Now Hiring: Online Advocacy and Fundraising Manager @ Public Citizen, Washington, DC

[Sherry Joseph]

Position Available – Online Advocacy and Fundraising Manager

Communications and Development

 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF POSITION:   Come join the dynamic team at Public Citizen, a leading public interest watchdog group that challenges corporate power on a wide range of fronts. Corporations have lobbyists; we are the people’s lobbyist, representing the public interest in the halls of power on a variety of critical issues. Whether it’s mobilizing the grassroots, talking to members of Congress, going to court or taking to the streets, we counter the escalating corporate influence over government, call out President Donald Trump’s myriad conflicts of interest and champion government accountability and a democracy that includes everyone. We fight for public health and safety; and campaign for fair trade, clean and safe energy, affordable medications, and consumer rights.

 

We are looking for an Online Advocacy and Fundraising Manager to guide and continue to grow Public Citizen’s online advocacy, education and fundraising programs. The Online Advocacy and Fundraising Manager must be an excellent writer who shares the organization’s goals, has a fire-in-the-belly desire to motivate and mobilize our 400,000 supporters and activists. The Online Advocacy and Fundraising Manager will lead the organization’s efforts to foster online engagement among existing and new activists and supporters, with expanding the email list and increasing online giving.

 

S/he creates and carries out long-range online fundraising plans with specific and aggressive targets. S/he writes clear and compelling fundraising emails and helps ensure that our online activists do too. S/he is one of several people who shape how online tools are used throughout the organization to integrate communications and development priorities. S/he advises other advocacy and development staff on best practices for nonprofit email outreach and list management.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

 

• Conceive and implement new and creative online fundraising campaigns, taking cues from current events, the organization’s policy work and issues that resonate with Public Citizen’s supporters. These campaigns will be in synergy with other fundraising efforts and advocacy priorities.
• Write effective fundraising appeals.
• Meet annual goals for online fundraising as set by the President and Development Director.
• Develop and implement new and creative list-building approaches.
• Coordinate all online advocacy and development campaigns, providing online strategy advice as needed and serving as a gatekeeper for the quantity and timing of all action and fundraising alerts.
• Lead Public Citizen’s online team (which consists of online organizers or outreach specialists from each program group, the directors of Communications and Development, and an outside marketing consultant); run regularly scheduled planning/strategy/professional development meetings.
• Oversee Public Citizen’s email communications to its 400,000 supporters, including action alerts and informational emails from all organizational divisions.
• Monitor, evaluate and report on the performance of online activism and fundraising emails.
• Train other Online Team members in analytics best practices.
• Research potential audiences of activists and donors, and collaborate with program groups to develop and implement creative outreach campaigns; use these list-building ideas to ensure steady growth of Public Citizen’s email list.
• Oversee the exploration, negotiation and completion of mega-petitions, email exchanges and paid acquisition with other organizations.
• Manage the third-party application (Salsa) used for action, donation and event pages and emails; oversee use of this system by other online team members.
• Manage the third-party database of online activists and donors; set up queries, reports and segments for other online team members; train other online team members in the use of this system.
• Monitor trends and innovations in eAdvocacy, eCommunication and eFundraising; judge what would and would not be helpful to incorporate into Public Citizen’s online program.
• Stay informed and engaged on current events, politics and policymaking as they relate to Public Citizen’s mission and the goals of its online advocacy and fundraising programs.
• Other duties as assigned.

 

QUALIFICATIONS:

 

Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience

Knowledge: Thorough grasp of the political process, advocacy work and public interest issues. Talent for writing clear, creative and compelling email copy; ability to distill complex political and policy ideas into succinct messages that motivate readers while fitting within overall organizational goals and maintaining consistency in tone and style; ability to emulate the writing of Public Citizen’s president. Facility for quick, careful copyediting

Work Experience: Employment in issue/election-based online campaigns, grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy and/or public relations.  Demonstrated success in nonprofit fundraising. Demonstrated success in project and team management

Skills: Solid proficiency in HTML.  Advanced familiarity with principles and mechanics of electronic databases.  Fluency with CRM and CMS applications, particularly the Salsa platform.  Complete and up-to-date knowledge of email best practices, including format and coding, deliverability and spam, testing and metrics.

Capabilities:  Highly organized, efficient, and detail-oriented. Comfortable in a fast-paced, demanding workplace; adaptable to daily fluctuations in priorities and workload. Strong interest in and commitment to the public interest.

 

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

 

Competitive salary commensurate with experience. Good medical and dental coverage. Three weeks paid vacation for new employees.

 

TO APPLY:

 

Please send a cover letter, a resume and three writing samples, including examples of action alerts and/or fundraising emails, to Angela Bradbery, communications director, at abra...@citizen.org. Be sure to put “online advocacy and fundraising manager” in the subject line. No phone calls please.

 

 

Public Citizen is an equal opportunity employer. Public Citizen employees are proud members of SEIU Local 500. People of color, women and LGBT candidates are encouraged to apply.