Grassroots Director

Job description

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is seeking a collaborative, creative grassroots leader to support and empower our 130+ member grassroots coalition in transforming federal farm and food policy. We’re looking for a candidate who is: deeply committed to sustainable agriculture and food systems, a skilled organizer, a creative strategist, an exemplary manager, excited about long-term power building in a movement context, and experienced centering equity and justice in their work. Join us!

THE ORGANIZATION

NSAC is an alliance of grassroots organizations that advocates for federal policy reform to advance the sustainability of agriculture, food systems, natural resources, and rural communities. For over 30 years, we have organized and advocated together for federal policies that foster a better food & farm system. From creating new federal programs that invest in critical research and infrastructure to reforming policies that have inequitable impacts, we identify needs, develop solutions, and campaign to win. By bringing grassroots perspectives to DC, NSAC gives voice to sustainable farmers and community changemakers, building the power and success of the broader movement. Racial justice – an understanding and acknowledgment of historical and ongoing racial inequities and a commitment to actions challenging those inequities – is a tenet we seek to embed in our structure, analysis, policy development, and advocacy.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Grassroots Director plans and implements winning campaigns to: build grassroots power, achieve NSAC’s policy goals, and advance racial equity in agriculture and food systems. They also support capacity building efforts for coalition members, collaborate on communications and messaging, staff the Grassroots Council, and manage the grassroots team. The Grassroots Director is a full-time, exempt position that offers benefits as outlined in the NSAC personnel handbook and reports to the Coalition Director.

All staff are currently remote due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will remain so until public health and safety guidelines allow for office reopening. Upon reopening, we prefer that candidates be able to work at least partially from our Capitol Hill office at 110 Maryland Avenue, NE, Suite 209, Washington, DC, with an understanding that there is flexibility around some remote work.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Grassroots Strategy, Campaigns, and Communications

• Develop and implement grassroots campaigns and strategies to advance federal policy goals and build grassroots power in close collaboration with policy and grassroots staff along with coalition membership
• Lead grassroots campaign coordination and information-sharing efforts through planning, execution, and evaluation phases with NSAC staff and coalition membership, including using shared decision-making and distributed campaign management approaches
• Facilitate the NSAC Grassroots Council as a space for members to share strategies through peer learning
• Identify and implement effective grassroots campaign tactics and actions, including fly-ins, action alerts, story banking, digital campaigns, petitions, field organizing, and more
• Contribute to the development of effective, inclusive message framing for grassroots materials and campaigns in collaboration
• Contribute to the development and distribution of relevant, accessible grassroots campaign materials, resources, and tools to coalition members

Coalition Building

• Help build NSAC members’ knowledge of and confidence in: the legislative process, grassroots strategy and advocacy, and bringing a racial equity lens to sustainable agriculture policy goals and campaigns
• Support the staff team in building accountable partnerships with peer organizations and partners at the national and local level, including prospective members
• Represent NSAC in the field and virtually at key conferences and organizing events

Staff Management and Organizational Development

• Supervise, manage, evaluate, support, and assist in hiring and onboarding grassroots team staff, including maintaining a climate that fosters ongoing learning and professional development
• Assist with fundraising with respect to grassroots advocacy and communications work and joint fundraising with member organizations

SALARY AND BENEFITS

NSAC offers a competitive non-profit salary dependent on qualifications and experience, $80,000+. We offer excellent benefits, including generous vacation and time off policy, health, dental, and long-term disability insurance, contributions after two years in a retirement plan, financial support for professional and personal development, and more.

APPLICATION PROCESS

All communications are treated confidentially. Resume review begins immediately. No phone calls, please. We encourage applicants who meet the majority of our required qualifications to apply.

Apply HERE

Job requirements

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• An understanding of sustainable food and agriculture issues and passion for NSAC’s mission
• 6+ years of grassroots organizing experience leading campaigns and developing short- and long-term grassroots strategies, whether at the federal, state, regional, or community level
• An understanding of and commitment to grassroots movement building principles and experience working in multi-racial coalition spaces
• Demonstrated understanding of how racial equity intersects with agriculture and food systems and experience designing and implementing grassroots strategies informed by these intersections
• Enthusiasm for and experience in cultivating lasting relationships and accountable partnerships with a diverse body of stakeholders and decision makers
• Strong project management skills and attention to detail: capable of planning, prioritizing, troubleshooting, and evaluating efforts in an ongoing manner within a dynamic Congressional schedule and deadlines
• Excellent written and verbal communication and public speaking skills, including distilling complex material for lay audiences
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, including the ability to listen well, build trust, and model healthy conflict resolution
• A strong team player and leader oriented toward collaboration, shared success, and accountability, including experience in a supervisory role
• Ability to work effectively with, value differences of, and incorporate the experiences and policy impacts on, diverse groups of individuals, including race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability, and socioeconomic circumstances.
• Willing to travel domestically several times a year (no travel required while operating under COVID-19 safety precautions).

HELPFUL BUT NOT REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with large, multi-organization grassroots coalitions or networks with diverse membership
• Experience cultivating donor and foundation relationships and crafting development language for grassroots capacity building efforts and campaigns
• Experience and training as a facilitator to develop consensus among diverse stakeholders
• Experience with online advocacy tools and CRMs (EveryAction, etc)
• Cross-cultural communication skills, including but not limited to fluency in a language other than English

NSAC is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce and strongly encourages applications from groups that have been historically under-represented, including but not limited to women and people of color. Please also see NSAC’s Statement on Racial Equity. NSAC makes hiring decisions without regard to gender, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is an Equal Opportunity Employer and participates in E-Verify.