Context: The Director of Digital Strategies would set and drive the vision for a department of approximately 70 staff, and be responsible for aligning our digital engagement, digital organizing, and digital infrastructure with the broader strategy and success of the Sierra Club. As part of the executive leadership team, the Director will play a key role in integrating multi-channel, online and offline, digital tools into our work – not just how we make change in the world - but how we can best work with new audiences and communities across the country to grow our members and supporters to 10 million by 2030.
Scope: The Director must have a deep personal commitment to, and understanding of, diversity and equity, justice and inclusion issues as well as a personal commitment to working across difference and exercising their power and privilege carefully. They will be responsible for implementing our values across a complex organization that includes staff, including those working in 64 Chapters, and thousands of volunteers in over 370 local Groups across the United States. In growing our members and supporters, it will be critical for the Director to maintain an inclusive online community where people of all identities are welcomed and see themselves reflected in the content and digital tools we produce and use. The Director will also foster an internal organizational culture of inclusivity, respect for all identities and equitable access to opportunity by their leadership. The Director will lead teams of digital experts and vendors dedicated to sharing best practices, testing, and the latest technology; integrating and pivoting quickly to new digital processes, tools, and approaches; balancing scale and cost; equity considerations in annual budgeting; and, increasing training to increase adoption of existing tools and platforms. They will also be responsible for enhancing our digital infrastructure to support both strategic objectives in supporter engagement and mobilization, advocacy, fundraising, and manage risk across the organization.
- Communicate a clear vision for the department that aligns with the organization-wide digital outreach strategy to advance the Sierra Club’s effectiveness and play a key role in overall organizational leadership, particularly around strengthening a culture of data-driven decision making.
- Be an enthusiastic champion of the department across the organization, to inspire staff and volunteers and enhance their work with digital tools, platforms, infrastructure, and support.
- Enhance a culture of collaboration, openness, trust, equity, inclusion, and support within the Digital Strategies department, and in its work with other departments.
- Create clear deliverables and KPIs for managers in the department, and ensure that the department provides opportunities for professional growth for non-managerial staff.
- Collaborate with the executive leadership team to communicate technical goals and strategy to our board, by being open to feedback about the needs and goals of Sierra Club senior leadership, volunteers, and staff.
Digital Engagement & Organizing:
- Collaborate across departments and teams to create a strategy for how our data and tools, and innovative platforms and apps used in the marketplace, can best support better member and supporter engagement in our campaigns and in our democracy.
- Work closely with voter engagement experts and our political teams to create a strategy for how our data and tools can best support increased mobilization and participation in the 2020 elections.
- Ensure that staff and volunteers understand the value of digital platforms and tools, know how to effectively use digital tools and resources, and receive the ongoing communication, training, and strategic support to use these effectively in their work.
- Drive innovation in the Sierra Club and the broader environmental movement by adopting cutting edge digital strategies to support movement building and distributed organizing work, and drive demand for those strategies across the organization.
- Ensure that all digital tools are designed to build support in marginalized communities and support both the online and offline organizing that staff and volunteers are doing in those communities.
Digital Infrastructure:
- Ensure that chapters, groups, and volunteers have the digital tools, support, and training required to achieve their individual and combined goals, with a focus on supporting the integration of our chapter, national and field strategies at the state and local level.
- Develop and implement policies and best practices to maximize the security of our systems, data, and software, and review architectural decisions with an eye toward accessibility.
- Oversee and strategically integrate Sierra Club's digital systems (Salesforce, VAN, AddUp, CORE), as well as play a key role in adapting and growing the Sierra Club's digital program as the organization goes through several change management processes.
- Create a nimble and responsive data strategy that helps various departments accomplish their goals, and allows the organization to perform at its best.
- Emotionally intelligent, with the ability to motivate teams, ask for and receive feedback, and foster a positive team culture.
- Exceptional communications and interpersonal skills, especially around change management processes, and building understanding, excitement, and buy-in for digital strategies with staff and volunteers.
- Experience at a grassroots organization with digital campaigning and advocacy, as well as a focus on community organizing and movement building.
- Cutting edge knowledge and experience leveraging online tools and resources to motivate and influence constituencies, including a demonstrated ability to combine online and offline activism.
- Track record of innovation and creativity coupled with technical expertise and an understanding of best practices and industry trends in digital engagement.
- Deep data-orientation, particularly around using data and metrics to make informed decisions around strategy, and measure success.
- Strong team management skills, including the ability to manage managers and drive accountability and progress and foster a culture of collaboration, respect, and open dialogue across, geographically dispersed teams.
- Experience, and a proven track record of, making their organization and teams more equitable, just,and inclusive, and a commitment to anti-racism work.
- Resilient and flexible, with the ability to continually experiment, learn, and revise strategies.
- A positive energy and good humor that engenders enthusiasm and collaboration.
- A passion for the Sierra Club’s commitment to environmental and social justice.
- 10 years of experience or equivalent combination of experience and education in leading teams around digital organizing, online supporter engagement, and managing change management processes.
- Ability to travel 30% of their time.
The Sierra Club offers competitive salary package commensurate with skills and experience plus excellent benefits that include medical, dental, and vision coverage, and a retirement savings 401(k) plan.