Policy & Advocacy Manager

Are you passionate about Racial and Economic Justice? Join our Team as a Policy and Advocacy Manager!

We're looking for an experienced policy advocate to help drive systems change and better outcomes for those impacted by poverty. In this dynamic role, you'll leverage our community-responsive expertise to research barriers, develop policy solutions, and advocate for equitable change.

Job Summary: The Policy and Advocacy Manager plays a key role in advancing racial and economic justice through efforts to change the systems and structures that perpetuate poverty. With a focus on three strategic target issues - expanding economic opportunity, increasing housing stability, and enhancing well-being – this role will leverage CAM’s community-responsive service expertise and partnership with community to improve public policies and produce better outcomes for all. Working closely with the CSO and other agency leaders, this role will have responsibility for select projects and will contribute to agency efforts to build power with community, change the narrative about poverty, and deepen advocacy capacity across the agency. This role will research policy and systems barriers that impact those with lived experience of poverty, build partnerships with CAM staff as well as community members and partners, develop policy change proposals grounded in community voice and our service-based experience, leverage data and stories to inform narratives surrounding poverty and inequity, and advocate with others for solutions that advance equity. This role is highly collaborative, requiring work with external partners and coalitions, diverse communities, and across all agency departments to ensure coordination of organizational priorities. This role will collaborate with program leadership and partner with community in identifying needs and advancing solutions to address inequities. They will also support fund development, marketing, communications, and data, evaluation, and learning efforts to strengthen the agency with all stakeholders, including community members and those with lived experience of poverty, partner agencies, elected officials, and funders.

Primary Responsibilities:

Policy Research and Communications

• Conduct rigorous research on the policy and system barriers impacting those experiencing poverty to understand root causes, impact on CAM programs and the community we serve, to compile local data and stories, and to identify potential solutions.
• Work with agency leadership, community partners, and local leaders to identify potential macro-level solutions and craft policy proposals.
• Analyze and track policy issues and pending legislative proposals in line with agency priorities.
• Draft clear and concise memos, letters, issue briefs, action alerts, social media posts, and other policy-specific communications to produce compelling narratives to advance advocacy communications and campaigns.
• Contribute to agency collateral and utilize CAM communication channels, in partnership with the Communications Team, to inform and engage agency staff, volunteers, community members, and partners in narrative change efforts and advocacy actions.

Advocacy and Community Engagement

• Engage the voices of community members, frontline staff, and those with lived experience in discussion of system barriers and potential solutions, including CAM’s Parent Leadership Council, Staff Council, and Success Coaches, to inform agency policy positions and advocacy efforts.

• Participate in external working groups, coalitions, and other efforts to align with partner agencies, community leaders, and others on specific solutions and advocacy strategy.
• Educate elected officials, government staff, and other decision-makers on agency priorities through written letters and issue briefs, participation in public hearings or other meetings, and provision of verbal testimony.

Agency Leadership and Capacity Building

• Build and maintain trusted, respectful relationships with community members, partners, local coalitions, elected officials, and other decision makers.
• Support internal Advocacy Team of cross-agency leadership to inform priorities and coordinate agency actions, convening and planning regular meetings, preparing materials.
• Contribute to resource mobilization and fund development activities to build agency capacity to meet advocacy priorities as well as conference and other external presentation proposals to elevate CAM’s presence and profile externally.
• Guide the work of volunteers and/or interns engaged in policy advocacy.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

• Master’s preferred, or a Bachelor’s with related equivalent experience.
• At least 3 years of professional experience in a policy advocacy or movement building type of role, including coalition work with diverse partners, working with or for elected officials or other policymakers, and/or campaigns involving social change via advocacy, organizing, narrative work and/or research.
• Exceptional ability to articulate complex concepts and express ideas effectively among diverse audiences using oral, written, and visual communication skills, as well as deep listening skills to gain understanding.
• Collaborative approach with the ability to build and maintain strong relationships and leverage the unique contributions of diverse partners for effective movement building, such as service providers, elected officials and government staff, people experiencing poverty, community organizers, and fellow advocates.
• Applies the skills, values, and principles that acknowledge, respect, contribute, and work effectively across differences. Recognizes the unique value, perspectives, strengths, and challenges of diverse voices.
• Is responsive to changes in context or key circumstances to assess and modify plans and strategies to maintain vision focus and impact.
• Ensures high-quality results on projects/tasks, meets deadlines, and attends to details. Takes responsibility for the quality of work and achieves results with little oversight.
• Advanced understanding of basic office applications including MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint, and Teams).
• Hybrid position: Remote and ability to work on-site in San Rafael, CA.
• Must have valid and current California Driver’s License with clean or acceptable driving record and auto and liability insurance with reliable transportation.

Physical Requirements

• Bend: flexion of the upper trunk forward while standing and knees extended, or knees flexed when sitting.
• Lift: exertion of physical strength to move objects 10-25lbs from one level to another.
• Carry: hold or rest weighted objects 10-25lbs directly on hands, arms, shoulders or back while moving from one location to another.
• Climb: ascend/descend with gradual or continuous progress, using both hands and feet.
• Push: exertion of force on or against an object (weight/size) to move it from one location to another.
• Feel: perceiving attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature, or texture by touching with skin.