The Deputy Executive Director of Advocacy is responsible for overseeing the LACBC Advocacy Department. The Advocacy Department includes LACBC’s planning and policy, organizing, and education teams. This means that the Deputy Executive Director of Advocacy is ultimately responsible for leading countywide policy campaigns, overseeing our educational programs, executing LACBC’s local advocacy strategy, and supervising a growing team of community organizing staff. They will play an important role in maintaining LACBC’s reputation as a leading authority on active transportation policy, while increasing LACBC’s on-the-ground presence in communities across the county.
The Executive Director of Advocacy will be responsible for LACBC’s education programming growth and vision, government relations, including compliance with applicable lobbying regulations. They supervise the production of policy reports to be disseminated to lawmakers and partners. They will work closely with partner organizations and build new relationships with other organizations to further LACBC’s reach beyond traditional bicycling spaces. They must represent the organization with a high level of professionalism, organization, and friendliness. The Deputy Executive Director of Advocacy will supervise an Organizer, the Planning and Policy Manager, and the Education Director. They will oversee an integrated and growing advocacy department. They will serve on the Directors management team. The Deputy Executive Director of Advocacy reports to the Executive Director.
Key Responsibilities
The Deputy Executive Director of Advocacy is responsible for supervising the execution of all education programs, executing policy campaigns, supporting local advocacy, and managing delivery of grant and/or contract projects. They are LACBC’s lead strategist on organization-wide campaigns, with responsibility for direct communication with LACBC members, public agencies, elected officials, the media, and the general public about bicyclists' needs countywide. They are tasked with leading and running LACBC campaigns for countywide education, infrastructure funding, projects, and supportive policies. The Deputy Executive Director of Advocacy is charged with overseeing LACBC’s education work (including classes, Operation Firefly, future grant applications), Local Advocacy Strategy (including Local Chapter Program), supporting the efforts of local advocates in cities around Los Angeles County, and bringing them together to further countywide campaigns, share resources, and expand awareness of the work happening around the county. They are responsible for contract planning and policy work.
Strategic Leadership
- Collaborate with colleagues to solve problems with programming, budgeting, and scheduling.
- Explore expansion options for LACBC’s education, policy, and organizing work and propose new initiatives, projects, and funding sources.
- Develop, plan, promote, implement, and evaluate a wide-range of education, policy, and organizing-related events and programs. Measure performance, relevancy, and effectiveness of assigned programs.
- Ongoing advocacy department development and strategic planning.
- Ensure that various parts of the department are working together and integrating the different components of our programs’ work.
Campaigns & Networking
- Be a coalition builder. Reach out to and develop strong peer relationships with diverse organizations and individuals to raise awareness and support for bicycle education and infrastructure projects beyond traditional supporters to also include neighborhood councils, housing, equity, education, youth, environmental, and public health advocates throughout the 88 cities and unincorporated county. • Be a trusted resource for policy makers, the media, and the cycling community. Build professional relationships with staff, elected leaders, and reporters.
- Use social media. Educate and engage LACBC members and the broader community through blogging, Facebook, live-tweeting meetings, etc.
Local Advocacy Strategy & Community Organizing
- Serve the existing local chapters by supporting regular Regional Caucus meetings, hosting trainings, developing supporting materials, and providing guidance on campaigns.
- Identify outreach opportunities to further promote the Local Chapter Program.
Policy Advancement
- Develop policies and strategies to advance bicycle transportation and transportation equity issues countywide. Draw connections to transportation policy from land use, health, environment, education, economics, etc.
- Identify and document best practices regarding: funding, equity, programmatic success, and more. Work to foster and highlight successes and challenges in Los Angeles County. Ensure those stories are being shared with LACBC members, the broader community, and policy makers.
- Work with partner organizations and agencies to organize training opportunities to educate city/county leaders and staff on best practices in bicycle planning in Los Angeles County and beyond.
Contract Work and Funding Opportunities
- Evaluate and pursue potential contracts and grants to determine alignment with LACBC’s countywide goals and staff capacity. Negotiate future contracts in collaboration with LACBC’s Executive Director.
- Respond to and meet with lead organizations regarding work deliverables. Organize LACBC staff and interns to assist with work deliverables.
- Fulfill deliverables, track time, and provide regular reports to LACBC’s Executive Director and lead organizations.
LACBC Organizational Team Work
- Respond quickly to emails, attend regular staff meetings, and keep regular records.
- Attend board meetings, staff retreats, and conferences as requested.
- Respond to requests from your supervisor for special projects, as needed.
- Participate in fundraising efforts for the organization, to sustain this position, and to grow the advocacy department.
- Work as a team player to fulfill the mission and goals of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.
- Other responsibilities as assigned.
- Bachelor’s degree required.
- 3-5 years of work experience in the fields of urban planning, environmental policy, environmental justice, political campaigns, and/or community organizing required. (Advanced degree in Urban Planning, Public Policy, Law, or related field may substitute for two years of work experience.)
- Must be self-motivated, creative, detail-oriented, and energetic.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to be a public speaker; comfort presenting in front of large groups.
- Fluency in second language preferred.
- Demonstrated commitment to environmental justice, the bicycle movement, and smart growth. Experience working in low-income communities of color preferred.
- Experience engaging and building relationships with lawmakers, government offices, and other policy organizations.
- Experience in project management and meeting facilitation.
- Experience with coalition-building to support projects and/or create policy changes.
- Experience supervising complex campaigns with multiple stakeholders and organizing/motivating volunteers and groups.
- Knowledge of bicycle and pedestrian planning, education, and/or engineering.
- Familiarity with Los Angeles City and County politics, council/board offices, and agencies preferred.
- Ability to develop and analyze legislative and regulatory materials and develop easy-to-understand factsheets based on those materials.
- Knowledge of local and regional transportation governance processes preferred.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite and Google applications required. Adobe and/or GIS skills strongly recommended.
- Ability and willingness to work in a fast-paced work environment. Willingness to work after hours and weekends when necessary and ability to work independently.
- Must thrive on change, innovation, and teamwork.
Competitive salary commensurate with experience. Health insurance benefits, two weeks paid time off in addition to regular federal/state holidays.
Qualified candidates, please email resume, cover letter, a writing sample, salary history, and references to [email protected] by Friday, October 27, 2017. Please include “Deputy Executive Director of Advocacy” in the subject line. No calls, please