Deputy Executive Director

American Oversight is looking for a dynamic and experienced Deputy Executive Director to play a key role in AO’s daily operations and partner closely with the Executive Director to chart our future growth and strategic advancement.

Reporting directly to the Executive Director, the Deputy Executive Director will help lead a talented team of lawyers, researchers, and partnership and communications specialists. This position will serve as a key member of the leadership team, responsible for advancing American Oversight’s strategic priorities within and across internal teams and with external partners. This role will also help steward a workplace culture focused on professional development, excellence, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

American Oversight is a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog that advances truth, accountability, and democracy by enforcing the public’s right to government records. From the federal Freedom of Information Act to state transparency laws, we file carefully crafted records requests to extract information from the government, and if officials fail to respond as required by law, our team has the expertise to take them to court and enforce the public’s right to hold our leaders accountable. In the six years since our founding, we have obtained and published more than one million pages of emails, memos, calendars, text messages, and other records to ensure accountability, expose misconduct, and drive significant corrective action at all levels of government.

Job Responsibilities

Specific tasks will shift day by day with our work and current events, but in a typical week and within your overall portfolio, you will:

Collaborate closely with fellow members of American Oversight’s leadership team to ensure timely and high-quality execution of organizational priorities, providing substantive direction and ensuring appropriate workload distribution within and between teams.

In partnership with the Executive Director and leadership team, play a key role in setting strategy over the near and longer term.

Serve as an effective and charismatic ambassador on behalf of the organization.

Steward internal culture and values leadership and management. AO is a formidable, ambitious accountability organization with a collaborative, respectful culture. The Deputy Executive Director will play a key role in ensuring AO lives up to its values, advancing our commitment to diversity and equity, and a supportive and inclusive culture that values staff contributions, excellence, and growth.

Partner with the Director of Human Resources and Operations to ensure high-quality daily operations, including making decisions about the right tools for collaboration and communication.

Work with the Executive Director and Human Resources Director to hire, coach, and develop staff. Ensure effective recruitment, retention, management, and growth.

Maintain awareness, analyze, and make recommendations regarding existing and proposed laws and regulations affecting AO operations, programming, and non-profit compliance. In partnership with outside counsel, consultants, and vendors, ensure adherence to the best practices in the nonprofit sector.

Qualifications

J.D. and minimum of eight (8) years of relevant experience, including some background in litigation and significant experience leading teams and projects.

Exceptional communication skills with a broad range of audiences, as well as the ability to write and edit others’ work for accuracy, impact, and clarity.

Expert independent judgment to make critical decisions on organizational priorities and resource allocation.

Previous leadership experience, including the proven ability to hire, manage, and drive a team’s performance. This includes setting clear goals and expectations, ensuring constructive feedback, building an inclusive team environment, and investing in the development and growth of staff.

Able to engage, motivate, and unite staff around AO’s vision, and drive teamwork and results across functions and work groups.

A sophisticated understanding of the legal, political, policy, and media landscape in which American Oversight operates and the ability to quickly assess information for relevance and impact.

An understanding of and ability to build and maintain relationships within the community of organizations and partners fighting to defend democracy and promote accountability.

Highest degree of professional ethics and integrity.

Care deeply about how government actions impact the lives of ordinary people, and believe that transparency and an informed public are essential to a functioning, accountable democracy.

Additional Information

The salary range for this position is $210,000 to $230,000, commensurate with experience. American Oversight provides a generous and comprehensive benefits package.

The responsibilities of the role require candidates to be based in Washington, DC. Candidates must be in the DMV area or willing to relocate. Candidates will work at our office on a hybrid basis, while working with a primarily remote team.

American Oversight is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.

Interested applicants are encouraged to apply by March 31, 2023, to ensure consideration of your application. Following March 31, we will be interviewing candidates and continue to review applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

American Oversight is proudly an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building a diverse team. Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they have every one of the qualifications listed. We are dedicated to finding the best candidate for the job. Our hiring process is centered on assessing candidates with diverse lived experiences. We would encourage you to apply, even if you don’t believe you meet every one of our qualifications described. If you are unsure of whether you meet the qualifications of this position, or how this would be determined, please contact us to discuss your application.