Senior Director, Legislative Affairs

We are seeking a strategic, experienced, and mission-driven Senior Director, Legislative Affairs to lead our federal legislative advocacy work and our strategic approach to advocacy within our states to strengthen our democracy by holding power accountable.

In this role, you will be responsible for developing and executing a dynamic federal lobbying strategy, managing high-level relationships with lawmakers and key partners, and building strategic alignment across Common Cause’s policy pillars and state teams. You will serve as a key thought partner in our cross-department campaigns and media efforts that include federal legislative components.

This is a full-time role reporting to the Senior Vice President, Policy & Litigation; this role is based in Washington, DC, with an expectation to work in-person at least two days per week, up to five days per week during peak legislative periods, and travel at least four times per year. We hope our Senior Director, Legislative Affairs will start in November.

Responsibilities

Federal Legislative Strategy & Advocacy

- Lead the development and execution of Common Cause’s federal legislative strategy, aligning efforts with organizational goals and political context

- Manage high-level relationships with lawmakers, congressional staff, and federal legislative partners; represent Common Cause in key advocacy coalitions and at public events

- Serve as the primary registered lobbyist for Common Cause, ensuring compliance and transparency

- Coordinate and lead Hill meetings, briefings, and hearing preparation, and provide timely strategic updates to internal teams

- Serve as a senior spokesperson on federal legislative issues and support communications staff with strategic messaging and media engagement

Strategic Integration with State Advocacy

- Develop and implement a strategy to support state teams in building and maintaining relationships with congressional district offices and U.S. Senate state offices

- Tailor guidance and tools to state political conditions, ensuring state teams can engage effectively on federal priorities

- Help connect local and national advocacy efforts, translating grassroots momentum into meaningful federal influence

 Internal Leadership & Coordination

- Collaborate with Senior Policy Directors across our four pillars—Voting & Fair Representation, Anti-Corruption & Accountability, Media & Technology, and Civil Rights & Civil Liberties—to identify and advance legislative priorities

- Partner with the Campaigns & Organizing and External Affairs departments to align public campaigns, grassroots advocacy, and communications with legislative goals

- Oversee the development and coordination of policy materials including talking points, testimony, letters, fact sheets, op-eds, press releases, and other advocacy collateral

- Engage with journalists and respond to press inquiries to elevate our legislative agenda and shape public narrative

- Lead the creation of regular reports and communications for Capitol Hill stakeholders, including producing and promoting Common Cause’s Democracy Scorecard and other strategic assessments of congressional action on democracy reform

- Coordinate closely with executive leadership to ensure legislative advocacy efforts are integrated into organizational planning and fundraising

Other duties as assigned

• A strong commitment to Common Cause’s nonpartisan mission and to advancing equitable opportunities for communities through our pro-democracy agenda  
• Deep understanding of the unique aspects of our national political dynamic and of key decision-makers at the federal and state level; ideally you have existing relationships with these people and organizations 
• A commitment to equity in the goals of your work and in how you work with others 
• Ability to work collaboratively with others, and to build rapport, trust, and credibility with multiple stakeholders with diverse interests  
• Ability to navigate organizational and power dynamics, respectfully navigate conflict while maintaining your values, and influence others to adopt changes to meet common goals  
• Innovative and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to navigate through ambiguity to achieve goals, and a resourceful approach to solve problems 
• Ability to manage and meet deadlines for multiple short- and long-term priorities at once, with high attention to detail, strong organization skills, and the ability to manage your time independently  
• Ability to compel action through both written and verbal communication, including distilling complex concepts for a broad audience, and to differentiate communications as needed for various audiences, and ideally you have served as an external spokesperson for an organization previously or have experience speaking to the media  
• Openness to feedback and awareness of your own strengths and areas for growth    
• Familiarity with office productivity tools including Microsoft Office, Slack, and Zoom

• Have managed legislative strategy on issues related to one or more of our pillars (Voting & Fair Representation, Civil Rights & Civil Liberties, Media & Technology, and Anti-Corruption & Accountability) at the federal level
• A track record of successful and impactful lobbying efforts at the federal level
• Demonstrated experience with the federal legislative process, including policy research and analysis, policy development, legislative drafting, legislative advocacy and lobbying, and policy implementation 
• Experience managing coalitions with diverse interests to achieve a goal
• Have managed and developed a team; set strategic direction for a team, and built a unified approach to achieve goals  
• A track record of leading organization-wide change initiatives  
• Ability to work in-person in the Washington, DC area at least two days per week, up to five days per week during peak legislative periods, and travel at least four times per year
• Willing to have a social media presence on behalf of Common Cause, including being tagged on posts and creating content on behalf of the organization (as needed, Common Cause may provide accounts for staff members to use)
• Per our nonpartisan policy, Common Cause staff members may not currently be in elected office (or running for office); on the Steering Committee or Finance Committee for any political candidate; or affiliated with the leadership of a political party

• This position is included in a union-represented collective bargaining unit and specific employment terms and conditions are subject to collective bargaining negotiations
• Common Cause is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time; please note that if hired, you will be asked to produce documentation for authorization to work in the US

Common Cause is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applicants of any race, creed, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, income class, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or marital status, as well as applicants who have been previously incarcerated.

Common Cause (501(c)(4)) and Common Cause Education Fund (501(c)(3)) are nonpartisan, nonprofit grassroots affiliate organizations dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create an open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.  

Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Washington, DC, Common Cause has members and supporters living in every congressional district in the United States, and offices in 23 states around the country.