Senior Director of Government Affairs

Who We Are

Arts Alliance Illinois champions arts resources and policies that benefit our members and all Illinois residents. As the only statewide, multidisciplinary organization concentrated on the strength of arts and culture, the Alliance takes on challenges that no single organization or artist can face alone.

Position Summary

The Senior Director of Government Affairs is a member of the Alliance’s senior leadership team, working closely with the Executive Director and a team of three other senior staff to manage long-term plans to engage members and build sustainable legislative wins for the creative sector. 

This position will be a leading advocate and voice of the creative community, fighting for a just and thriving creative sector in Illinois. They will supervise the Director of Community Organizing, co-supervise the Director of Communications, provide guidance to their respective teams, and develop core external partnerships to execute a rigorous calendar of advocacy and policy campaigns to advance short and long-term policy goals and organizational growth. The Senior Director of Government Affairs will also serve as senior political strategist and policy analyst, conducting analyses of policy developments, preparing and presenting legislative testimony, and engaging the Alliance’s growing network of partners and supporters.

We seek a highly ambitious and motivated strategic thinker with leadership qualities, experience working with diverse coalitions, a political or organizing background, and experience managing staff. This position reports to the Executive Director.

This position is approximately 75% remote, with a requirement to attend in-person events as needed. During the legislative session, the Senior Director of Government Affairs will be expected to travel to Springfield, IL to build relationships with lawmakers, engage with our contract lobbyist, etc. This also includes occasional meetings at the Chicago offices, annual staff retreats, and other Arts Alliance events. Due to the nature of our work, we require all employees to be full-time residents of Illinois during their term of employment with AAI.

Duties
Government Affairs (60%)

• Design and execute effective advocacy strategies around issues of importance to the Illinois creative sector, with a focus on promoting equity and access for BIPOC and rural arts practitioners and organizations.
• Build and maintain legislative relationships at local, state, and federal levels, especially with elected officials, civil servants, and their respective staff. 
• Manage Arts Alliance legislation from drafting phase, filing, and adding sponsors to passage.
• Ensure legislative and policy proposals relevant to the Alliance’s agenda and the creative sector are tracked and analyzed. Including, but not limited to, tracking legislation harmful to the sector and reaching out to sponsors on behalf of the Alliance. 
• Testifying on behalf of the Alliance on legislation that may be harmful or helpful to the sector.
• Partner with the Executive Director in communicating with and evaluating contract lobbyists.
• Represent the Alliance at public forums, meetings, with press and media, and at national and regional conferences and events as needed. 

Community Organizing (20%)

• In collaboration with the Director of Community Organizing, lead the development of Arts Alliance’s community-driven policy agenda and ensure that policy agenda is updated in line with the most critical concerns of the statewide creative sector. 
• Develop high-quality policy content and analysis including action alerts, talking points, issue briefs, letters, press statements, opinion editorials, and website updates, and work with the Director of Communications to ensure the development of effective messaging.
• Collaborate with the Director of Community Organizing and other relevant staff to meaningfully engage Alliance members and deepen the organizational bench of arts advocates across the state.
• Develop and maintain key partnerships with external collaborators of Arts Alliance Illinois, especially around policy and advocacy advancement, in concert with the Director of Community Organizing and Executive Director. 

Department Leadership (15%)

• Direct the growth of the Advocacy, Organizing, and Policy department.
• Manage Advocacy staff towards program success and professional growth, including holding staff accountable to goals, and providing consistent feedback and coaching.
• Develop a deep understanding of staff perspectives of our member's needs and priorities, as well as direct engagement with members around those same topics.
• Provide timely and accurate updates and reports to staff, Board, partners, and funders, as needed.

Organizational Strategy (5%)

• Work with the Executive Director and other Senior Directors in the creation of a multi-year strategic plan. Track program, policy, and organizing performance against long-term strategic goals.
• Provide high-level strategic advice to the Executive Director on organizational development, including long-term and rapid response policy and advocacy opportunities; overall political and community organizing strategy; potential partnerships; and overall organizational positioning.
• Contribute to organizational revenue by exploring previously untapped support from foundations and major donors, as well as developing opportunities for earned revenue.
• Collaborate with Executive Director and Senior Directors to develop and manage goals, budgets, and plans that meet strategic objectives.

