Legislative Director, CA

Common Cause • Sacramento, CA

11d • Hybrid

About The Position

Common Cause in California is seeking a Legislative Director to set the vision for and manage the legislative portfolio. This role will lead their work at the State Capitol, working closely with the State Director, teammates, board members, and partners. The Legislative Director will serve as an ambassador at the State Capitol, advancing the organization's policy agenda to build a more inclusive, equitable, representative, and trustworthy democracy in California. This is a full-time role reporting to the State Director, based in the Greater Sacramento Area, with an expectation to travel to the California State Capitol at least 3 days per week (up to 5 days per week during legislative session). The anticipated start date is October.

Requirements

• A strong commitment to Common Cause’s nonpartisan mission and to advancing civil rights through our pro-democracy agenda.
• A commitment to equity in the goals of your work and in how you work with others.
• Openness to feedback and awareness of your own strengths and areas for growth.
• An ability to build rapport, trust, and credibility with multiple stakeholders with diverse interests, with a track record of working collaboratively with others, navigating organizational and power dynamics to meet common goals, and respectfully navigating conflict while maintaining your values.
• Innovative and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to navigate through ambiguity to achieve goals, and a resourceful approach to solving problems.
• Ability to manage and meet deadlines for multiple short- and long-term priorities at once, with high attention to detail; strong organizational skills, and the ability to manage your time independently.
• Ability to compel action through both written and verbal communication, including distilling complex concepts for a broad audience, and to differentiate communications as needed for various audiences; ideally, you have experience speaking to the press on complex issues.
• Highly adaptable to shifting legislative priorities.
• Familiarity with office productivity tools, including Microsoft Office, Slack, and Zoom.
• A track record of impactful lobbying efforts and deep knowledge of the California legislative process.
• A demonstrated knowledge of decision-makers at the state level, with a preference for candidates who have existing relationships with these people and organizations.
• Strong knowledge of current issues, challenges, and opportunities related to at least one of our issue areas: Civil Rights & Civil Liberties or Anti-Corruption & Accountability; ideally, you also have knowledge of issues related to Media & Technology (in particular, AI and democracy) and/or Voting & Fair Representation.
• Have led successful local- or state-level public advocacy campaigns related to democracy, elections, voting rights, and civil rights.
• Have managed coalitions with diverse interests to achieve a goal.
• Willing to have a social media presence on behalf of Common Cause, including being tagged on posts and creating content on behalf of the organization (as needed, Common Cause may provide accounts for staff members to use).
• Ability to travel in-state 3-4 times per year, and out-of-state 1-2 times per year for team and/or all staff retreats.
• Ability to work in-person in Sacramento at least 3 days per week, and up to 5 days per week during legislative sessions, conferences, gatherings, and election protection work.
• Common Cause staff members may not currently be in elected office (or running for office); on the Steering Committee or Finance Committee for any political candidate, or affiliated with the leadership of a political party.
• Will be asked to produce documentation for authorization to work in the US.

Nice To Haves

• Existing relationships with state-level decision-makers and organizations.
• Knowledge of issues related to Media & Technology (in particular, AI and democracy) and/or Voting & Fair Representation.

Responsibilities

• Set the strategic direction for and advance our California and national policy agenda.
• In partnership with the State Director, set and execute the long-term strategy for statewide policy development and democracy reform, ensuring alignment with our organizational priorities.
• Manage all aspects of the legislative process for Common Cause in California, including developing ideas for and drafting legislation, determining strategies to advocate for legislation, finding bill authors, lobbying, testifying at legislative hearings, and negotiating amendments.
• Act as the team’s primary representative in meetings with elected leaders, legislative leaders, and other critical stakeholders.
• Advance our legislative agenda through coalition building and stakeholder engagement.
• In partnership with the State Director and the Senior Director of Legislative Affairs, build relationships with key legislative staff at the state capitol to advance Common Cause’s federal policy agenda with the California delegation and other critical stakeholders.
• Collaborate with program staff to leverage their subject matter expertise to support our advocacy efforts.
• Build and lead coalitions of civil rights, tech/AI, civic engagement, and community-based organizations from across the state, and act as a representative at the Capitol for our work with these organizations.
• Lead coalition meetings, manage cross-sector relationships, and represent Common Cause in external policy discussions, public forums, and legislative hearings.
• Coordinate efforts with coalition partners on joint advocacy strategies, including lobbying campaigns, grassroots mobilization, and media outreach.
• Act as a spokesperson for Common Cause, delivering testimony, making public statements, and representing the organization in high-level meetings and legislative events.
• Present and speak at legislative hearings and committee meetings.
• Manage consultants and contractors as needed to ensure Common Cause’s legislative agenda is successful.
• Lead legislative advocacy campaigns, including creating policy proposals, drafting position papers, providing testimony, and organizing strategic outreach efforts to support legislative action.
• Provide input on election protection activities.
• Support and engage with the One Million Conversations Campaign and additional organization-wide campaigns and initiatives.
• Write op-eds, research reports, legislative factsheets, policy briefs, and memos.
• Create social media content to publicize legislative work.
• Draft policy memos for the advisory board and members.
• Contribute to policy-related social media posts, website content, and other communications.
• Make on-the-record statements to the press, and speak at press conferences or rallies.
• Understand best practices for effective engagement with Common Cause members and the public to support our legislative agenda.
• Collaborate with the State Director and fundraising team to identify and pursue funding opportunities to support policy and legislative advocacy.
• Act as the primary communicator with our state board on legislative and policy priorities, facilitating discussions on policy with the board as needed.
• Support fundraising efforts by engaging with key donors, grantmakers, and funding organizations to cultivate financial support for state programs and initiatives.
• Write and develop updates and share successes through written updates and funder briefs.
• Complete administrative tasks as required, including logistics for legislative advocacy activities, stakeholder engagement, and coalition meetings.
• Manage lobbying filings on behalf of Common Cause in California.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• A robust healthcare plan that covers 97% of employees’ medical care, 100% of employees’ vision and dental benefits, and 75% of family medical care and 100% of family vision and dental benefits.
• Long-term disability and life insurance.
• Generous Paid Time Off, including 20 Days of Vacation and 10 observed Holidays per year, and additional days off for Thanksgiving and Winter break.
• 16 weeks of paid parental leave.
• Flexible spending accounts.
• A 401k retirement savings plan, with immediate Employer Match.
• Dependent Care and Pet Care Support when you travel for work.
• Funds for professional development.

What This Job Offers

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