The Vice President of California Government Affairs is responsible for leading Teach For America’s state government outreach and policy strategy in California. In this role, you will build support for our work, while decreasing or eliminating barriers to growth, sustainability, and impact of our program. You will build strong relationships with key members of the legislature and their staff, as well as with key agencies, commissions, and other state partners who influence and inform state education policy. You will work closely with our Executive Directors in the Bay Area, California Capital Valley, Los Angeles, and San Diego; with the national communications team, national Public Partnerships team, and other national teams as needed; as well as with our Regional Field Executive in the West, California regional board members, and other key regional stakeholders.
The Vice President leads a team of policy advocates and will report directly to the national Senior Vice President of Public Partnerships.
Areas of Responsibility:
- Develop and execute short- and long-term strategy to ensure that California state government officials understand and value Teach For America’s mission and impact in their respective communities.
- Secure bipartisan support to decrease or eliminate barriers to growth, sustainability, and impact of our program, and potentially develop a pathway to access state funding.
- Manage relationships at the state level, including but not limited to: the California Department of Education, State Board of Education, the Governor’s office, the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, legislators, their staff, and the staff of committees of jurisdictions.
- Advise and coordinate the activities of the Executive Directors of the four California regions – and potentially other members of the Teach For America network – in support of this strategy.
- Develop analysis, commentary, and mobilization strategies on relevant state policy issues, including state licensure regulations and certification policy, as well as other PK-12 education issues of interest and focus for the California regions.
- Build strong relationships with policy and advocacy organizations in the state education arena.
- Represent Teach For America California at state education policy and regulation meetings or conferences.
- Build strong relationships with state-level education nonprofits and other institutions, such as teachers’ unions and schools of education, active in the California education landscape, engaging California’s regional program teams as needed in engagements related to teacher preparation.
- Work closely with regional staff to develop relationships with local community organizations with a particular focus on civil rights, low-income neighborhoods, and African-American and Latino/Hispanic communities
- In partnership with the national federal government affairs team, develop and execute short- and long-term strategy to ensure that California’s congressional delegation understands and values Teach For America’s impact in California.
- Directly manage two policy advocates
- Liaise with various national teams at Teach For America, including:
- The national Public Partnerships team to ensure alignment between California’s government affairs work and the national narrative on critical issues
- The national Marketing and Communications team to ensure a coordinated California public affairs strategy more broadly
- Other national teams as needed, such as the Recruitment and Admissions, Teacher Leadership Development, and Org-Wide Learning and Strategy teams, to develop and gather information useful for statewide advocacy in California
Educational Background:
Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree (or higher) in education, education policy, or a related field or related degree preferred
Skills/Experience:
- Minimum of eight years of relevant work experience required, particularly experience working in California state politics and policy, as well as in the California education community
- Teach For America experience highly preferred
- Management experience highly preferred
Work Demands
- Must be able to travel within the state of California often and outside of the state 2-4 times per year
- Ability to work evenings and weekends when necessary
- Must maintain consistent understanding of education policy issues and relevant current affairs impacting the education landscape in California
Skills
- Highly motivated leader who excels in an entrepreneurial environment by constantly seeking new pathways and approaches, and engaging proactively in state policy spaces so as to anticipate and head off challenges
- Exceptional strategic thinking and interpersonal communications skills
- Ability to build strong internal and external relationships and successfully work with both supporters as well as detractors of Teach For America’s work in California
- Comfortable making high stakes decisions under pressure; calm and centered and above-the-fray
- Possesses the highest standards of ethics, integrity, respect and humility
- Ability to quickly and thoroughly grasp complexity
- Ability to represent Teach For America externally, articulate Teach For America’s approach and impact effectively, focusing primarily on California, and demonstrated success in influencing external audiences
- Ability to cultivate, develop and retain highly effective teams, and manage team execution toward goals
- Ability to manage laterally and provide coaching and support to Executive Directors within the California regions
- Ability to successfully balance operating both proactively and reactively to address needs within the regions
Job Function:
Organization Info
Listing Stats
Post Date:
Apr 11 2019
Active Until:
May 11 2019
Hiring Organization:
Teach For America
industry:
Nonprofit