Michigan House Dems - Candidate Services Director

[Mike McCollum]

The Michigan House Democratic Fund (MHDF) is seeking a thoughtful, driven, results-oriented, full-time Candidate Services Director to join a team of passionate people, working dutifully to achieve our mission of electing Democrats as State Representatives and putting our state on the right path forward.

ROLE OVERVIEW

The Candidate Services Director will lead a candidate recruitment program that engages statewide and national stakeholders and results in driven, self-motivated candidates in key races and a Democratic candidate in every district. He or she will also serve as the primary liaison between candidate campaigns and the caucus to successfully implement a candidate on-boarding program and provide candidates and their teams ongoing assistance throughout their path to victory.

The ideal candidate must be incredibly detail oriented with the proven ability to successfully launch a campaign with a sophisticated campaign plan. He or she must have some practical experience with multiple campaign responsibilities - including, but not limited to - finance, communications, and organizing. The Candidate Services Director must be, at their core, a relationship builder and coach. You must be high energy, outgoing, goal-driven, enthusiastic, and willing to travel and work long hours.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Candidate Services Director, is based in Lansing and reports to the Caucus Director, is responsible for the following:

߀ Candidate Onboarding

• Work with the Caucus Director to identify hard-working candidates for state house who have deep, personal connections to their district

• Assist all candidates and campaign treasurers in filing startup paperwork with the Michigan Secretary of State, IRS, and bank or credit union to set up a campaign bank account

• Set up online fundraising contribution applications for candidates (ActBlue, NGP, etc)

• Set up candidate email programs using a free email program service like MailChimp

• Create or facilitate the creation of candidate website, logos, and social media sites

• Onboarding all candidates and campaigns with VAN - and provide baseline administrative and technical support throughout the cycle

• Work with the Caucus Director to develop highly-tailored campaign plans and work with campaigns to implement the plans

• Plan for formal campaign announcements

߀ Ongoing Responsibilities

• Serve as primary liaison between the caucus and local and statewide democratic and progressive institutions

• Work with campaigns to track field and fundraising metrics

• Coordinate surrogate requests and handle any surrogate event logistics

• Recruit and train qualified campaign managers

• Monitor candidate filing / opposition activity

• Assist with opposition research

• Develop with senior campaign staff candidate and staff skill-based trainings

• Produce reports on campaign progress for caucus director and leadership team

QUALIFICATIONS

We are seeking candidates who excel in building and managing teams, have the ability to solve problems and think strategically, and who can tap into cutting edge political science to guide our program. You should have:

• A track record of recruiting, training and managing diverse teams that deliver results

• A demonstrated commitment to meeting a high bar and history of success in a self-led, high-adversity campaign environment

• An ongoing interest in continued learning and adaptation based on best practices

• The ability to interpret, analyze and apply political data

• A history of campaign success and experience managing electoral programs that engage a diverse mix of constituencies

• Knowledge of Michigan’s political landscape is a plus but not a requirement

Compensation depends on experience and is competitive. The Michigan House Democratic Fund is an equal opportunity employer, and we make a particular effort to recruit people of color to apply for open positions.

How to Apply

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and we intend to fill the position as soon as possible. Please send a cover letter, resume, and relevant work samples to Caucus Director Mike McCollum at mmcc...@mihousedems.com. Please put “Candidate Services Director” in the subject line.