American Civil Liberties Union

CAREER OPPORTUNITY
Director of Washington Legislative Office [WLOU-12]
American Civil Liberties Union
Washington Legislative Office, D.C.

The American Civil Liberties Union seeks a Director of its Washington Legislative Office (WLO). The WLO’s purpose is to influence the outcome of policies on behalf of the ACLU before Congress and the Executive Branch. The Director of the WLO reports directly to the ACLU Executive Director, Anthony D. Romero, and serves as an active member of the national organization’s senior management.

For almost ninety years, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has served as the nation’s premier guardian of the liberties that define our democracy. Based in New York City, the ACLU has offices in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. The organization, its affiliates, almost 300 local chapters and over 500,000 members remain a bulwark in the defense of liberty. The ACLU is known for assembling broad coalitions of conservatives, moderates and progressives to advance civil liberties on a wide range of issues including national security, racial justice, reproductive freedom, LGBT rights, criminal justice, freedom of speech and privacy – all of which are of increased salience at the federal level since the recent national election.

While much of the ACLU’s work has been in the courtrooms and in the court of public opinion, the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office has led the efforts to enact, to block, to defeat or repeal legislation that would positively or adversely impact civil liberties and civil rights. Its staff has been successful in shaping, propelling and defeating several legislative measures. ACLU leadership and lobbyists have testified before Congress, conducted dozens of briefings for members of Congress and their staffs, organized grassroots lobbying efforts and placed hundreds of op-eds, editorials, television and radio interviews. These efforts have become increasingly important in the changed political environment of the past year.

THE ROLE

The ACLU seeks a Director of its Washington Legislative Office (WLO). Reporting directly to the Executive Director of the ACLU, the Director will be responsible for leading the team charged with advancing the mission of the organization in Washington. Since 2001, the WLO has grown considerably. It operates on an annual budget of $6.3 million with over 30 employees and a number of consultants. The Washington office staff is focused primarily on Lobbying and Legislative affairs, and also developing strategies to deploy the large, active ACLU membership base in support of legislative and administrative policy changes. The Washington staff work closely and very collaboratively with their counterparts in the New York office and the state ACLU affiliates. The Director of the office serves as an active member of the national organization’s senior management team.

The new Director will be tasked with working with the new leadership in the House, Senate and the White House, bringing the expertise and deep knowledge of the ACLU on civil liberties and civil rights issues. In addition to providing leadership in legislative battles, the new Director will be expected to attend to the following challenges during the first 18 months of his/her tenure:

• Build and maintain strategic relationships with Congress and the executive branch.
• Provide inspiring leadership for a staff comprised of talented expert lobbyists and field organizers.
• Continue the work of building alliances and coalitions with a broad range of civil libertarians from across the political spectrum.
• In close cooperation with affiliate staff, develop a list of targeted Congressional and state legislative districts in which to concentrate grassroots organizing and identification of key supporters to assist with lobbying and other efforts.
• Work closely with affiliate staff to establish systems to anticipate and monitor legislative developments in the states as well as to share successful and unsuccessful tactics and strategies to deal with them. Plan and execute grassroots mobilization strategies, including event organizing, creation of public outreach materials, and public speaking regarding these issues.
• Work to increase the organization’s capacity to effectively mobilize the ACLU’s 500,000 members, ACLU affiliates and other concerned individuals about pending federal legislation and ACLU legislative priorities.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

This is an extremely important opportunity for a new Director to play a central and leading role in what will be a new and challenging effort to protect the liberties that define our democracy.

The ACLU seeks a person to assume the leadership of the Washington Office during a period of remarkable and exciting change. The new Director, in cooperation with his/her staff in Washington, the national headquarters in New York and in affiliates around the nation will be expected to craft and execute a comprehensive legislative lobbying agenda.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

While no one person will possess all of the qualities described below, the ideal candidate will have the following professional experience:

• Finely honed political skills, an understanding of federal legislative and administrative processes and a thorough appreciation as to how Washington works, current political alignments and opportunities for collaboration with a broad range of other groups.
• A sophisticated understanding of how to be effective in the public policy arena. Experience formulating strategies that tie together research, legal analysis, organizing, lobbying, communications and litigation.
• A history of working collaboratively and successfully with people and organizations from a broad range of ideological positions, religious views and ethnicities.
• Demonstrated commitment to racial justice and civil rights issues and an understanding that these issues are central to the overall protection of civil liberties.
• Experience working closely and effectively with broadcast, virtual and print media.
• A seasoned and effective leader with a record of recruiting and developing a highly talented and diverse staff, and managing budget and administration. A person who provides clear direction, delegates well and assumes ultimate responsibility.
• An interest in working with the Executive Director and other senior managers in raising funds, with which to pursue the organization’s ambitious agenda.
• A willingness to serve as a speaker at affiliate and other ACLU events.
• Demonstrated and proven leadership experience working in an organization with chapter and affiliate offices.
• Bachelor of Arts or Sciences in a relevant field required and law degree or graduate training preferred, but not required.
• Commitment to the mission and goals of the ACLU.

Performance and personal competencies required for the position:

Washington Knowledge

• The successful candidate will have deep substantive knowledge of how the political, public policy and advocacy apparatus in Washington operates. He/she will have a presence and credibility in Washington, will be highly respected and have the ability to deal across the political aisle and with all branches of government. Regardless of political background, he/she needs to be politically savvy, and have the ability to cultivate strong relationships with all key external constituencies and policy makers.

  Setting Strategy

• The new Director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office will be a strategic leader with strong political acumen and interpersonal skills. He/she will have outstanding judgment and be a critical thinker, able to make strategic decisions about the direction of the organization from both a public policy and operational perspective. The next leader must be able to assimilate and balance the many different interests of all various constituents.

  Leading Teams/Management

• The ideal candidate will possess management experience along with a demonstrated track record of effectively running a team or organization. He/she must work well in a team environment and be able to inspire and motivate staff and the membership. The new Director will understand how to leverage his/her staff, as well as the resources in the membership. The successful candidate will value talent and inspire and motivate teams to work together with a clear direction and purpose.
  

  Building Relationships and Using Influence

• While the successful candidate must be a decisive, strategic leader, this individual must also have outstanding interpersonal skills. He/she will be a diplomat, collaborator, motivator and relationship builder. He/she must have the ability to build relationships and use influence effectively to accomplish the goals of the ACLU. This individual must also be the type of person who can represent the organization well externally in all venues. In order to do this, he/she must be an outstanding communicator: articulate and persuasive, able to convince others to act on information or recommendations based on compelling logic or common best interests.

  Interpersonal Acumen

• The new Director must be able to be self-deprecatory and to see the lighter side of difficult situations. He/she must have self-confidence but also be humble. He/she needs to be gracious in manner, comfortable working with people from all walks of life. The successful candidate will have a style that is collegial, approachable, direct and decisive.

COMPENSATION

The ACLU offers a generous and comprehensive compensation and benefits package, commensurate with experience and within parameters of the ACLU compensation scale.

HOW TO APPLY

Please send a cover letter (with salary requirements) and resume by email to dgrant@russellreynolds.com. Reference [WLOU-12] in subject line - or by mail to:

Denise Grant
RE: [WLOU-12]
Russell Reynolds Associates
1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20006-5805

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, which will not be before August 4, 2009.

The ACLU is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and encourages applications from women, people of color, persons with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.

The ACLU comprises two separate corporate entities, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation. Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation are national organizations with the same overall mission, and share office space and employees. The ACLU has two separate corporate entities in order to do a broad range of work to protect civil liberties. This job posting refers collectively to the two organizations under the name “ACLU.”