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Chief Advocacy Officer, The Oakland REACH

Employer
Edgility Consulting
Location
California
Salary
Competitive salary range of $140,000-160,000 and robust benefits.

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Job Details

ORGANIZATION 

Did you know that less than 30% of Black and Brown kids in Oakland are on reading level? The Oakland REACH is a 501c3 organization determined to disrupt these systematic educational inequities in Oakland’s public schools. 

Five years ago, The Oakland REACH’s co-Founder & CEO, Lakisha Young, set out with a small group of fellow Black and Brown parents on a mission to empower Oakland’s most underserved communities to demand high-quality schools for their children. Today, The Oakland REACH is leading a national conversation about parent power. If you want to be fired up by their energy, conviction, and success to date, check out their recent features on TODAY.com, Scripps, and NPR

The REACH pulls on every lever possible to get kids learning. They’ve combined both advocacy and direct programming work to make real change: They lead the passage of The Opportunity Ticket policy through the Oakland Unified School Board; created and ran a Literacy for All campaign to increase the literacy of the whole family; and designed and launched the Hub to provide high-quality instruction and programming for students and socio-economic supports for the whole family. The REACH’s work always centers around solutions — rather than call on system leaders to “do something,” The REACH shows what works and says, “do this.” 

The future is uncertain. But what The REACH does know for certain is that “business as usual” has never worked, and going back to “normal” is not an option. In 2022, external conditions — including the continued pandemic and a tough local political climate — will inevitably impact students’ access to a high quality teaching and learning. With that as the backdrop, The REACH knows they will need to continue to navigate unchartered territories when it comes to accessing high quality education. But they are ready. They have proven they can lead the way through complexity by being nimble and responsive, scaling impact, and always keeping families first. 

To learn more, please visit https://oaklandreach.org/

 

OPPORTUNITY 

The Oakland REACH knows that in order to provide disruptive and innovative academic opportunities for students who are farthest away from opportunity, they have to pull bold advocacy levers that challenge the status quo in California and set a model for the country. That’s why The REACH is looking for a leader with a strong background in both policy and advocacy strategy, on both a local and state level, to serve as the organization’s Advocacy leader. 

To be successful, this leader needs to be flexible in their communication style and be able to interact with a diverse range of people from local community leaders, parent organizers, funders, partners, and public officials. They need to be nimble to ensure what we do keeps the needs of our families at the center. Most importantly, this person will be an essential partner to the CEO in developing and executing an effective policy and advocacy strategy, so that TOR can continue to work towards its mission of enabling more Black and Brown students to attend high performing public schools than happens today. Simply put, we are looking for a code-switching, collaborative, co-conspirator in this work.

This position is remote within the state of California, with the expectation of travel as needed.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

Key Responsibilities of the Chief Advocacy Officer include:

  • Serve as the policy and advocacy strategist, working closely with the CEO and other team members to identify and drive strategic advocacy priorities and implementation plans for local and state advocacy and policy initiatives; 
  • Build strong alliances with policymakers, advocacy partners, community leaders and other supporters at the state and local level to further TOR’s advocacy goals and advocate for families;
  • Create collaborative partnerships with team members by listening, building trust, and co-creating solutions, including leveraging TOR’s Parent Power Playbook to empower internal and external stakeholders; 
  • Develop a policy and advocacy blueprint for local level advocacy with an eye towards building a state level advocacy agenda and systemic impact; 
  • Work closely with TOR’s program, communications and team and other functions to ensure alignment between advocacy strategies, programmatic goals and outreach activities. 

 

QUALIFICATIONS 

In order to fulfill these responsibilities, the ideal Chief Advocacy Officer candidate will be/will have:

 

  • Demonstrated commitment to The Oakland REACH’s mission and programmatic goals; 
  • Experience and demonstrated success  in policy, political organizing and/or advocacy efforts with a particular focus on social justice initiatives; 
  • In-depth understanding of California’s policy making process and knowledge of key stakeholders and decision makers within policy cycles;
  • An understanding of the legislative process and have the ability to translate complex policy speak and procedures to community members and others as needed;
  • Successful track record organizing groups and a key understanding of organizing models to educate, train and recruit families;
  • A builder of authentic relationships with policymakers, elected officials, community partners, and colleagues; 

If the following sounds like you…

  • You are passionate about and have experience leading social justice advocacy campaigns to change local and state policy and are ready to work in a role with potential for scaled impact;  
  • People recognize your political savviness and ability to influence others, including getting policy shifts through the state house;
  • You are a strategic, service-oriented leader and natural “connector” who enjoys leveraging your knowledge and experience to help others, including colleagues, succeed;
  • You thrive in rapidly evolving environments that require innovation and agility and are able to use your planning and management skills to create clarity and direction;
  • You are perceptive, keenly observe fields, identify trends and look around corners to anticipate challenges and opportunities, and pivot as needed;
  • You are flexible, comfortable with ambiguity, action-oriented and enjoy working as part of a growing, “all-hands-on-deck” team;

…then you might just be who TOR is looking for!

 

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

This position offers a competitive salary range of $140,000-160,000 and robust benefits including medical, dental, retirement, and monthly reimbursements for cell phone and internet costs. More details can be provided upon request.

 

TO APPLY Please submit a resume online at https://apply.workable.com/j/636FC576C8. For additional questions about this position or to speak with someone about your interest, please contact Angelica Molero at amolero@edgilityconsulting.com.

 

 

At The Oakland REACH, we don’t just accept differences — we celebrate them, support them, and we thrive on them for the benefit of our staff, our mission, and our community.  The Oakland REACH is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Recruiting staff to create an inclusive organization is a priority, and we encourage applicants from all backgrounds. Candidates are evaluated solely on their qualifications to perform the work required.

 

Company

We believe equity isn’t a box to check. It’s a daily action. We exist to empower social impact organizations to recognize and overcome unconscious bias, racism and sexism so they can build a workforce that reflects and strengthens the communities they serve.

 

We look at the data, ask the tough questions and—when we need to—disrupt the status quo. We’ve learned that real change can’t come from relying on the same systems and “best practices” that got us here in the first place. Our clients want to live up to their values, but it’s not always easy to know where to start. They need a trusted guide to get there. We walk them through an equity-driven process focused on finding, hiring and retaining exceptional leaders, developing transparent compensation programs, and building inclusive environments where employees thrive. This is the new standard. And we challenge everyone to meet us here.

 

Company info
Website
Telephone
5105759635
Location
17 Elm Street
Keene
New Hampshire
03431
US

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