Ashley Ellington
Director, Candidate Development
Position Grade: Director 1
Position Location: Flexible Location
About Leadership for Educational Equity
Leadership for Educational Equity is a nonprofit leadership development organization inspiring and supporting a network of civic leaders to eradicate the injustice of educational inequity.
Through one-on-one coaching, fellowships, workshops, and resources, LEE works to develop and inspire its members individually and collectively, across all disciplines – as policy makers, advocates, elected leaders and community organizers. LEE membership is free and currently open to all TFA corps members and alumni. LEE believes that when a diverse group of leaders, grounded in their classroom experience, are in leadership roles, they will serve as a transformative force for and with students, communities and the broader movement for educational equity.
LEE is a diverse team of passionate and talented individuals committed to making a difference. We are a high-growth, results-oriented organization that operates in an entrepreneurial environment deeply invested in continuous improvement. LEE is honored to have been selected as a LATINA Style 50 Award recipient and a When Work Works award recipient. We are also an Employer of National Service. If you would like to become part of our team and join the fight for educational equity, or if you would simply like to learn more, please visit educationalequity.org.
Position Summary:
The Elected Leadership team is responsible for inspiring, developing and supporting our members to effectively pursue elected office as a path to help kids and their community. This position reports to the Director, Candidate Development (Managing) and will be responsible for developing and executing the strategic campaign elements of the candidates in their portfolio. They will work closely with other members of the Elected Leadership team and will be responsible for specialized campaign expertise such as fundraising, targeting and analytics as well as media and communications to best support the members and run high quality campaigns. In addition, this position will monitor, coach and track data on campaign progress, and handle the day-to-day tactical needs of a portfolio of campaigns. The Director, Candidate Development will be the point person for any day-to-day needs of candidates, providing high-impact expertise to advance our members’ skills, personal leadership development, and campaign effectiveness.
Position Location: Flexible
Travel Requirements: 40%; dependent on position location. Travel will fluctuate based on election support cycles, and will depend on geographic distribution of candidates in the portfolio.
Responsibilities:
Campaign management/execution (40%)
- Build purposeful and trusting relationships with members in order to coach them effectively, and advance your ability to work in partnership with the member
- Support members to run for office and the creation of a high quality campaign plan
- Support/coach candidates on all aspects of campaigns and political operations
- Assist member candidates in execution of campaign plan; connect candidates to resources and coaching to develop their ability to run high quality effective campaigns
- Manage the communications, digital, and research strategy/coaching/execution for a portfolio of member candidates
High-level campaign strategy/development (35%)
- Manage/own large scale/tier one LEE races
- Own the candidate’s overall campaign plan/strategy
- Provide strategic insight and expertise on multiple layers of the campaigns including cutting edge campaign tools and modern campaign ideas for members
- Support member candidates campaign filing and launch plans; design filing plan to include petition signature collection plan
- Support the design, edit and approve printed materials including neighborhood letter, friends and family fundraising letter, and direct mail
- Assist candidates with securing endorsement interviews and strategy
- Own the relationship with the members and the outcome of its campaign plans, success and innovation
- Work with compliance and fundraising to track campaign budgets
Track and maintain individual and team data (15%)
- Assess campaign data and create campaign progress reports
- Keep and track meticulous campaign data points and enter in Salesforce/LEEnk
- Prepare and compile weekly campaign reports
Special projects (10%)
- Special projects as assigned by the Director, Candidate Development (Managing)
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree or commensurate years of work experience
- 5 years of relevant professional work experience
- Experience with at least three election campaign cycles
- Experience with at least two election campaign cycles as a campaign manager or senior leadership role
- Expansive experience in campaign strategy and campaign development
- Highly effective communication, coaching, and relationship building skills
- Ability to track and analyze metrics efficiently and effectively
- Proven ability to manage high quality, high-impact driven people
- Comfortable operating and contributing in a fast paced, entrepreneurial environment
- Effective 1:1 skills focused on building relationships
- Team-oriented, flexible, and collaborative mindset
- Strong, demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity & inclusion
- Ability to work occasional weekends and evenings
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with at least four election campaign cycles
- Experience managing teams to data driven results
- Ability to communicate and collaborate within a geographically dispersed team
- Deep passion for educational equity and belief in LEE’s mission and theory of change
Benefits and Salary
Salary for this position is competitive and depends on prior experience. In addition, a comprehensive benefits package is included. LEE offers a comprehensive benefits plan that includes health, dental and vision coverage for spouses, families and domestic partners; life insurance; a retirement package with employer match; family and parent benefits; generous paid time off and an organization-wide winter break between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
An Equal-Opportunity Employer with a Commitment to Diversity
Leadership for Educational Equity is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and as an organization committed to diversity and the perspective of all voices, we consider applicants equally of race, gender, color, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability, political affiliation and national origin. We reasonably accommodate staff members and/or applicants with disabilities, provided they are otherwise able to perform the essential functions of the job.
An affirmative action-equal opportunity employer.
The statements in this description represent typical elements, criteria, and general work performed. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required for the job.