Vice President, Policy

Role: Vice President, Policy

We are looking for a Vice President, Policy to lead Common Cause’s policy team and drive our policy strategy across the organization’s four core democracy reform areas: Voting & Fair Representation, Anti-Corruption & Accountability, Media & Democracy, and Civil Rights & Civil Liberties. 

This role will oversee the development, research, and implementation of policy solutions that advance Common Cause’s mission at the state and federal levels. The Vice President, Policy will manage a team of policy directors and researchers/analysts, ensuring alignment across issue areas and supporting policy development that strengthens democracy. Working closely with the Senior Vice President, Policy & Litigation Strategy, this role will bridge state and federal policy efforts, ensuring consistency in our advocacy and research. The Vice President, Policy will also collaborate with internal teams and coalition partners to drive impactful policy change. 

This is a full-time role reporting to the Senior Vice President, Policy & Litigation Strategy; this role is remote anywhere within the lower 48 United States, with an expectation to travel up to 1-2 weeks per month. We hope our new Vice President, Policy will start in June.

Responsibilities

Set and drive the strategy to reach our organizational policy goals

• Develop and implement an integrated policy strategy that aligns with Common Cause’s mission and four core issue areas

• Ensure that state and federal policy work is aligned and mutually reinforcing. 

• Provide expertise and strategic counsel to Common Cause leadership, state directors, and campaigns teams on democracy reform policies

• Oversee research and analysis that informs Common Cause’s policy positions, ensuring a strong factual and legal foundation for advocacy efforts

• Support the SVP, Policy & Litigation Strategy in identifying opportunities to advance federal policy through state-driven initiatives

Manage the Policy Team 

• Lead and support a team of policy directors and researchers/analysts, fostering a collaborative and high-impact work environment 

• Set clear priorities, goals, and accountability measures for the Policy Team 

• Mentor and develop staff, ensuring they have the resources and guidance needed to succeed

• Facilitate collaboration between policy staff and other Common Cause teams, including States, Organizing, and External Affairs

Strengthen Policy Development and Research 

• Oversee the development of policy reports, white papers, and research products to support advocacy campaigns

• Ensure policy analysis is rigorous, data-driven, and responsive to emerging democracy reform challenges 

• Support Common Cause’s litigation efforts to integrate legal strategies into broader policy initiatives

• Track national and state policy trends, identifying opportunities for Common Cause to take leadership on key democracy reform issues

Drive External Engagement and Coalition Work 

• Represent Common Cause in policy discussions, coalitions, and public forums. 

• Build and maintain relationships with policymakers, government officials, and democracy reform advocates

• Strengthen coalition efforts by coordinating policy alignment with partner organizations and allies

• Engage with media and public audiences to communicate Common Cause’s policy priorities effectively

Support Fundraising and Resource Development 

• Work with the Development team to secure funding for policy initiatives through grants and donor engagement

• Contribute to grant proposals and reports, ensuring funders understand the impact of Common Cause’s policy work

• Collaborate with leadership to identify resource needs and growth opportunities for the Policy Team

Qualifications

You will thrive in this role if you have: 

• A strong commitment to Common Cause’s nonpartisan mission and to advancing civil rights through our pro-democracy agenda    

•  A commitment to equity in the goals of your work and in how you work with others 

•  A track record of working collaboratively with others, with an ability to quickly build rapport, trust, and credibility with multiple stakeholders with diverse interests

•  An ability to navigate organizational and power dynamics to meet common goals, and respectfully navigating conflict while maintaining your values 

• Innovative and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to navigate through ambiguity to achieve goals, and a resourceful approach to solve problems  

• Ability to manage and meet deadlines for multiple priorities at once, including setting direction for direct reports to manage priorities; high attention to detail; strong organization skills, and the ability to manage your time independently  

• Ability to compel action through both written and verbal communication, including distilling complex concepts for a broad audience, and to differentiate communications as needed for various audiences  

• Openness to feedback and awareness of your own strengths and areas for growth 

• Familiarity with office productivity tools including Microsoft Office, Slack, and Zoom 

The following is required:

• Juris Doctor degree and bar admission in one or more states
• Demonstrated experience working on civil rights issues at the state level; ideally you’ve also done this work at the federal level  
• Demonstrated knowledge of the unique aspects of the political culture and climate of a specific state, and existing relationships with decision-makers in that state
• Demonstrated experience with the legislative process in at least one state, including policy research and analysis, policy development, legislative drafting, legislative advocacy and lobbying, and policy implementation    
• Have managed and developed a team; set strategic direction for a team, and built a unified approach to achieve goals   
• Have managed coalitions or groups that represent stakeholders with diverse interests to achieve a goal 
• Track record of leading organization-wide change initiatives  
• Ability to travel up between 1-2 weeks per month for meetings and team and/or all staff retreats 
• Per our nonpartisan policy, Common Cause staff members may not currently be in elected office (or running for office); on the Steering Committee or Finance Committee for any political candidate; or affiliated with the leadership of a political party

Additional information about this role

• This position is classified as supervisory and therefore not included in the union-represented collective bargaining unit.

• Common Cause is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time; please note that if hired, you will be asked to produce documentation for authorization to work in the US.

Compensation: $145,000-$175,000 

Note that we do have geography-specific percentage increases, depending on where you are located; details here.

In order to ensure greater equity and transparency as an organization, Common Cause sets salary ranges consistently based on job responsibilities, and we determine salary for each staff member based on relevant years of experience (you can read more about our approach to compensation here, including where we offer geographical adjustments). For these reasons, we do not negotiate on our salary ranges or our specific salary offers.  

In addition to salary, we also offer a generous benefits package, including: 

•   A robust healthcare plan that covers 97% of employee’s medical care, 100% of employee’s vision and dental benefits, and 75% of family medical care and 100% of family vision and dental benefits
•  Generous Paid Time Off including 20 Days of Vacation and 10 observed Holidays per year, and additional days off for Thanksgiving and Winter break
•   Flexible spending accounts 
•   A 401k retirement savings plan, with Employer Match after 1 year of service 
•   Dependent Care and Pet Care Support when you travel for work
•   Funds for professional development 
•   And more! See more details here: https://www.commoncause.org/our-benefits/  

Common Cause is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applicants of any race, creed, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, income class, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or marital status, as well as applicants who have been previously incarcerated.

Common Cause (501(c)(4)) and Common Cause Education Fund (501(c)(3)) are nonpartisan, nonprofit grassroots affiliate organizations dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create an open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.  

Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Washington, DC, Common Cause has more than 1.5 million members and supporters living in every congressional district in the United States, and offices in 23 states around the country.