Organizational Overview: 

Created in 2005 to be a statewide leader in early childhood, ECIC collaborates to increase public and private investment in the earliest years, to elevate issues affecting young children and their families, and continuously improve Michigan’s comprehensive early childhood system, ensuring every child has the opportunity to succeed in school and in life. We have a vision… that all young children and their families in Michigan thrive.

In order to make this vision a reality, we work to ensure:

• Race, culture and community are celebrated assets in a young child’s life
• Our work is informed by research and driven by the voices of diverse populations to achieve equitable outcomes for all      children
• Collaboration is central to our work, and we strive to co-create knowledge and innovation for the field 

Position Summary:

The Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy is responsible for working in close collaboration with coalition partners to advance policy change at the state and federal levels, including advocacy with policymakers and strategic engagement with partner organizations and coalitions. This role develops and manages strategies for strengthening relationships with policymakers to increase their understanding of early childhood issues, gain support for policy change to support Michigan’s youngest children and their families, and expand recognition of ECIC as a resource in early childhood. The Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy impacts policy change to address Michigan’s most challenging early childhood issues.  Reporting to the CEO, this position supervises a policy and outreach associate and the program manager for the Detroit Policy Initiative.

Duties and Responsibilities:

This list is intended to represent job-related duties and should not be viewed as exhaustive.

• Convene a coalition of early childhood advocates, childcare providers and health practitioners, parent leaders, state government representatives and community leaders, including meeting design, facilitation, and related action steps. 
• Develop and manage strategies for strengthening relationships with elected officials and government agencies and increasing their understanding of and support for policy change. 
• Develop work plans and coordinate the development of a wide range of materials to advance the coalition’s policy agenda, such as talking points, legislative summaries, factsheets, testimony, reports, and letters. 
• Work with partner organizations’ research, advocacy, and communication staff and contracted consultants to develop and disseminate relevant educational materials across multiple channels and media. 
• Collaborate with national, state, regional, and local partners, identify new partners, and develop joint strategies to advance policies that support coalition policy priorities, ECIC policy agenda, and early childhood systems building. 
• Plan and implement events and other activities to support policy goals, such as town halls, news conferences, site visits, and meetings. 
• Oversee program budgets, including both forecasting and tracking of expenditures, and work plans, in collaboration with programmatic and operations staff, ensuring regular reporting and evaluation goals are well-established and met. 
• Collaborate with ECIC’s CEO and financial team to identify and contribute to grant proposals and other revenue generating opportunities. 
• Develop, coach, supervise and retain high-performance team members.
• Collaborate with the team to develop and implement strategic and operational plans.

Qualifications: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Bachelor’s degree in public policy, public administration, political science or related field with seven (7) years of related experience.
• Knowledge of federal early childhood funding streams and legislation, the state legislative process, grassroots, and grass tops advocacy and strategies.
• Excellent advocacy, consensus-building, coalition-building, and leadership skills; demonstrated ability to work collegially and collaboratively with other staff and other organizations; demonstrated ability to work with groups and individuals across the political spectrum.
• Ability to serve as public spokesperson and advocate for the organization.
• Ability to analyze and articulate legal concepts and other complex issues and to communicate them to a variety of audiences.
• Understanding of and commitment to social change through building the capacity and power of low-income people and people of color to change their communities and to participate directly in changing public policies.
• Ability to work in partnership with and alongside parent leaders, especially parents and families whose households are low-wealth or low-income.
• Demonstrated skill and comfort in proactively building relationships with diverse audiences, including public officials, coalition partners, community leaders, and members of the media.
• Effective group consultation and meeting facilitation skills.
• Ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail while managing multiple tasks, projects, and timelines.
• Ability to use data and analytical skills to proactively identify opportunities, set priorities and solve problems.
• Ability to partner with racially and ethnically diverse colleagues and community members on joint initiatives.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, Adobe and web-based applications.
• Possession of a valid driver’s license and vehicle or other ability of travel throughout Michigan and nationally, including periodic overnight travel.

Physical Requirements:

Talking - Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word to impart oral information to others accurately. (5-6 hours daily)

Hearing - Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discriminations in sound. (4-5 hours daily)

Standing – In one position, particularly for sustained periods of time. (1 hour daily)

Visual Acuity – Viewing objects with close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; and/or extensive reading. (4-5 hours daily)

Office Setting - Sedentary work in which exerting up to 10 pounds of force is occasional and a negligible amount of force is frequently or constantly used to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time.

Remote Work:

This Michigan-based remote position requires some travel within Michigan and occasionally to other parts of the country for projects, ECIC meetings, and organization needs. The frequency of travel depends on the organization's needs; and for ECIC meetings, travel within Michigan is anticipated 1-4 times a year, and other national travel is anticipated 1-3 times a year.  All leadership roles require that successful candidates be based in Michigan.

Compensation:

• Salary Range of $85,000 - $100,000 commensurate with education and experience
• Benefits package including medical, vision, dental, short/long-term disability, life insurance, paid time off, and retirement of up to 7% of salary

To Apply for This Position:

Submit a cover letter and resume through the job posting on the ECIC website: www.ecic4kids.org/careers/. All materials must be submitted as .pdf documents. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. If you need assistance with submitting your application or have questions about the position, please email HR@ecic4kids.org. 

Research shows that women and people from underrepresented groups often only apply to jobs if they meet all the qualifications. However, no one ever meets 100% of the qualifications. ECIC encourages you to break that statistic and to apply. We look forward to your application.

All employment decisions at ECIC are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, citizenship status, national origin, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, creed, gender identity, physical or mental disability, marital status, genetic information, medical condition, military and veteran status, political affiliation, or any other factor protected by law. ECIC encourages applications from minorities, women, persons with disabilities, protected veterans, and all other qualified candidates.

Early Childhood Investment Corporation provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment.