while supporting the Citizen Engagement Digital Manager and collaborating across departments to align grassroots and coalition efforts with organizational goals. The ideal candidate combines strong organizing experience with strategic leadership, campaign management expertise, and a passion for building people-powered movements.

Requirements

• 7-10 years of experience in grassroots organizing, advocacy campaigns, community organizing, civic engagement, or movement-building.
• Demonstrated success building and scaling volunteer or supporter engagement programs.
• Experience leading advocacy, electoral, nonprofit, or issue-based organizing campaigns.
• Experience supervising staff and managing complex projects across multiple stakeholders.
• Proven ability to translate strategy into measurable grassroots outcomes.
• Experience working in fast-paced political, nonprofit, advocacy, or campaign environments.
• Experience building or working within coalition and partnership structures.
• Deep understanding of grassroots organizing, volunteer management, and movement-building principles.
• Strong campaign planning and project management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.
• Ability to motivate and inspire supporters, volunteers, and staff.
• Experience working with CRM, advocacy, and engagement platforms such as EveryAction, Action Network, Salesforce, HubSpot, or similar tools.
• Strong analytical skills and comfort using data to guide decision-making.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across departments and manage competing priorities.
• Commitment to inclusive organizing and community-centered engagement.
• Passion for democracy reform, civic participation, and strengthening democratic institutions.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute Issue One's grassroots base-building strategy to grow and mobilize a nationwide network of democracy advocates.
• Build sustainable pathways for supporter recruitment, onboarding, engagement, retention, and volunteer leadership development.
• Design and manage volunteer programs that cultivate supporter leadership and increase grassroots capacity.
• Build and maintain local organizing infrastructure that enables supporters to take meaningful action in their communities.
• Create systems for identifying and elevating grassroots leaders and advocates.
• Establish benchmarks, goals, and success metrics for grassroots growth and engagement.
• Translate organizational priorities into scalable grassroots campaigns and organizing opportunities.
• Lead national supporter activation programs that drive measurable advocacy outcomes.
• Support capacity building for The Council for American Democracy through training, education, and public engagement programs that align with grassroots organizing efforts.
• Support the implementation of a comprehensive grasstops strategy, integrating grasstops power-building with grassroots organizing to amplify Issue One's impact.
• Develop and manage programs that connect grasstops leaders with grassroots networks to advance shared policy priorities.
• Coordinate with the Vice President of Citizen Engagement to ensure TCAD capacity-building efforts align with broader organizational goals.
• Oversee community-building programs that deepen supporter engagement and increase long-term participation.
• Develop and implement cross-channel engagement strategies that connect online and offline organizing efforts.
• Manage grassroots events, trainings, leadership development programs, and community-building opportunities.
• Foster a culture of belonging, participation, and civic leadership among supporters.
• Build and maintain relationships with coalition partners, allied organizations, and advocacy networks that advance Issue One's mission.
• Coordinate activations across grassroots, grasstops, and coalitional power to maximize organizational impact.
• Identify and pursue partnership opportunities that expand Issue One's reach and strengthen its organizing infrastructure.
• Represent Issue One in coalition spaces and serve as a key point of contact for external organizing partners.
• Track and analyze grassroots engagement metrics, including recruitment, retention, volunteer participation, event attendance, and advocacy actions.
• Use data to inform organizing strategy and improve supporter experiences.
• Partner with digital and operations staff to maintain supporter databases and engagement platforms.
• Prepare reports and recommendations for senior leadership regarding grassroots performance and growth opportunities.
• Supervise and support members of the grassroots sub-team (approximately 4 direct reports).
• Provide coaching, strategic guidance, and professional development opportunities.
• Establish clear goals, workflows, and accountability measures for grassroots engagement efforts.
• Foster collaboration across the Citizen Engagement team and broader organization.

Benefits

• Platinum health plan with Issue One paying 100% of the premium.
• Issue One covers 75% of the premium for spouses and dependents.
• Over 50 paid days off annually, including holidays, vacation, personal time, and office-wide closures.
• Various reimbursements and stipends.
• Hybrid work environment.
• General wellbeing reimbursements.
• Student loan assistance.
• Opportunities for professional development.
• Opportunities for fun and fellowship.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed