American Civil Liberties Union

Job Opportunity: American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia
Director, Virginia Voter Restoration Project

The ACLU of Virginia seeks a highly motivated individual committed to civil liberties and civil rights to direct our Virginia Voter Restoration Project. The VVRP director advocates for reform of the Virginia law denying voting rights to convicted felons, educates the public on the unfairness of Virginia’s voter restoration law, and provides and coordinates direct services to individuals who have lost their right to vote.

Background: Virginia’s felon disfranchisement law is the last formal vestige of the Jim Crow era in the state. Of all the states, only Virginia and Kentucky still permanently disfranchise all individuals who have been convicted of a felony (requiring an act of the Governor to restore individual voting rights). More than 300,000 individuals in Virginia cannot vote due to a felony conviction. A disproportionately high percentage of disfranchised persons in Virginia are African-American.

Duties:

• Building a statewide coalition to advocate for reform of Virginia’s voter restoration law.
• Designing a multifaceted, statewide public education program on restoration of voting rights.
• Providing direct service to individuals seeking to have their voting rights restored.
• Training and coordinating volunteers to assist individuals with the restoration of their voting rights.
• Lobbying local and state officials to support reform of the restoration law.
• Researching and writing reports to advance the project’s public education mission.
• Overseeing the creation and maintenance of a website devoted to restoration of voting rights.
• Creating a single statewide resource center for all things related to restoration of voting rights.
• Speaking at meetings and granting interviews to the media.
• Performing other related duties as assigned by the ACLU of Virginia Executive Director.

Qualifications:

• A passion for civil liberties.
• Demonstrated experience in coalition building and community organizing.
• Experience with lobbying of elected officials.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and motivate volunteers.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent research, writing and analytical skills.
• Strong self-motivation and ability to manage multiple deadlines.
• Experience working with diverse communities, clients and coalition partners.
• Willingness to work beyond the 9 to 5 hours of the normal workday, including evening and weekend meetings and events.

Compensation:
Salary commensurate with experience, plus excellent benefits, including paid vacation and sick leave, health and dental insurance, life and disability coverage, retirement benefits, and, daily parking (if needed).

How to apply:
Applications should include a cover letter, resume, and list of at least three references, including contact information for each. Please email applications to:

ewong@acluva.org
Elizabeth Wong, Associate Director
ACLU of Virginia
530 E. Main Street, Suite 310
Richmond, VA 23219

The ACLU of Virginia is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. We encourage applications from all interested persons, including women, people of color, persons with disabilities and LGBT persons.