Regional Field Directors/ WA, CA, TX, FL, NC, DC, PA, NY, MA + locations / Service Year Alliance

[efin...@serviceyr.org]

Position Title: Regional Field Director
Department/Cross Functional Teams: Advocacy; Recruitment
Position Location: Multiple locations (hiring Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Pacific Northwest positions) 

Reports To: Managing Director, Movement Building
FLSA Status: Exempt

Background

A Shared Vision

Service Year Alliance believes that a service year should be a cultural expectation and common opportunity for every young American, and works everyday to realize that vision. The force of service at scale can repair broken cities, uplift and educate children at risk, and empower communities struggling with poverty. It could unite the most diverse nation in history, binding people of different backgrounds through common cause. It can inspire young Americans to serve for a year, and in the process, forge them into the leaders for life our nation needs.

Our North Star

On the path to our vision, our aim is that, within a generation, every year, one million young Americans engage in a service year, solving important problems while transforming their own lives.

Why Now: Broken Citizenship and Pressing Challenges

Today, the need for a common experience of citizenship in our country is more poignant than ever. We are drifting apart. Contrary to the illusion of constant connectivity, Americans are isolated from one another—geographically, ethnically, economically, religiously, and culturally. Traditional forms of civic participation have atrophied. Many Americans’ sole contribution to the country is through paying taxes—not nearly enough to bind people to their communities. Only one in three eligible voters turned out in the last election. Less than one percent of Americans serve in the military. There’s a chance—right now—to inspire a renewed sense of citizenship capable of solving our biggest challenges and creating the leaders our nation needs.

Neither the idea of national service nor our vision are new, but this moment in time tells us they are both deeply needed and never before more achievable.

Position Description

Regional Field Directors (RFDs) are the face of Service Year Alliance in the field and responsible for building the service movement from the ground-up. S/he will recruit, train, and mobilize teams of grassroots and grasstops leaders in key congressional districts and states across the country to take action around core advocacy and recruitment campaigns. RFDs are politically savvy, experts on the politics of their region, and will cultivate relationships with key members of Congress and staff. S/he will also help to raise public awareness of service year opportunities and impact through creative programming at the local level and the implementation of national campaigns on the ground.

Responsibilities:

 Work with the Managing Director, Movement Building to develop and implement a regional strategy based on core campaign priorities, with a heavy emphasis on grassroots and grasstops leadership development.

• -Build a robust volunteer leadership organization in key states and congressional districts. This includes but is not limited to recruiting and maintaining: volunteer leaders, leadership teams, a reliable core of volunteers in each target district, a network of faith leaders, military leaders, grasstops/ influentials and other stakeholders.
  

• -Ensure regular delivery of targeted messages to decision-makers through letters, calls, emails, press, meetings and intercepts, and social media engagement

    -Conduct regular face-to-face interactions with volunteers

• -  Lead trainings and provide ongoing support for leadership development

•   -Cultivate relationships with key members of Congress and staff

•   -Support national awareness and brand campaigns on the ground; raise the profile of national service

  with target audiences through events and other activities

•   -Connect young people to service year opportunities

• -  Provide detailed reporting of happenings and deliverables in the region through weekly reporting,

  regular blog posts, team calls, and meetings

• -  Ability to meet ambitious goals and track progress meticulously

  
  

  Requirements:

•   Deep belief in service years to tackle our most pressing challenges, transform the lives of those who

  serve, and change the course of our country

•   Humble leader with tremendous professional resolve

•   Comfort with ambiguity

•   Bias for taking initiative to create and own new opportunities

•   Strong learning mindset

•   At least 4 years of experience leading volunteer teams in political or issue advocacy

•   Experience recruiting, leading, and maintaining a diverse group of volunteers

•   Know how to win in politics, especially through grassroots organizing

•   Ability to report progress regularly through metrics, written, oral, and visual mediums

•   Ability to travel frequently, up to 50% of the time

•   A tenacious spirit, with the commitment to make it happen, whatever ‘it’ may be

•   Ability to inspire diverse audiences to action

•   Excellent verbal and written communications skills

  
  

  About Service Year Alliance

  Service Year Alliance is a bipartisan organization committed to making a year of full-time service — a service year — a common expectation and opportunity for young Americans of all backgrounds. Expanding service years has the power to address our country’s most pressing challenges, change the lives of those who serve, and unite our nation. Service Year Alliance is the result of a merger between the Franklin Project, ServiceNation, and the Service Year Exchange. The merger is an exciting indication of how passionate every person who works here is about our vision of transforming the nation through service: we put aside ego’s, dissolved powerful brands, and altered our leadership structure not because it was easy, but because that’s what our mission demands. SYA is a joint venture between Be The Change, Inc. and The Aspen Institute. Gen. (Ret.) Stanley McChrystal serves as the founding Chairman of our board.

  
  

  We are an equal opportunity employer and an Employer of National Service. AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other service year alumni are encouraged to apply, as are military veterans. Please indicate in your application if you have served in one of these programs. SYA is based in Washington, DC but we expect Regional Field Directors to live and work in the region they are organizing.

To apply for these positions, please email your cover letter and resume to res...@serviceyr.org. Please no telephone calls or additional emails.