Job Description

Director of Advocacy

Level: Full-time; director-level position, reporting to the CEO

Salary: Starting at $72,000, depending on experience

Benefits: Enrollment in 100% employer-sponsored gold-level Blue Cross health care plan, 3% employer contribution to a 403b retirement fund, generous PTO and sick time, paid holidays, dedicated professional development funds, short-term disability coverage, optional dental and vision insurance.

Contact: Apply online at Book Harvest Job Opportunities

Requirements: Resume, cover letter, two writing samples, and contact information of two references; applications will only be reviewed if they include all elements. Proof of COVID vaccination and booster will be required upon hire.

Priority Deadline: August 26, 2022

As with all Book Harvest positions, we strongly encourage applications from candidates who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color; people with lived experience of poverty or homelessness; LGBTQIA applicants; and people with disabilities.

Organization Overview

Founded in 2011 and based in Durham, North Carolina, Book Harvest (www.bookharvest.org) is a nonprofit organization that provides books to children and engages families and communities in promoting children’s literacy and a lifelong love of reading. Book Harvest believes that books are essential to children’s healthy development and well-being, that all children deserve to grow up in book-rich homes, and that all parents deserve access to the literacy resources and information that will enable them to be their children’s first and best teachers and brain builders.

To progress as a community organization and change the education landscape in positive ways, we at Book Harvest believe it is our responsibility to be actively anti-racist, and we are dedicated to continuing the fight against racism in our society so that every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

To date, Book Harvest has provided more than 1.8 million books and a wide array of literacy supports to children and families. Durham, North Carolina is our flagship location, and we are committed to the replication and expansion of our work throughout North Carolina and across our country.

Book Harvest is committed to protecting children through its child safeguarding policies. All staff are subject to criminal background checks and are held to high standards of child protection.

Position Overview

Recently, Book Harvest, which had focused its work almost entirely on programs and outcomes in Durham, North Carolina, made a strategic decision to begin to work regionally and nationally. The Director of Advocacy, the first position of its kind in the organization, will be a senior level position, reporting to the CEO and overseeing all aspects of the organization’s advocacy and policy portfolio during a time of acceleration in and growth beyond our flagship community of Durham, NC.

Book Harvest seeks for this role an experienced advocate, leader, and coalition-builder. In addition to the CEO, the Director of Advocacy will work closely with other national directors of Book Harvest, Inc. across program operations, advocacy, finance, and advancement.

The Director of Advocacy will lead the organization’s work to determine policy advocacy and research priorities; serve as liaison, in close alignment with Book Harvest’s CEO and Advancement Director, to the organization’s government relations firm, Vista Strategies; oversee the design and implementation of organizing and mobilization campaigns in support of the organization’s advocacy strategies; and build new coalitions as needed and support and contribute to existing coalitions to further Book Harvest’s goals of books for every child, support for every parent, and literacy for every community.

The Director of Advocacy will also work closely with the Director of Growth to align efforts to influence policy and promote advocacy with the organization’s expansion and replication work and to provide valuable expertise to elected officials and policymakers. A fundamental priority will be securing and maintaining Book Harvest’s role as a collaborative partner to lift up the shared aspirations and commonalities with partners, to forge and further coalitions among partners, to provide a strong foundation for strategic cooperation and collaborative advocacy efforts, and to leverage the findings and successes of Book Harvest’s established programs and demonstration pilots to influence policy.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities include but are not limited to, with approximate percentages:

Policy Advocacy and Strategy (40%)

• Identify policy goals, strategies, and timely research topics and priorities, informed in the unique need of NC communities, including and especially rural communities.
• Serve as the liaison to Book Harvest’s government relations firm, Vista Strategies; create connections with relevant Book Harvest staff on issues with promising policy implications.
• Build strategic relationships with key elected officials and policymakers.
• Oversee legislative and policy advocacy efforts on issues relevant to childhood literacy.
• Provide written and oral testimony to legislators and policymakers, monitor and lobby relevant stakeholders, and coordinate closely with the Advancement Team on digital advocacy strategies.
• Coordinate with partner organizations on shared advocacy goals and strategies.

Outreach and Public Content (60%)

• Author and edit research pieces ranging from op-eds and guest essays to white papers and longer reports; collaborate with the Associate Director of Communications to maximize the impact of these pieces.
• Develop and promote compelling and effective messaging and public awareness campaigns, both large and small, related to research findings and policy goals.
• Conduct speaking engagements and participate in trainings, webinars, and information sessions to help educate fellow staff, partner organizations, policymakers, elected officials, and the public on research and policies related to children’s literacy.
• Stay abreast of developments in the birth-to-five field and seek out opportunities to influence policy, including but not limited to involvement with the NC Early Childhood Action Plan, Integrated Care for Kids, NC Home Visiting and Parenting Education working groups, Education NC, and the Leandro ruling.
• Respond to requests from partner organizations and public entities for research and policy information.
• Compile and stay abreast of external research related to issues of childhood literacy.

Requirements:

Qualifications / Characteristics:

The successful candidate for this position is a highly motivated, superbly organized and collaborative individual who can lead the development of a robust policy and advocacy portfolio during a time of strategic growth. This person must be able to represent Book Harvest in a variety of settings and be an excellent communicator. An innovative approach to challenges, an enthusiasm for teamwork, patience, perseverance, and a mindset of gratitude, respect, and possibility are a must.

The ideal candidate will have:

• a background in children’s literacy
• advocacy experience, including with legislators
• significant experience with research and evaluation
• excellent writing skills
• creativity, imagination and the drive to bring ideas into reality
• leadership, a spirit of teamwork and collaboration, and the ability to inspire others
• patience and perseverance
• strong self-starter qualities
• strong organizational and time management skills
• warm and engaging interpersonal skills
• a willingness to learn and to evolve strategy in response to learnings
• a can-do spirit and a ready capacity for agility and adaptability
• an ability to both further the big picture and keep track of details

Book Harvest is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We offer a competitive salary, excellent benefits, and an engaging, purposeful workplace culture.

Book Harvest is committed to protecting children through its child safeguarding policies. All staff are subjected to criminal background checks and held to high standards of child protection

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