Policy Strategist

Position Overview

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ) seeks a creative, strategic champion of civil rights and liberties to join our team as a policy strategist. The policy strategist will work collaboratively across the organization and alongside allied community partners, using strategic policy advocacy tactics to advance bold and impactful change in areas such as privacy and technology protection, racial justice, criminal legal reform, democracy and voting rights, and immigration. The ideal candidate has strong policy research and analysis skills, a deep understanding of advocacy tactics to influence policymakers and elected officials, and a commitment to advancing civil rights and liberties for all New Jerseyans.

Organizational Overview

For more than 60 years, the ACLU of New Jersey has defended liberty and justice guided by the vision of a fair and equitable New Jersey for all. Our mission is to preserve, advance, and extend the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every New Jerseyan by the state and federal constitutions in courts, in the legislature, and in our communities. We are committed to repairing and transforming spaces where constitutional promises have not been delivered.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Legislative Advocacy and Policy Strategy

• Advance ACLU-NJ’s legislative and public policy agenda at the federal, state, city, and county levels.
• Research and analyze laws and policies affecting New Jersey communities.
• Develop and implement lobbying and advocacy strategies with the legislature, governor’s office, and other government bodies.
• Track legislation and support advocacy during legislative and special sessions, including testimony, briefing materials, policy recommendations, and meetings with policymakers.
• Build bipartisan relationships and use data to inform policy priorities.
• Develop advocacy materials, including testimony, policy papers, fact sheets, talking points, letters, guides, and public commentary.

Relationship Building and Community Partnerships

• Build and maintain relationships with government officials, community leaders, allied organizations, legislative staff, agencies, and lobbyists.
• Represent ACLU-NJ in community groups, coalitions, working groups, and stakeholder meetings.
• Partner with the community engagement team to involve members and volunteers in legislative advocacy.

Communications and External Relations

• Support communications on priority legislation and campaigns, including social media, website updates, action emails, bill summaries, talking points, and videos.
• Occasionally serve as an organizational spokesperson through media interviews, op-eds, and articles.
• Represent ACLU-NJ at public forums, conferences, meetings, and other external events.

Reporting and Administrative Duties

• Maintain organized policy records, resources, legislative calendars, and advocacy timelines.
• Prepare reports and updates on legislative developments, advocacy activities, and outcomes.
• Support departmental planning, project management, and administrative needs.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging

• Advance ACLU-NJ’s commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging in advocacy strategies, organizational practices, and community partnerships.
• Contribute to department and organization-wide efforts to ensure programs, policies, and engagement practices are inclusive, equitable, and responsive to impacted communities.

Candidate Requirements:

The successful candidate will possess many of the following qualifications and attributes. If you are excited about the position but unsure whether or not you are qualified, we encourage you to apply.

• At least two years of experience in public policy advocacy and research at state or local levels.
• Demonstrated commitment to civil rights and civil liberties consistent with the mission and goals of ACLU-NJ.
• Excellent policy analysis, research, and written and oral advocacy skills, including the ability to articulate complex issues and communicate them effectively to various audiences.
• Experience with legislative procedures, bill drafting, policy development, and analysis.
• Ability to proactively build and cultivate effective relationships across the political spectrum.
• Familiarity with the New Jersey political landscape, state and local government issues, and the legislative process.
• Experience working in coalition, including developing shared plans, coordinating communications, and managing dynamics among partner groups.
• Demonstrated commitment to centering the voices and leadership of directly impacted people and communities.
• Ability to stay organized in a fast-paced environment, manage several projects simultaneously, and adjust to frequently changing demands while maintaining strong attention to detail.
• Ability to work independently and in a team environment with support and collaboration from the supervisor.
• Willingness and ability to work irregular hours, especially during the legislative session, and to attend occasional evening and weekend meetings.
• Experience using relevant technical tools and knowledge-sharing resources, e.g., legislative tracking tools, databases, etc.
• Comfortability producing qualitative and quantitative data analytics.

Preferred Qualifications:

The following are not required, but will strengthen a candidate’s application:

• Bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish (or another language spoken by New Jersey communities).
• Existing relationships with members of the New Jersey congressional delegation, members of the NJ legislature, or their staff.
• Experience working on civil rights, criminal justice reform, immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ rights, or voting rights campaigns.
• Experience with federal agency advocacy or administrative rulemaking processes.
• Experience using legislative tracking tools.

Compensation

The salary range for this position is $80,000, commensurate with experience based on the ACLU-NJ salary bands. The ACLU-NJ supports and plans for staff member professional growth and skill development through internal and external opportunities. We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package which currently includes 30 days paid time off, 12 office holidays and 16 health care leave days; medical, vision, and dental insurance; 20 weeks (100 days) paid family leave; life and long-term disability insurance; pre-tax transit benefits; and a 401(k) plan with employer match. This position is exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

About our Culture

We are a diverse workforce and take pride in our ability to attract and retain employees with a huge array of backgrounds and experiences. We work hard but also like to celebrate our successes. We strive to bring humility, empathy, kindness, and generosity to our work, internally within the organization and externally with our partners and those whom we are serving. We seek to build a work culture with a sense of respect and collegiality, and a willingness to be generous with our expertise and resources.