Director of Narrative Shifting and National Organization
Equal Justice USA | Brooklyn (or Remote), New York
Background
Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) is a rapidly growing national organization working to transform the justice system by promoting responses to violence that break cycles of trauma. We work at the intersection of criminal justice, public health, and racial justice to elevate healing and safety over retribution, advance racial equity, and meet the needs of survivors. Our programs work to end the death penalty, expand community-based healing and violence prevention programs in impacted communities, reduce the scope of policing, and change the national narrative on violence and accountability. EJUSA has a bold vision for healing and equity that directly aligns with this urgent national moment – making this an exciting time to join our team and design the next phase of EJUSA’s strategy.
EJUSA has 22 extraordinary staff members throughout the country and a small national office in Brooklyn. We’re a diverse, passionate team that loves working together to deliver real change.
Job Summary
We seek an experienced, strategic, and visionary leader with a passion for leveraging key national voices to change narratives. EJUSA sees narrative shifting as a collaboration between communications and organizing, and this new position in our program department will work closely with our communications department to build, influence, engage, and amplify key constituent groups in our core program areas. The Director of Narrative Shifting and National Organizing (Director) will partner with the Senior Director of Programs, Director of Strategic Communications, and the Executive Director to develop strategies and messages to shift the overall narrative that justice is punishment, as well as a range of supporting narratives about violence, race, and trauma. The Director will manage three Senior Managers who oversee EJUSA’s three national networks: impacted communities, conservatives, and evangelicals, and will also lead outreach to other core constituencies as needed. The Director will also work closely and collaborate with the Director of Advocacy, the Director of Training and Capacity Building, and individual Program Directors to ensure a holistic and strategic approach to our theory of change. The ideal candidate will be a seasoned manager, a strategic organizer and communicator with experience in narrative shifting, a natural relationship-builder, and a staunch advocate for justice, healing, and racial equity.
Reports To
The Director reports to the Senior Director of Programs and works collaboratively in a matrixed environment.
Responsibilities
- Planning and Strategy: Work across the organization with key leaders to drive the work of long-term, annual, and day-to-day planning, prioritizing, and operationalizing of EJUSA’s narrative shifting and national organizing strategy.
- National Organizing: Oversee efforts to identify, build, and prioritize key constituency groups and key voices needed in advocacy campaigns in close partnership with the Director of Advocacy.
- Narrative Shifting: Obtain a deep understanding of all program work and think creatively about how to leverage key voices to make EJUSA’s transformative work come alive, inspiring more individuals and constituency groups to reimagine justice with us and join us in national campaigns.
- Field building and Partnership Management: Develop a deep knowledge of the landscape in which we work and understand national, regional, and local nuances around engagement of constituency groups in key campaigns. Identify and manage individual and organizational relationships with aligned partners and groups, including other organizations doing narrative shifting work within our field.
- Strategic Communications: Work in partnership with the Director of Strategic Communications to identify and prioritize audiences, develop narrative shifting campaigns and messages, and implement targeted outreach.
- Team Leadership: Work and contribute to organizational goals through our collaborative, matrixed organization, always seeking out ways to be helpful with other functional areas and program areas.
- Program and Organizational Management: Collaborate with program staff and other Directors to develop and oversee the Networks’ annual workplans and budgets, serve on EJUSA’s Senior Program Team to shape overall program development across the organization, and participate in other leadership functions such as supporting grant reporting.
- Staff management: Supervise three Senior Managers who oversee our national organizing with three key constituency groups, providing oversight to their work, cultivating their professional growth, and ensuring the effective operation of the Narrative Shifting plan. Each of the Senior Managers works remotely.
- Other functions and projects as needed.
Qualifications
- Minimum 10+ years of relevant experience, preferably in a social and/or racial justice or advocacy environment.
- Highly strategic and visionary thinker with demonstrated understanding of effective narrative shifting strategies, with an emphasis on organizing and mobilizing key constituencies within narrative change campaigns.
- Deep knowledge of racial justice and racial equity and a record of viewing work and outcomes through a racial equity lens.
- Experience facilitating difficult conversations about race with diverse constituencies
- Proven track record and comfort enfranchising and engaging a diverse set of national constituency groups. Strategic ability to shift and refine messages for different audiences without compromising core values.
- Excellent writing ability, communicator and storyteller; ability to make EJUSA’s work come alive through top-quality written materials, stories, and talking points.
- Strong staff and program management skills, including experience supervising staff at different levels and across functional areas.
- Experience and comfort working with and building trust with people directly impacted by violence, mass incarceration, or those involved in other aspects of the justice system, such as law enforcement.
- Excellent interpersonal and team-building skills; relationship-builder. Ease relating to diverse constituency groups including those who don’t agree with us.
- Experience successfully managing a budget and providing financial updates to organizational leadership.
- Flexible and tenacious; creative and entrepreneurial; positive and optimistic when tackling challenges; high energy and goal directed.
- Ability to plan effectively, meet all deadlines, and coordinate the involvement of others.
- Ability to maintain high standards of ethics, integrity, and professionalism, including dealing with sensitive and proprietary donor information.
- Ability and willingness to travel.
- Passion and commitment to the mission and values of EJUSA.
Compensation
$85k-$100k, commensurate with experience. Excellent benefits including employer-paid medical, vision, and dental care, retirement plan, 20 days paid vacation, 12 paid sick days, 11 paid holidays, 2 paid personal days, long-term disability insurance, and professional development allowance.
Requirements/Other
Location: Remote location (work from home), or space is available in EJUSA’s office in Brooklyn, NY
Reports to: Senior Director of Programs
Deadline: Open until filled
