Chief Policy Officer

POSITION:  

Chief Policy Officer, Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION:

Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization committed to protecting all children from gun violence in schools, homes, and communities. The SHP Action Fund champions a holistic policy platform that promotes gun safety, youth mental health, and violence prevention education. The organization works at the state and federal level to pass nonpartisan legislation through inclusive partnerships, diverse grassroots education, and community mobilization. It is part of Sandy Hook Promise Foundation, founded and led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.

Commitment to Racial justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion:

SHP strives to ensure its culture and work environment reflect the values of race, diversity, equity, and inclusion (REDI) and is responsive to the views and issues of the diverse communities with which we live and work. SHP is interested in candidates who have demonstrated a commitment to building an equitable and diverse work environment.

ABOUT THE POSITION:

Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) seeks a founding Chief Policy Officer (CPO) to develop and lead implementation of the overarching strategic vision and roadmap for their policy and engagement initiatives. This critical role will lead the charge for the C4/Action Fund organization within the Sandy Hook Promise umbrella, setting the vision and direction for future strategic policy and partnerships, as well as spearheading fundraising efforts to secure the funds needed to support the work.

Reporting directly to both CEOs, the CPO will manage a geographically dispersed team with 2 Vice President direct reports and oversee a collective staff of 8+ people. As a member of the Executive team, the CPO will collaborate extensively with leaders across the organization, representing the C4/Action Fund in all strategic planning and discussions. The ideal candidate brings a deep systems-based understanding of creating and passing bipartisan state and federal legislation, and the tools required to engage and mobilize supporters for advocacy. The ideal candidate also thrives at inspiring teams towards bold, strategic visions, understands how to make the “impossible” possible, and cares deeply about SHP’s mission and commitments to antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Policy, Partnerships and Engagement Strategy

• Create a strategic vision to take SHP’s policy and engagement agenda to its next level of evolution, including impactful, ambitious, and courageous initiatives that excite the organization, our base and prospective funders
• Identify and cultivate partners at a national and state levels across a diverse range of organizations, to create trusting relationships and allies in support of our mutually beneficial goals and missions
• Serve as a credible, authentic and knowledgeable spokesperson and SHP Action Fund ambassador and thought leader for media, with other organizations in our spaces, politicians and advocates
• Use data and insights to evaluate the political and legislative landscape and creatively develop new bipartisan policy initiatives in the spaces of gun safety, mental health, school safety, suicide prevention and youth safety, while applying a race, equity, diversity, and inclusion (REDI) lens throughout
• Establish measurable, metrics-driven policy and engagement goals and objectives on an annual and multi-year basis; supports operational excellence to achieve these goals, and critically analyze both progress and barriers to success
• Working with the Development and Grants teams, set and achieve transformational fundraising goals, through diversified revenue streams (including major donors, corporations, grants and institutional leaders)

Team Management

• Determine staffing plans to achieve goals and objectives and participate in hiring/performance management of Action Fund staff
• Develop and foster a high-performance, inclusive and accountable culture throughout the team, aligned with SHP’s core values and organizational commitments to equity and inclusion
• Model and facilitate an iterative, collaborative, and adaptive approach to continuous improvement, keeping a “foot on the pedal” to drive the Action Fund team towards decision-making and implementation
• Approve and oversee all C4/Action Fund revenue and expense budgets; ensure compliance with state and federal lobbying regulations

Organizational Leadership

• As one of the senior leaders and member of the Executive team, help drive a culture of cross-functional collaboration ensuring organization-wide systems and goals align and operate in harmony in pursuit of a shared, measurable outcome
• Internally, serve as thought partner and advisor to other functional leaders ensuring policy strategy is operating in close collaboration with areas such as finance, development, sales/marketing, and programs
• Partner with senior development, grant, and program staff providing support with government and foundation RFP processes as needed and ensuring compliance with all restricted/federal grant milestones
• Serve as a point of contact to Board and Councils/Committees on key program-related topics
• Working with CEOs, develop vision for and implementation plan for creation of  Action Fund Advisory/Governing Board
• Externally, create and guide the strategy to raise SHP’s profile through policy-related thought leadership initiatives and create a robust pipeline of new and sustained policy, engagement, and mission-aligned partnerships
• Effectively engage a diverse array of external stakeholders from within and around the policy arena in service to advancing SHP’s mission (e.g., local, state and national politicians and policy makers, other gun safety, mental health, school safety organizations and coalitions)

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS

• Policy Leadership: Experience leading policy and advocacy engagement design and delivery efforts with a strong track record of creating and passing bipartisan policies at a national/local scale
• Issue Expertise: Issue expertise is strongly preferred in the areas of gun violence prevention, mental health, K-12 education and/or appropriations
• Ability to Navigate Political Systems and Processes: Strong understanding of state and federal political systems and processes, coupled with the ability to read, understand and anticipate impacts from the political environment on SHP and our C3/C4 work
• Strong Decision-Making Skills: Ability to make decisions quickly when balancing long-term vision and immediate needs; leveraging a mix of qualitative/quantitative data and intuition/experience, intervening in difficult or complex situations and resolving problems as they arise
• Excellent Team Manager: Demonstrated skill in managing high-performing teams within an equity-focused culture; coaching and developing direct reports, and having the skills, sensitivity and personal confidence to tap into the power that each member brings to the mission
• Remote Team Management Experience: Experience managing remote, decentralized, and racially diverse teams; ideal candidates have experience working remotely
• Strong Relationship-Building and Communications Skills: The ability to build trust and adapt communication styles to work effectively with a variety of internal and external stakeholders/customers
• Curiosity and Commitment to Personal Growth: A learning orientation with self-awareness of one’s strengths and areas of improvement, a curiosity for new information and a track record of building skills and knowledge through personal initiative
• Dedication to SHP’s Overall Mission: Committed to creating a culture of change that prevents violence and other harmful acts that hurt children and alignment with the values of collaboration, teamwork, inclusivity and action/achievement orientation
• Track Record of DEI Leadership: A demonstrated ability to examine personal identity and biases, lead others with an equity and inclusion lens, and comfort engaging in and modeling conversations around race, class, and privilege

LOCATION:

Flexible Location (anywhere in the U.S.) with up to 30% travel for in-person meetings/trainings

 

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

The salary range for this position is $190,000 – $200,000. (New hires are typically brought into the organization at a salary closer to the start/middle of the range depending on qualifications and internal equity.)

 

SHP offers a competitive benefits package, including:

• Unlimited PTO
• Paid holidays and 10 days sick leave
• Paid parental leave
• Health, dental, and vision
• Employer paid life insurance and short- and long-term disability
• 401k match
• Employer Paid Employee Assistance Program

Our organization operates within a distributed workforce, allowing for location flexibility across the country for most positions. We provide remote office support for all staff, which includes a laptop, home office reimbursement, monthly wifi reimbursement up to $40, and monthly cell phone reimbursement up to $50.

The deadline to apply is Friday, May 26th. This search is being led by NRG Consulting Group. Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions.

 

Equal Opportunity Employment 

SHP is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We strive to be an employer of choice: where a diverse mix of talented people want to come and do their best work. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We are focused on promoting diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusion and believe deeply in having a workforce comprised of people of all beliefs and backgrounds who seek to prevent gun violence and stop the tragic loss of life. Members of all under-represented groups are encouraged to apply.