Arts for LA

Remote

About Arts for LA:

Arts for LA (AFLA) activates artists and organizations and leads communities to advocate for an equitable, healthy, and creative Los Angeles region through the arts. 

Position Summary:

AFLA seeks a Policy & Advocacy Director to support the strategy and positioning on arts and culture issues. This position will be responsible for developing AFLA’s annual policy agenda and policy priorities that further organizational goals. He/she/they will help develop advocacy campaigns with an eye towards advancing AFLA policy agenda at the local level. He/she/they will also oversee working groups led by ACTIVATE fellows, and work to build critical relationships with stakeholders of AFLA to advance policy values and priorities pertaining to arts and culture.

The ideal candidate has a strong background in policy and legislative advocacy, as well as demonstrated experience building productive relationships and mobilizing key stakeholders. He/she/they will also have excellent analytical skills with an ability to think critically and write effectively. An understanding of and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion are critical to the success of this role, and candidates should be prepared to articulate how they will approach policy analysis and development with an equity lens. The position is an opportunity to serve as the resident policy expert for an influential public policy and advocacy organization.

Key Responsibilities:

• Steward the organization’s annual policy agenda development process and lead advocacy strategies to move those policies forward.
• Lead policy development on arts and culture issues. Assist with data analysis, research projects and author policy reports, issue briefs, and fact sheets that analyze arts and culture policy issues affecting artists, arts organizations and cultural communities.
• Rapid response analysis of bills and policy proposals. 
• Build and maintain relationships with City Council and County staff, administrative staff, and other policymakers
• Support efforts to coordinate arts and culture policy and advocacy efforts/campaigns across the Los Angeles County region. 
• Represent the organization at external events, including coalition meetings, to foster our external relationships and collaborate strategically with partners.
• Serve as an on-record spokesperson for AFLA on arts and culture policy at events, in official statements, and in the media.
• Support the development of arts and culture issue advocacy trainings and consumer education materials.
• Contribute to the development of arts and culture-related fundraising proposals and execute policy grant deliverables as necessary.
• Support AFLA membership recruitment, retention and engagement objectives.
• Supervise policy interns and seasonal staff, with the potential to manage additional staff members in the future.

Supervisory Responsibility:

This position is responsible for supervising at least one employee (potentially more as AFLA grows) as well as contractors and consultants as-needed to support the mission of AFLA.

Required Knowledge/Skills/Position Qualifications:

• Three to five years of relevant experience in policy and politics (experience can be across different issue areas).
• Excellent research and writing ability, including an existing portfolio of policy materials.
• Experience with implementing and supporting successful legislative advocacy and community organizing campaigns.
• Experience managing projects with multiple teams and competing priorities.
• Experience building and managing relationships with external partners.
• Represent/advocate for AFLA and its constituents with appropriate local, state, federal, elected officials, and agency officials.
• Willingness to register as a lobbyist.

Preferred, but not required skills: 

• Experience with nonprofit board liaising and management.
• Awareness of Los Angeles arts community and local government structures.
• Experience with social media outreach and other grassroots methods of community organizing.

Qualifications:

• California state driver's license and ability to use own car for travel.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with people and organizations of diverse backgrounds and political viewpoints.
• Understanding and support of the values, mission, and goals of AFLA.

Work Environment:

This job operates in a hybrid work-from-home and professional office environment.

Travel: 

This position requires local travel, as well as occasional travel within the state of California. 

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work: 

This is a full-time position. Days and hours of work are M-F from 9:00am- 5:00pm, with some weekend and evening hours required.

Other Duties:

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. 

Compensation:

Starting salary range $78,000 - $83,000 dependent on experience. Benefits include health, vision, dental care, and PTO. Anticipated start date February 2023.

How to Apply:

Applications close January 31, 2023 at 11:59pm. Please submit a resume, cover letter, writing sample (i.e. policy agenda, communications sample, research and/or policy reports and 3 references to [email protected] with the subject line: “Policy & Advocacy Director” . Applications without writing samples will not be considered.

AFLA is an equal employment opportunity employer and we strongly encourage diverse candidates to apply. Arts for LA do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, sex (including pregnancy), gender, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, medical condition including genetic characteristics, mental or physical disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, (including transgender status), weight, height, linguistic characteristics (such as accent and limited English proficiency, were not substantially job-related), citizenship status, or any other basis prohibited by law. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.