Director of Public and Community Affairs

Description: Director of Public and Community AffairsBuffalo, Rochester, or Syracuse NY

In support of Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York (PPCWNY)’s mission, the Director of Public and Community Affairs provides leadership for and serves as the primary consultant for the organization in the areas of advocacy and public affairs, as well as designs and implements a strategy for our multi-county region in Central and Western New York.

The Director of Public and Community Affairs plays a key role in shaping public policies by enabling public officials, advocates, and the public at large to understand and make informed decisions on issues that impact family planning and reproductive health choices. Under the general supervision of the CEO, the Director of Public and Community Affairs sets overall direction and strategy for all aspects of Planned Parenthood’s public affairs/public relations communications and works closely across departments to manage key relationships internally and externally. The Director of Public and Community Affairs will work closely with the Strategic Leadership Team and will serve to connect multiple priorities within the agency. It is important the Director of Public and Community Affairs can authentically connect and communicate with different sectors of society (multi-cultural, multi-generational, etc.) and actively promote Diversity and Inclusion. During this mission critical time, it is imperative that they be autonomous and able to manage ambiguity and shifting priorities.

Essential Functions

Strategic Planning & General Oversight

In collaboration with the President/CEO and the Executive Leadership Team, develops goals and objectives in support of strategic priorities and advancement of the mission:

• Plans, directs and/or facilitates collaborative efforts with private and non-governmental organizations on matters related to legislative initiatives and/or relevant issues (e.g. equity in contraceptive coverage, access, family planning funding, etc.)
• Develops and cultivates relationships with decision makers and those who influence them to achieve outlined objectives
• Advances community coalition building for race, gender, social and health equity
• Develops plans to integrate public affairs work throughout PPCWNY working closely with Development, Programs, Marketing and the Office of the CEO to ensure the communications and public relations priorities are set and met
• Expands brand and mission through media and advocacy work
• Develops and implements grassroots programs to engage staff, volunteers and clients to expand the public policy advocacy efforts
• Works in collaboration with Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts (PPESA), our statewide Action Fund (C4 organization) to advance mission related priorities.
• Designs metrics and tracking of activities and outcomes to demonstrate success
• Assures departmental adherence to affiliate policies, procedures and practices including the prescribed process for the preparation of the annual budget
• Shows respect to all internal and external customers for differences in backgrounds, lifestyles, viewpoints and needs in areas such as race, gender, ethnicity, creed, sexual orientation and others

Legislative/Public Policy/Advocacy Activities

Relationship Management:

• Coordinates and participates in lobbying efforts at the local/regional level considering Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts (PPESA) strategy; participates in PPESA and PPFA strategy
• Develops and cultivates relationships with key staff at PPFA and PPESA to ensure PPCWNY’s advocacy efforts are consistent with the national and state agenda
• With input from PPFA, PPESA and the CEO, defines which elected officials should be prioritized in region
• Maintains ongoing constructive two-way communication with elected officials at all levels within service area; monitors legislative and judicial activities relating to reproductive choice, organizing responses when appropriate
• Designs strategy to address individual needs with each elected official and assigns relationship manager to effectively work the relationship
• Designs program to cultivate and grow pool of advocates who will take action when prompted through activities such as personal cultivation, email, online/social media, direct mail, third party events, etc., and designs metrics to track success with Marketing Manager
• Mobilizes group of advocates to travel to Albany for the annual Day of Action
• Develops a plan for key areas where change would help the financial position, patient access or patient recruitment and retention
• Works cross-departmentally with the Development and Programs departments to explore how relationships might be influential in public affairs goals

Coalition Building:

• Participates in local, state, and regional coalitions and organizations
• Evaluates current relationships across agency and expands into our organizations that meet strategic priorities, especially to advance health equity and racial/social justice
• Makes meaningful inroads with reproductive justice and social justice organizations and evolves collaborations
• Works in collaboration with VP of Programs and team members to understand where relationships exist, where they can be expanded, and how to staff those efforts

Public Relations/Media/Communications

• Acts as a spokesperson and main point of contact for media relations
• Prepares others to speak about issues, including the development of message points to be used by the President/CEO, Medical Director and other common spokespeople
• Generates timely and appropriate media coverage of PPCWNY, primarily on public policy issues
• Provides statements and accurate information on reproductive health issues pro-actively or in response to media requests
• Reviews all political messaging that is developed by PPFA and PPESA. Develops and manages strategy to communicate to varied audiences with department counterparts
• Develops and manages an annual communications plan to provide supporters and activists with PPCWNY, PPFA, and PPESA updates and information
• Earns positive media as related to strategic priorities for the agency and legislative activities
• Speaks on the record for television, radio and print media
• Establishes and cultivates a relationship with the local and regional media as it pertains to this role
• Works cross departmentally on media efforts with the Office of the CEO, Development and Programs
• Provides message training and relationship management guidance for coalition building, partnerships, media management and other key relationships

Team Management

• Ability to manage a complex program with many moving pieces effectively
• Designs team workflows, staffing plans and critical objectives for team members to achieve outlined strategic goals and essential functions of the Director role
• Provides ongoing coaching and counseling including written annual performance evaluations for team members
• Directs staff to coordinate legislative visits, letters, phone calls, faxes, and emails from constituents, when appropriate; identifies and directs opportunities to increase activists and community outreach education about policy issues
• Creates accountability structures and systems to manage strategic plans and task organizers with aspects of work that rollup to greater strategy

Financial Management

• Develops and manages budgets and expenditures to support public affairs activities
• Collaborates with appropriate personnel to ensure consistency with state and federal laws, rules and regulations governing lobbying, ethics, IRS status, and electoral activities
• Instrumental in attaining member items and other grants where public officials are key

. Requirements: Qualifications

Education

• Master’s degree in public policy, public administration, communications, political science or a related field preferred, or equivalent combination of education and experience

Experience

• Minimum 10 years of experience
• 5-7 years of progressive management experience in public affairs, coalition building, nonprofit, communications or similar discipline
• Advanced beginner to intermediate proficiency of Microsoft Office including TEAMS, other project planning tools like Microsoft Planner, Basecamp, SharePoint or equivalent; must be comfortable frequently using webinar software to conduct meetings effectively
• Familiarity and skill with social media platforms and CMS
• Ability to create relevant written content for key stakeholder audiences and familiarity with best practices in managing messaging campaigns
• Must be a polished public speaker who is quick thinking and able to handle controversy and ambiguity
• Ability to create new systems and processes and work cross-departmentally with different programs effectively
• Proven to be a collaborative leader that knows how to create and implement strategy, but is willing jump in at any level when needed
• Ability to understand where PPCWNY has influence, where we need it, and how to leverage for strategic reasons
• Must have reliable transportation and a valid NYS driver’s license not in jeopardy of being revoked
• Planned Parenthood seeks individuals who have demonstrated experience building an inclusive and respectful organizational culture that leverages diversity
• A commitment to Planned Parenthood of Central and Western NY (PPCWNY)’s mission, vision and values along with a commitment to providing services to a diverse range of clients, and to the goals of PPCWNY is essential

Work ScheduleThis is a full-time, 40 hour a week, position; regular schedule will be Monday – Friday with occasional evenings and weekends.

CompensationCommensurate with experiencePlanned Parenthood of Central and Western New York is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, protected veteran status, or status as a qualified individual with disability.We are committed to workforce diversity and aspire to reflect the communities we serve. To that end, we strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ identifying individuals, people with disabilities and other underrepresented groups to apply.