Overview:

The Director of Public Policy is charged with directing the ACLU of Florida's efforts to promote public policies that protect and extend civil liberties and civil rights in Florida. As a member of the ACLU-FL's senior leadership team, the Public Policy Director manages the ACLU-FL's state legislative and Congressional advocacy strategies and the field operations that support them. Together, these duties stand alongside litigation, communications, and development as one of the core pillars of the ACLU of Florida's overall strategy in pursuit of its mission.

Description:
The Public Policy Director will promote civil liberties and civil rights as the chief ACLU-FL lobbyist in the state legislature in Tallahassee, and will be responsible for building relationships with Florida's elected officials in order to encourage the passage of civil liberties policies and prevent the erosion of existing civil liberties and civil rights based policies. The Public Policy Director will also work directly with the national ACLU to identify and promote national policies that protect and extend civil rights and civil liberties.

The Public Policy Director will have primary responsibility for the ACLU-FL's field program, which involves not only engaging local ACLU-FLvolunteer chapters in action opportunities, but also designing new ways to harness the strength of our members and supporters statewide. The Public Policy Director will work with ACLU-FL Regional Offices to develop action plans that can be used to mobilize chapters, members and supporters in various communities throughout the state.

In addition to legislative and field duties, the Public Policy Director will play a key role in developing the organization's work in designing programs to address such issues as immigrants' rights and drug policy reform. In this capacity, the Public Policy Director may develop new programmatic activities, author grant proposals, report on grants received, and work with relevant ACLU-FL staff and representatives of allied organizations to implement the new work. To the extent feasible, the Public Policy Director may also conduct and/or supervise policy research in new or existing areas of work.

The Public Policy Director will report directly to the Deputy Director, who has overall responsibility for the ACLUFL's programmatic work. In addition, the Public Policy Director will work with the Legal, Communications and Development Department Directors, as well as Directors of the ACLU of Florida's Regional Offices and Racial Justice/Voting Rights, Religious Freedom, and LGBT Projects, to engage in strategic lobbying and coordinate dynamic organization-wide action campaigns.

Responsibilities of the Public Policy Director include:
• Serving as the lead lobbyist for the ACLU-FL in the Florida Legislature, with Executive agencies and with Florida's elected officials, which will require substantial time at the State Capitol, including a full-time presence in Tallahassee during Committee meetings and the Legislative Session;
• Building relationships with elected officials in order to increase the effectiveness of ACLU-FL public policy initiatives;
• Representing the ACLU-FL at the State Capitol before policymaking bodies and with the Capitol press corps;
• Working with the national ACLU to identify nationwide public policy priorities and to support national public policy campaigns;
• Building and nurturing effective multi-organizational coalitions on ACLU-FL priority issues, growth areas, and statewide campaigns, including ballot initiative campaigns;
• Developing and implementing strategies to deploy ACLU members and supporters as advocates for civil liberties;
• Organizing major public events, public hearings, conferences and training opportunities to promote the ACLU's public policy goals; and
• Growing the ACLU-FL's work in issue areas without dedicated project staff.

The applicant for Director of Public Policy should possess the following qualifications:
• A Bachelors degree; an advanced degree is preferred but not required;
• At least five years experience in either government service or the non-profit sector with advocacy experience in civil liberties/civil rights field or as a legislative lobbyist;
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills;
• Superior ability to gather, analyze, and synthesize information and prepare compelling materials in a short time frame, as well as strong writing skills;
• Capacity to design new programs from scratch and guide others in their implementation;
• Ability to work independently, under extreme time pressure, and in a challenging environment;
• Familiarity with Florida's political make-up and culture, and the ability to work with people with a variety of political perspectives;
• Knowledge of diverse groups, experience working with a multi-cultural workforce, and sensitivity and appreciation of cultural differences;
• An understanding of civil liberties and a commitment to efforts to uphold them, including the mission of the American Civil Liberties Union;
• Commitment to the highest ethical standards in lobbying;
• Spanish language skills - optional but desirable.

Compensation:
• Based on experience.

Location:
• The Public Policy Director can be based out of either Tallahassee or Miami. In the case of Miami, the candidate should be prepared to relocate yearly to Tallahassee for the duration of the legislative session.

To apply, candidates should mail or email a cover letter and resume to the following contact:
Beth Wilson
Deputy Director
ACLU of Florida
4500 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 340
Miami, FL 33137

Applications by email are preferred: jobs@aclufl.org

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

The ACLU is an affirmative action / equal opportunity employer and encourages individuals of every race, creed, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity to apply.