Activism Coordinator
Arlington, VA
Full Time
Activism
Entry Level
The Institute for Justice seeks a passionate individual to join our Activism team as Activism Coordinator at our headquarters in Arlington, VA. IJ’s multi-faceted Activism team challenges and reforms local and state policies and laws in the areas of economic liberty, property rights, qualified immunity, and access to justice.
We change state and local laws, like occupational licensing and local regulations, to make it easier to work and earn an honest living, especially for people of modest means. We fight policies and projects that threaten the rights of property owners to keep what they have worked so hard to own, like eminent domain abuse and civil forfeiture. And we work to hold government officials accountable, by advocating for the end of qualified immunity.
We do this through strategic advocacy in city halls, state legislatures, and communities. We engage decision makers and impacted individuals through outreach, organizing, training, coalition building, public demonstrations, the media, research, policy recommendations, and lobbying.
The ideal candidate will be excited to become a jack-of-all-trades across the spectrum of roles on our team, including community outreach, analyzing statutes and codes and developing policy recommendations, research, hosting events and roundtables, working with the media, writing for a wide variety of audiences and contexts, organizing public information campaigns, and lobbying.
A successful candidate will have a deep commitment to IJ’s mission; be personable, self-motivated, proactive, and eager to learn new skills in a dynamic, fast-paced environment; care about helping people of modest means and from all walks of life; enjoy working with decision makers with diverse perspectives; and be detail-oriented, a critical thinker, and excited about this work.
This role is supported by enthusiastic managers, and the position offers unique opportunities for travel, professional development, growth, and long-term advancement. The candidate will join a close-knit team and be expected to work well with others to accomplish our goals.
The Team’s Projects Include:
Benefits:
Please submit a resume, writing sample, and cover letter detailing your interest in the position and the Institute for Justice’s mission.
We change state and local laws, like occupational licensing and local regulations, to make it easier to work and earn an honest living, especially for people of modest means. We fight policies and projects that threaten the rights of property owners to keep what they have worked so hard to own, like eminent domain abuse and civil forfeiture. And we work to hold government officials accountable, by advocating for the end of qualified immunity.
We do this through strategic advocacy in city halls, state legislatures, and communities. We engage decision makers and impacted individuals through outreach, organizing, training, coalition building, public demonstrations, the media, research, policy recommendations, and lobbying.
The ideal candidate will be excited to become a jack-of-all-trades across the spectrum of roles on our team, including community outreach, analyzing statutes and codes and developing policy recommendations, research, hosting events and roundtables, working with the media, writing for a wide variety of audiences and contexts, organizing public information campaigns, and lobbying.
A successful candidate will have a deep commitment to IJ’s mission; be personable, self-motivated, proactive, and eager to learn new skills in a dynamic, fast-paced environment; care about helping people of modest means and from all walks of life; enjoy working with decision makers with diverse perspectives; and be detail-oriented, a critical thinker, and excited about this work.
This role is supported by enthusiastic managers, and the position offers unique opportunities for travel, professional development, growth, and long-term advancement. The candidate will join a close-knit team and be expected to work well with others to accomplish our goals.
The Team’s Projects Include:
- Reducing state occupational licensing laws that disproportionately impact people of modest means; for example, through our Barber Project and Beauty, Not Barriers initiatives and work on the trades
- Collaborating with city officials to enact regulatory reforms to make it cheaper, faster, and simpler to start a small business, through our Cities Work initiative
- Ending qualified immunity, through our Americans Against Qualified Immunity initiative
- Stopping the abuse of eminent domain
- Ending civil forfeiture
- Expanding the ability of home cooks and vendors to sell food and support their families
- Outreach to those impacted by bad policies—including through in-person canvassing, cold outreach, and digital advertising
- Identifying and cultivating relationships with activists, decision makers, and coalition partners
- Conducting research on state and local laws and projects across our issue areas, and tracking legislation and news
- Developing and executing grassroots and legislative strategies and public information campaigns
- Hosting events (town halls, roundtables, community block parties) and activism trainings
- Drafting materials for activists, decision makers, and the public, including one-pagers, press releases, flyers, op-eds, and digital and social media content
- Taking activists to state capitols and city halls to help them meet with their decision makers
- Working with senior managers to develop policy recommendations and publish reports
- Meeting with and lobbying policy makers and regulators alongside senior team members
- Traveling as needed 1 – 2 times a month, occasionally on short notice
- Undergraduate degree
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to simplify complex issues
- Organizational skills and attention to detail
- Ability to empathize and relate to people of various politics and ideologies
- Passion for Activism’s mission
- An outgoing personality that is comfortable working in unfamiliar communities
- A genuine compassion for people of modest means
- Enthusiasm for collaborating with team members
Benefits:
- Hybrid work schedule
- Flexible work hours with our core business hours of 10am to 4pm
- Casual dress code
- Health, Dental, and Vision insurance (IJ covers 100% of individual premiums)
- Free Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, and Life insurance plans
- HSA employer contributions
- 401(k) with employer matches
- Generous PTO including a paid personal day and 12 paid holidays
Please submit a resume, writing sample, and cover letter detailing your interest in the position and the Institute for Justice’s mission.
IJ is an equal opportunity employer.
Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At IJ we value a diverse workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
To learn more about our culture and benefits, visit our Working at IJ page. No phone calls please.
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