Requirements

Skills and Experience

In order to be considered for this position, candidates must demonstrate the following:

• At least 5 years of experience in electoral, civic engagement, or political campaigns, with some relevant connection to community, labor, or issue-based advocacy.
• Demonstrable knowledge of public policy and legislative and political processes at the local, state, and federal level.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and proven ability to communicate clearly and persuasively (both written and verbal).
• Experience supervising multiple teams and individual contributors.
• A strong network and relationships with leaders within the arts, culture, and arts education in Illinois.
• Experience leading or managing a coalition of diverse organizations and partners.
• Ability to self-reflect and pivot based on feedback.
• Strong project management skills, high level of self-organization, deep care and attention to detail, and ability to manage competing deadlines.
• Strong understanding of the importance of cultural competence when working with diverse communities, Arts Alliance represents and works with individuals and organizations across the entire state of Illinois.
• Strong project management skills and ability to handle multiple deadlines simultaneously.
• Growth mindset and an openness to giving and receiving feedback for continuous learning and improvement.
• Self-motivated, innovative, and creative—can balance bold ideas and vision with the ability to operationalize and execute.
• Willing to develop new skills and take on new challenges.
• Capable of remaining calm under pressure and tight deadlines while comfortable pivoting quickly between projects and goals.
• Deeply committed to social and racial justice issues and willing to learn even more.
• Willing to travel as needed

Our ideal candidate will have the following characteristics:

• A belief that arts and culture are vital to strong local communities and that it is necessary to invest in them.
• Thrives working remotely and independently, while simultaneously being a key member of a dynamic, collaborative team.
• Ability to demonstrate grace and respect for themselves and others at all times, especially when under pressure.
• Ability to self-direct and move projects forward by recognizing when to involve other staff and leadership.

Benefits

Compensation

This is a full-time, exempt position with a salary of $85,000-100,000 commensurate with experience and expertise. Arts Alliance Illinois provides a suite of benefits to ensure an optimal work/life balance for our staff. This includes unlimited paid time off with a minimum of 15 days required plus federal holidays and an end-of-year break, 403(b) match after the first year, medical/dental/vision insurance, phone and internet stipend, and paid family leave. A comprehensive breakdown of these benefits is provided to all finalists.

Our interview process includes the following steps, with selected candidates moving to each successive step:

1. Initial application and questionnaire.
2. One-way video interview: you will be presented with a series of questions similar to a traditional interview and you will have the opportunity to prepare and record your answers.
3. Panel interview with selected team members.
4. Paid skills assessment.
5. Traditional interview with Executive Director and a Board member.

Things to Know About Us

Advocacy work is fast-paced and remote work can be draining. That work is much harder if organizational culture is not a good fit. In order to ensure this is the right position for you, here are some things to know about us before you apply:

• We believe access to arts & culture makes communities stronger and healthier, and therefore advocating for the arts is a common interest shared by all residents of Illinois regardless of background or political affiliation.
• We believe public funding for the arts is a good thing.
• We believe the biggest contribution a person can make to stop the spread of COVID is getting vaccinated –whenever there’s no medical or religious exemption.
• We encourage professional development, rest, and transparency about your capacity.
• We are a small organization where sometimes we need to help our co-workers during heavy workloads.
• We work hard, but we also support taking time away during the day to nap, run an errand, or do whatever you need to make remote environments work for you.
• We discourage working nights/weekends but understand that staff have different rhythms when they are most productive. Occasionally we need to adapt to urgent, politically-imposed, deadlines but we do our best to balance it with time off.
• We cultivate a professional yet collegial work environment where sharing personal anecdotes, playlists, jokes, etc, is welcome.
• We encourage staff members to assume good intentions from colleagues during moments of conflict or confusion but also are intentional about creating space for harm to be acknowledged and repaired.
• We acknowledge individuals and organizations can perpetuate environments where discrimination goes unchecked. To ensure we have a shared language to address these challenges, staff members attend an Introduction to Systemic Racism training.
• We celebrate diversity and don’t seek to assimilate anyone into a broader “work culture.” We make space for people from different cultural, social, political, and religious backgrounds to share and influence the work we do by being their true selves.
• Finally, we realize we will always have work to do to improve our office culture and are looking for team members who will enjoy engaging in that process.

Arts Alliance Illinois values diversity and is committed to building an inclusive workplace that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We encourage Black, Indigenous or People of Color, immigrants, people without college degrees, LGTBQ individuals, people with disabilities, and anyone part of a group that has been historically discriminated against, to apply.

If you are seeking accommodations to apply for this job, please email martin@artsalliance.org with your request.

This application is open until filled.