Vice President of Government Affairs and Advocacy

Vice President of Government Affairs and Advocacy

LOCATION: Austin

Role Mission : The Vice President of Government Affairs and Advocacy is responsible for leading IDEA's government affairs engagements, policy initiatives, and grassroots advocacy efforts. This work includes: 1) Developing and leading actions to advocate on behalf of policies in support of IDEA's mission at the local, state, and national level; 2) Collaboration with the Texas Charter School Association (TCSA), Texans for Quality Public Charter Schools (TQPCS), affiliate organizations, and IDEA staff to advocate for pro-charter school policies in support of IDEA's mission and growth plan; 3) Developing and implementing a family advocacy and engagement program; 4) Managing regional managers to implement programming, mobilize families to advocate on behalf of policies in support of IDEA's mission; 5) Advising and consulting with IDEA Executive Directors on public charter school/ traditional public school legislation including financial, legal and political implications.

Accountabilities

1

Government Affairs
Build relationships in support of IDEA's policy goals and mission by engaging local, state, and federal elected and governmental officials, including:

• Host visits with 90% of the 25 state-level legislators who represent IDEA Public Schools
• Lead IDEA's communication with state education agencies related to policy and regulatory matters

2

Grassroots Advocacy
Manage regional advocacy managers to execute a grassroots advocacy strategy in partnership with Communications and Operations parent engagement efforts that includes:

• Developing and executing a parent advocacy program and curriculum that aligns builds parent civic engagement and advocacy capacity and aligns to the TQCPS/TCSA coalition objectives
• Enrolling 12,000 advocates in the TCSA advocacy database by Jan 2019.
• Hosting 8 monthly empowerment sessions for parents at 8-10 campuses in with an average monthly attendance of 25 parents at each campus by June 2019
• Participation of on average 150 family members per campus across all IDEA campuses in an advocacy action or event (advocacy event, writing letter, visiting with a lawmaker, attending a mobilizing event);

3

Policy
Develop and shape IDEA's policy position and strategy, in pursuit of IDEA's vision, mission, and growth, and the local, state, and federal level including:

• Managing and executing IDEA's advocacy and policy strategy within state capitols and in Washington DC, including a minimum of one annual advocacy day during legislative session that engages IDEA Executive Directors, CEO, and board members in each state capitol in which IDEA maintains a region and in Washington D.C .
• Providing public testimony on behalf of IDEA during legislative hearings as requested in Austin and Washington, D.C.
• Draft comments in response to SEA draft regulations, responding to all draft regulations to which IDEA wishes to provide public comment within the public comment period

4

Advocacy Communications

• Develop content for IDEA's external communications related to policy positions and advocacy by drafting X op-ed articles related to state or federal policy, shaping public narrative related to public charter schools and IDEA's mission and results
• Develop content for internal communications related to IDEA's policy priorities, including support for undocumented Team & Family and education policy, in collaboration with IDEA's Chief Diversity Officer and VP of Marketing & Communications

5

Charter Partnership Consulting

• Lead all strategy on new Texas legislation covering charter and district partnerships
• Consult with EDs to make decisions related to partnerships in their regions
• Provide financial analysis and modeling related to potential partnership opportunities
• Update senior leaders on opportunities and costs of partnerships in expansion and existing regions

6

Live values of IDEA

• Believes in and is committed to our mission: that all students are capable of getting to and through college
• Is driven by outcomes and results, and wants to be held accountable for them
• Has a propensity for action, willing to make mistakes by doing in order to learn and improve quickly
• Thrives in an entrepreneurial, high-growth environment; is comfortable with ambiguity and change
• Seeks and responds well to feedback, which is shared often and freely across all levels of the organization
• Works through silos and forges strong cross-departmental relationships in order to achieve outcomes
• Embodies IDEA's core values