Policy and Advocacy Specialist

After School Matters•Chicago, IL

1d•$60,800 - $65,000

About The Position

The Policy and Advocacy Specialist is responsible for coordinating the implementation of the organization’s government relations and advocacy efforts. The Policy & Advocacy Specialist will support special projects, facilitate advocacy events (including tours and program visits for elected officials), and serve as a content expert for the organization on key policy issues including relevant legislation, lobbying rules, and more, collaborating directly with key internal partners and external stakeholders for all processes. In collaboration with the Director of Policy & Advocacy, this role will support development and prioritization of the organization’s policy agenda, integrating both teen voice and current youth development research. This role will supervise the Research & Policy team’s graduate fellows.

Requirements

2+ years’ experience facilitating advocacy, government relations, community organizing, or public affairs work required, with a minimum of 1 year in project management. Experience in youth development or out-of-schooltime preferred.
Candidate must meet one of these criteria: 1.) Master’s Degree in a related field (e.g. Public Policy, Political Science, Communications, Public Service/Administration, Education, Social Work); or 2.) Bachelor’s degree and 3 additional years of relevant experience
Committed to the organizational mission to provide Chicago public high school teens opportunities to explore and develop their talents, while gaining critical skills for work, college and beyond.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – Committed to a workplace that values different backgrounds and life experiences and allows everyone to bring their authentic self to work. Builds equity into structure, systems, and processes for our employees and the teens we serve.
Proficient knowledge of local, state, and federal legislative and policy-making processes.
Excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills with experience building and managing relationships internally and externally.
Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write clearly, respond effectively to inquiries from external stakeholders, staff, and colleagues including high-ranking officials and board members, and work in political environments requiring a high degree of tact and discretion.
Ability to effectively manage complex projects, efficiently prioritize, and work with minimal supervision.
Exceptional attention to detail, analytical and problem-solving skills.
Professional working proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.
Strong skills in seeking solutions to challenges, developing new procedures, and learning and applying new technologies as needed.
Ability to maintain an independent perspective while collaborating closely with a wide variety of personnel.
Capacity to work collaboratively and proactively within a team environment, as well as independently.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of policy solutions and evidence-based practices in youth development, youth employment, education, afterschool programs, and/or related issues of child development or social justice preferred.
Experience in using Cityspan database a plus.
Experience in statistical concepts, analytical software (SPSS, STATA, R, Tableau, and/or SAS) and database systems a plus.

Responsibilities

Coordinate organization’s government relations strategy at the city, state, and federal levels, building and maintaining strong relationships with legislators and their offices, engaging ASM staff when most impactful, and representing ASM externally to position the organization well.
Support the design of ongoing advocacy and government relations activities, create and track progress on organizational engagement goals, lead communications with internal and external audiences, including elected official offices and external partners.
Implement strategic advocacy initiatives and projects – collaborating with multiple ASM departments, programs, and teens – assist with managing project milestones and identify new processes to strengthen outputs and outcomes.
Represent After School Matters as a member of local and national out-of-school time coalitions, present at coalition meetings and similar events on behalf of After School Matters, and support development of an expanded youth development network.
Continually monitor and track legislation at the city, state, and federal levels. When needed, elevate bills that could impact the organization and support education on the legislation, organizational compliance, and potential impacts.
Organize the research, development, writing, and analysis of legislative memos, policy briefs, and the organization’s annual situation analysis. Seek opportunities to collaborate with internal and external partners to strengthen materials and advance After School Matters policy agenda.
Coordinate public grant applications by facilitating letters of support, contribute to writing a narrative, and strategizing supplemental materials in collaboration with team leadership.
Facilitate the implementation of advocacy internship programs including elected official partner recruitment and onboarding; teen intern enrollment; planning and facilitating field trips and program experiences; creating and disseminating a targeted program survey.
Support an organizational effort to provide expanded access to affordable public transit during summer programs for thousands of teens by leading customer relations on the project.
Manage annual ASM lobbyist registration and ensure timely reporting throughout the year to the City of Chicago and State of Illinois for organizational compliance.
Other duties as assigned.