Assistant Director, Advocacy

Nazun

Nazun

This job is no longer accepting applications

See open jobs at Nazun.
Administration, People & HR · Full-time
Remote
50,000 – 60,000 USD per year
Posted on Thursday, June 9, 2022

Nazun (formerly Challah for Hunger) develops leaders and builds communities of people eager to take action to end campus hunger, and to work collectively to solve other urgent social challenges.

One in three college students experiences food insecurity; they don’t know where their next meal might come from and don’t have the resources, time or money to afford access to nutritious food. We are on a mission to ensure that no student ever has to choose between eating or an education. We work to destigmatize — and empower people to act against — the highly prevalent problem of food insecurity on college campuses.

Our work reduces the likelihood that college students will have to choose between eating or their education, and it also builds the next generation of confident leaders capable of contributing to solving the world’s most urgent social challenges.

Challah for Hunger’s rebranding to Nazun has been an ongoing, collaborative project between board members, students, alumni, and staff. We listened to the working group to learn the goals of creating a new name, and what they hoped a new name would achieve. We understood one of the most important goals was to move away from the image of being “just a baking club” and to communicate our more expanded vision and work. Based on the goals and naming best practices, we researched and explored many types of names: literal and allusive; those that showed what the organization works for (leadership development, food security) and what it works against (anti-hunger, fighting food insecurity). Best practices dictate a name should serve as a “way in” to the organization; a way to “stand out.”

Nazun (pronounced NAH-ZooN) means “we will nourish” in Hebrew, a definition which is aligned with the organization’s mission of nourishing — developing, equipping, inspiring — leaders and communities to act against college hunger, and to physically nourish — with challah — those who purchase and contribute philanthropically to the direct service efforts of the organization. It can be taken in the literal food sense as well as in nourishing the minds of the leaders we are developing.

We seek a highly organized, detail-oriented individual with superior community organizing and advocacy skills to serve as our Assistant Director of Advocacy. As a member of the team, the Assistant Director of Advocacy is the organization’s lead voice on policy priorities, advocacy initiatives, and maintains all advocacy materials. This role will work directly with Nazun’s program team and Director of Programs & Education to amplify our advocacy agenda. This is an exciting time to be joining Nazun during a period of exponential growth and expansion.

A note about this unique time. Our staff team is working full-time, from home, though attending in-person events and meetings is a possibility depending on the candidate’s location and comfort level. All of our staff, regardless of their location, are expected to be online during regular EST working hours.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Advocacy Community Building and Management (50%)
    • Create compelling narrative around advocacy importance to share with campus chapter leaders and community sites
    • Build and deepen relationships with Advocacy Chairs of campus chapters and cultivate additional interest around advocacy
    • Activate and grow #FUELHigherEd campaign by leading coalition meetings, supporting staff in campaign implementation and integrating actions into programming on and off-campus
    • Nurture relationships with anti-hunger organizations and interact with elected officials to engage in strategic partnerships
    • Manage staff support and training utilizing EveryAction
    • Supervise Advocacy intern(s)
  • Advocacy Strategy (10%)
    • Research current bill(s) and bill proposal progress
    • Identify trends to determine focus areas for national and discrete campaigns
    • Oversee and create campaign strategy for national advocacy campaigns
    • Design and lead Nazun’s national action initiatives
    • Collaborate with key staff to develop and implement advocacy strategy in all parts of Nazun’s programming, including how we reach participants of all ages
    • Pinpoint key partners and stakeholders and provide background info and entry points for connection
  • Community and Leadership Development (30%)
    • Facilitate the Nazun Advocacy Cohort program
      • Recruit new Cohort members from existing chapters and new sites
      • Maintain and update Cohort curriculum
      • Oversee Cohort mentors
      • Recruit Cohort leaders and mentors each year
      • Conduct beginning, middle, and end of year evaluations on the program and provide recommendations for changes
    • Update additional educational materials and curriculum as necessary for all Nazun volunteers in collaboration with the Director of Programs & Education.
    • Host educational training for volunteers
    • Provide support in conducting education and advocacy training during chapter visits
  • Data Tracking and Reporting (10%)
    • Track Acts of Advocacy, including introducing & approving new actions, and maintaining actions on The Hub (our internal resource platform) and EveryAction (our online organizing platform) to assess impact
    • Provide impact summaries for development team
    • Work closely with development to secure funding for advocacy programming and growth
    • Provide research, quotes, and statements for external communications on the issue of campus hunger to inform our network on the issue

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Minimum of 2-4 years work experience in advocacy, community organizing, and/or nonprofit management. Experience working with college students, in higher education, or basic needs insecurity work preferred
  • Excellent relationship building track record - cultivating, maintaining and sustaining relationships over time
  • Strong facilitation skills and an ability to articulate advocacy goals to a variety of audiences, through written reports, social media, and verbal communications
  • Experience leading national advocacy campaigns in a nonprofit setting using a variety of grassroots advocacy tactics
  • Strong partnership management skills to work with a variety of stakeholders including elected officials and coalition partners
  • Excellent public speaking skills and comfort speaking with a variety of stakeholders and elected officials
  • A personal commitment to centering racial justice in advocacy work
  • CRM experience, specifically with EveryAction a plus
  • Experience successfully managing multiple projects
  • Strong organizational skills with attention to detail and deadlines
  • Strong computer skills including Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Google Documents
  • Willingness and ability to work successfully with people at all levels within the organization (including board members, donors, students, and volunteers)
  • A passion for the organization’s mission and commitment to our goals
  • Comfortable with Jewish culture and values
  • Nazun (Challah for Hunger) experience is a plus, but not required

PERSONAL QUALITIES AND MINDSETS

  • You’re self-motivated. You create your own organizational systems and can hold yourself and others accountable. You expertly navigate managing all levels of an organization.
  • You are fast-paced and high-energy. You have a bias toward action. You can move rapidly through ever-changing environments and have the ability to shift priorities on a dime.
  • You are not afraid of a challenge. You see potential in any situation and can leverage that potential. You can think and act quickly and strategically with a clear head.
  • You’re a systems guru. You enjoy organizing chaos. You can take a large amount of information, assess it, and find the best way to organize it with the end-user in mind.
  • You’re a people person. You love people and understand how to optimize the experiences of co-workers, external partners, and other stakeholders.
  • You’re an expert multi-tasker. You have experience juggling multiple projects at once from start to finish with detailed planning and persistent execution.
  • You have a great sense of humor. You bring levity to the work, have fun with your co-workers, and don’t take yourself too seriously!

COMMITMENT, COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

This is a full-time exempt position, with a salary between $50,000-60,000 commensurate with experience. Nazun provides 75% for employees and 50% for dependents of health, dental, and vision benefits packages, generous PTO (20 days annually for first 2 years) and Jewish and Federal holiday package, and the option for a flexible work environment. We offer a minimum $800 professional development stipend per year and summer Fridays with reduced working hours.

HOW TO APPLY

Please submit a cover letter and resume to talent@nazun.org with the subject: Assistant Director of Advocacy.

Nazun is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage applicants from historically marginalized communities to apply. We are proud to be an inclusive organization, where everyone is welcome. We deeply value the diversity of insight, perspective, and experience brought by people from backgrounds typically underrepresented in Jewish organizations. This includes Black, Latinx, and Asian people, Black Jews, Jews of Color, Sephardi and Mizrachi Jews, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, gender non-conforming people, and people with disabilities. We will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran's status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

Nazun is an equal opportunity employer.

This job is no longer accepting applications

See open jobs at Nazun.