Director of Advocacy

The Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA) seeks applicants for a Director of Advocacy. The Director of Advocacy will advance both local and statewide policies focused on protecting California’s growing refugee and Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) communities. This position requires the ability to work both independently and as part of a team, exercise sound independent judgment, take initiative, and prioritize and complete assignments in a timely manner. 

Job Description:

PANA is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing the full economic, social, and civic inclusion of refugees in San Diego. PANA uses an integrated voter engagement approach to its community organizing, public policy, and research in order to build and leverage deep community networks, develop community leaders, and establish a civic engagement infrastructure to amplify their voice, visibility and impact.

Since 2015, the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans - PANA, has led the fight to lift up refugee voices as equal participants in the civic, social, and economic life of San Diego County.  PANA’s unique role works at the intersections of African, Middle Eastern, Muslim, & South Asian (AMEMSA) refugee communities impacted by racial/ethnic profiling, religious bias, heightened scrutiny, proposed increased government surveillance, and poverty among the many issues affecting our refugee communities.

The Director of Advocacy will utilize a variety of strategies and hold multiple responsibilities including coalition building, coordination of the organizing work, communications, and the analysis and development of local and statewide advocacy and campaign strategies to advance issues that promote the full inclusion of our refugee and AMEMSA communities. The Advocacy Director will also be required to foster a collaborative working relationship with the State Attorney General’s office and other key lawmakers at the local, state and national level.

In 2017 - 2018, the Director of Advocacy will work in collaboration with the Director of Community Partnerships and Civic Engagement to advance an affordable housing agenda in San Diego.

This position will report directly to the Executive Director and will be responsible for supervising the community organizing team.

Responsibilities:

  • Foster relationships with coalitions and organizations locally and across the state working on advancing immigrants rights and refugee issues.
  • Produce advocacy tools and materials including development and facilitation of leadership development workshops for coalition partners and organizers on skills related to community organizing, grassroots advocacy, power-analysis, and other relevant topics.
  • Train and support the development of new staff and supervise the organizing team.
  • Build and strengthen relationships with local, state, and federal lawmakers and stakeholders.
  • Support the Advocacy Academy and the leadership development of community members.
  • Participate in national coalitions and calls to support, protect and advance refugee rights.
  • Speak publicly at conferences, meetings, and engage with the press
  • Oversee the ongoing facilitation and strategic planning updates of campaign plans.
  • Support execution of campaign plans and strategies with coalition partners in order to affect institutional and social change.
  • Participate and lead reflection and evaluation of actions and campaign activities with staff and coalition partners.
  • Provide organizational support and expertise to coalition partners.
  • Work with membership and staff in developing and implementing public relations strategies.

Qualifications and Skills Required:

  • Bachelor's degree in Community Development, Community Organizing, Social Work, Political Science, Public Policy, Urban Planning, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, Sociology, Community Psychology, or related field required.
  • J.D./graduate degree preferred.
  • And /or a minimum of five years of experience in community organizing working with and managing coalitions in a collaborative context with formal training in either conflict organizing or consensus organizing theories.
  • Minimum of five years of experience supervising staff.
  • Experience with policy advocacy, including campaign planning, research, analysis and report writing.
  • Demonstrated experience organizing or engaging with refugee and/or immigrant communities.
  • Experience leading issue campaigns including ballot measures.
  • Demonstrated commitment to refugee and immigrant communities.
  • Excellent research, oral and written skills.
  • Extremely organized with close attention to detail and accuracy.
  • Ability to juggle multiple priorities effectively in a rapidly changing environment.
  • Ability to speak Arabic, Karen, Urdu, Farsi, Kurdish, Vietnamese, Somali, Amharic, Tigrinya, or Swahili strongly preferred.
  • Knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook, and sophisticated use of technology.

Compensation:

Competitive salary commensurate with experience and excellent benefits.

Applicants should email a resume, writing sample, and cover letter to admin@panasd.org.