POSITION DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE:                 Associate Director

DEPARTMENT:            Strategic Initiatives

STATUS:                     Exempt

REPORTS TO:              VP, Strategic Initiatives

EFFECTIVE DATE:       March 2013

POSITION SUMMARY

The Associate Director reports to the VP for Strategic Initiatives and has responsibilities in coalition building and managing key projects to communicate, build support for and sustain state-based college- and career-ready policies. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work with VP to develop an annual coalition building, communications, outreach and engagement strategy that identifies priority goals, themes, audiences, tactics and resource requirements.
• Represent Achieve with stakeholders through written communications, meetings and presentations.
• Prepare, manage and deliver college- and career-ready policy advocacy tools and information.
• Manage budget and reporting requirements in areas of particular responsibility. 

Coalition Building, Communications and Outreach

• Work with VP to implement coalition building, communications and outreach strategy, including planning and executing events, webinars, regular meetings and creating feedback loops to determine most effective methods. .
• Work with VP and Internet Manager to maximize digital presence and highlight new advocacy tools and practices. 
• Coordinate contracts, partner meetings and development/review of information tools for state-based advocacy partners.
• Stay current and provide regular briefings to colleagues and advocacy partners concerning issues, trends, concerns and models on the college- and career-ready agenda.

• Align activities with budget and reporting priorities and requirements.

Advocacy Tools

• Serve as Achieve’s lead developer of printed and digital advocacy tools on the college- and career-ready policy agenda.
  • Quality control and content management for Achieve.org.
  • Future Ready website project and related activities management.
• Create, review and edit policy briefs, white papers, fact sheets and other communications.
• Develop and execute, with VP, dissemination plans to ensure that tools are widely circulated and that they are used by the target audiences to advance Achieve’s policy agenda.   
• Work with State Policy and Implementation Support unit to understand the areas of greatest need in states and prioritize the development of tools/information in those areas.

• Manage contractors/writers as necessary for tool development.   
• Align activities with budget and reporting priorities and requirements.

Additional Responsibilities

• Edit and review various Achieve materials for public dissemination.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manages Program Associate and Intern(s) on Strategic Initiatives Unit.
• Helps establish individual performance goals and appraises performance of direct reports.
• Develops, manages and updates strategic work plans, including goals and objectives. Helps establish performance measures and evaluates effectiveness of goals, improvement strategies and resource utilization.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

Internal:  VP, Strategic Initiatives, Senior VP & COO, State Policy and Implementation Support Unit, Strategic Communications and Outreach team.

External: State leads in Helmsley Charitable Trust Common Core State Standards Coalition Support Award states, consultants, contractors, presenters, writers.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Bachelor’s degree plus ≥8 years related experience.  Master’s degree may be substituted for two years experience.  Related experience in the education policy arena: research, outreach, communications.  Capacity to develop and implement communication and outreach strategies in the educational, governmental and/or not-for-profit arenas.

• Exceptional research, writing and communication skills.
• Commitment to collaborate in multimodal conditions.
• Demonstrated ability to develop, manage departmental budgets and related financials.
• Proven capability to manage multiple short- and long-term projects in a fast-paced environment.
• Curiosity, flexibility and grit.

To apply, please send your resume and cover letter to jobs@achieve.org [1] with the position title in the subject line.