Advisor, Policy & Government Relations (Washington, DC)

Washington, DC
Full Time
Experienced
About Humanity United
Humanity United (HU) is a philanthropic organization focused on advancing the dignity and voice of those most affected by violent conflict, exploitation, and injustice. Established in 2008 to cultivate conditions for enduring peace and freedom, HU today focuses on systemic change across three bodies of work: Peacebuilding, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking, and Racial Justice and Equity, with a strong focus on leveraging Public Engagement across these issues. Humanity United is part of The Omidyar Group, a diverse collection of companies, organizations, and initiatives united by a desire to improve the lives of people and societies.

About Humanity United Action
Humanity United Action (HUA) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to cultivating the conditions for enduring freedom and peace. Like Humanity United, we support and build efforts to transform the systems that contribute to human exploitation and violent conflict. We pursue our mission by working directly and with partners to advocate for legislative policies that advance solutions to these intractable problems.

Position Summary:
Humanity United is seeking an experienced Advisor to join our Policy and Government Relations team! This team sits within the organization’s Public Engagement (PE) portfolio and represents Humanity United and Humanity United Action. It is responsible for developing relationships and engaging with key government and advocacy stakeholders in pursuit of legal and policy change, regulatory action, and public funding. The work of this team is integral to our broader efforts to cultivate the conditions for enduring peace and freedom.

The successful candidate must be committed to HU’s mission and values. To advance this mission, the candidate will work to implement the Policy and Government Relations team’s strategy as it relates to the U.S. Government and other international government bodies, adapting the strategy and work as needed over time. The ideal candidate will have significant experience either working in the legislative or executive branches of the U.S. federal government or working in government relations and/or policy advocacy and/or policy advocacy with a focus on the federal government. They should be adept at working collaboratively in highly complex environments and with multiple internal and external teams, across cultures and geographies. This position requires a high degree of integrity, discretion, and good judgment.

Based in Washington, DC, this role will report to the Director, Policy and Government Relations. This is a full-time, exempt position. Our hybrid work approach provides ongoing flexibility for remote work; however, the duties of this role require the successful candidate to be located in the Washington, DC metro area to regularly attend in-person external and internal meetings.

Core Job Responsibilities:
  • Support critical grantee and partner relationships, including working with grants and grantees, at times as the key grant maker, holding relationships, shepherding grants through HU’s grants management system, Smart Simple
  • Cultivate and sustain relationships and engage with key policymakers and multiple advocacy communities
  • Work with the Policy & Government Relations team to develop annual budget
  • Advocate and lobby to advance strategic priorities of HU, HUA, and key partners
  • Serve as a policy voice within HU, advising on policy matters – and act as a leader with a point of view in the broader policy field, engaging with high-level forums as needed
  • Engage closely with HU’s programmatic teams to identify and support shared policy objectives as well as opportunities to maximize impact
  • Organize convenings in collaboration with PGR team, HU staff, and external partners, including the USG and/or multilateral institutions
  • Attend in-person and virtual meetings on policy issues relevant to HU
  • Engage with HU’s legal team to maintain and improve internal compliance systems enabling the affiliated private foundation / 501(c)(4) organizational structure

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Must-have requirements:
  • Commitment to HU’s mission and values (including diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice) is a must, with a perspective on how to apply these principles in our internal and external work
  • Proven experience in advancing policy priorities with U.S. government (USG), with an emphasis on human rights, social justice, international development, and/or foreign relations
  • Significant government relations experience and robust network within USG executive and/or legislative branches
  • Ability to engage effectively across multiple bodies of work while adapting and pivoting as circumstances require
  • Ability to effectively work in and with coalitions, serving as a convener and network weaver
  • Ability to organize convenings in collaboration with external partners, including the USG and/or multilateral institutions
  • Ability to think strategically and creatively, to both plan and prioritize for impact
  • Comfort working and making progress in highly complex and often ambiguous environments
  • Excellent communications (verbal and written) and project management skills
  • Dedication to bringing people together, and building networks comprised of partners with a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives, and among partners with different access to power or resources
  • Commitment to working with and cultivating leadership across political parties in order to advance HU and HUA’s policy objectives.
  • Desire to learn and share lessons across HU and HUA
  • Strong work ethic and outstanding professional ethics
  • The right to work in the United States.
It’s a bonus if you bring:
  • Relationship management and/or grantmaking experience, or the ability to learn, is highly desirable.
  • Familiarity with legal and regulatory frameworks regarding advocacy and lobbying by tax-exempt organizations
  • Policy expertise in one or more of HU/HUA’s programmatic areas: Forced Labor and Human Trafficking, Peacebuilding, and Racial Justice and Equity
  • Direct lived experience of the issues we work on.
We encourage qualified candidates with informal or indirect experience to describe how their background has served as preparation for this role.

Salary:
For a Washington DC location, the starting salary range for this position is $113,498 - $126,109, based on skills, experience and background. At HU, salary progression is based on performance and proficiency in a role over time. The full salary range for this role in Washington DC is $113,498 - $132,414.


Humanity United believes that diversity, equity and inclusion make us more successful in our work, and we are able to grow and learn better together when our team is diverse and representative of the communities we serve. We are actively engaged in a formal DEIJ journey as an organization, and expect that prospective employees are enthusiastic about advancing these goals.

We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and staff. In recruiting for our team, we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of education, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran status, color, class, religion, disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, marital status and any other characteristics protected by law. We strongly encourage applications from people with diverse identities or who are members of marginalized communities.

HU is proud to offer all staff an inclusive and comprehensive benefits package to accommodate a diversity of needs and life circumstances and to accommodate staff at all life stages with flexible and supportive benefits. Our benefits include medical, dental and vision insurance, life and disability insurance, flexible spending account, 401(k) plan, paid vacation and sick time with generous holiday closures, paid parental leave, charitable gift matching, employee assistance program and mental health support via our partnerships with Modern Health, Calm and Headspace, commuter benefit, wellbeing benefit, phone and home internet benefit, hybrid work flexibility and half-day Fridays.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to fully access our benefits of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation, or describe your needs in your application.


Humanity United’s Values:
We encourage all candidates to learn more about our organizational values at https://humanityunited.org/about/

To Apply:
Please submit your resume and cover letter.
 
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