Sr. Director of Legislative Campaigns

Job Description

Job Description

Unite America seeks a full-time Sr. Director of Legislative Campaigns  to join our Campaigns team. Reporting to one of our two Vice Presidents of Campaigns, this individual will oversee the due diligence, investment recommendations, and execution of a portfolio of  legislative campaigns across Unite America’s priority issue areas.

Within a growing organization, this role requires hands-on project management and execution (“no task too small”) alongside longer-term strategic development of our campaign work. To be successful in this role, a candidate should have a strong understanding of the legislative process and feel comfortable working in a fast-paced political environment. In addition, you are a diligent, dynamic self-starter who can proactively identify and address challenges and opportunities, and you are excited about contributing to team culture and leadership.

Unite America strongly encourages candidates from diverse backgrounds and from across the political and ideological spectrum to apply.

The position will be based at Unite America’s headquarters in Denver, CO, or remote. Unite America offers a stipend for new hires willing to relocate. This position may be expected to travel 2-4 times per month for both campaign efforts and broader organizational needs (team meetings, retreats, etc). 

OUR ORGANIZATION

Unite America is  a non-partisan, philanthropic venture fund that invests in candidates, campaigns, and organizations in order to advance nonpartisan election reforms that will foster a more representative and functional government capable of solving America’s most pressing challenges.

Founded in 2014, Unite America and its 35+ person team has grown to be a leader in the democracy reform movement. The organization has existed in its current form, and with its current primary focus, since 2019; in that time, we have successfully mobilized tens of millions of dollars from scores of philanthropists to candidates and reform campaigns across the country.

At Unite America, we are working to build a more representative and functional government that puts voters first and reflects the diversity of our country, and an inclusive democracy in which leaders embrace problem-solving over fueling divisiveness. Likewise, we have a vision of building an organization that reflects diverse identities, experiences, and perspectives, a culture of working across differences toward common goals, and a workplace where everyone feels included, respected, and heard. To that end, Unite America is proud to have made diversifying our team, ensuring more equitable opportunity, and fostering a culture of belonging a priority. Our organizational values reinforce this commitment as we work to model the leadership we seek, solve problems together, and take care of one another, to name a few.

Requirements

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Translate political intelligence, legislative developments, and organizational priorities into clear campaign plans, tactics, timelines, and decision points.
• Oversee a portfolio of proactive and defensive legislative campaigns across multiple states, adjusting strategies as political conditions, leadership dynamics, and legislative pathways evolve.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for state lobbyists and campaign partners, leading priority-setting discussions and maintaining clear expectations and accountability.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with legislative leaders, elected officials, lobbyists, coalition partners, grantees, and other influential stakeholders.
• Coordinate legislative, political, communications, legal, coalition, grassroots, and research strategies to support campaign objectives.
• Ensure responsible stewardship of resources, effective budget management, and compliance with applicable fiscal, legal, lobbying, and organizational policies.

• Analyze political intelligence, legislative activity, campaign data, and partner performance to inform investment decisions and longer-term state strategy.
• Serve as program officer for a portfolio of legislative grants and contracts, including due diligence, investment recommendations, proposals, agreements, ongoing management and impact evaluation.
• Evaluate when Unite America should fund existing in-state partners, retain lobbyists or consultants, help build new organizations, or operate components of a campaign directly.
• Monitor lobbyist, consultant, campaign, and grantee performance to ensure accountability, timely deliverables, effective coordination, and measurable progress.

• Project-manage multiple concurrent state legislative strategies, ensuring that deadlines, budgets, deliverables, and decision points remain on track and developing remediation plans when they do not.
• Anticipate legislative, political, legal, operational, and reputational risks and adjust campaign plans accordingly.
• Establish and improve systems for legislative planning, intelligence sharing, partner coordination, risk management, budget oversight, and performance tracking.
• Convene and facilitate campaign teams, establish clear ownership, and maintain proactive communication among internal and external stakeholders.

• Provide senior leaders with clear, timely assessments of legislative developments, strategic options, investment needs, and recommended next steps.
• Collaborate across teams to evaluate new opportunities, assess risks, and advise on strategies beyond campaigns.
• Model organizational values and contribute to a positive, mission-driven team culture.

• You have a strong desire to fix a broken political system and a passion for Unite America’s primary reform.You have at least eight years of experience leading state legislative campaigns, government affairs initiatives, public affairs efforts, or related political programs, with a demonstrated record of success in complex political environments.
• You have experience developing legislative strategy and executing sophisticated advocacy campaigns at the state or multi-state level.
• Strong understanding of legislative procedure, committee dynamics, political incentives, and the roles of legislative leadership, governors, and other statewide officials.
• Experience managing contract lobbyists, government affairs teams, consultants, coalitions, or other in-state partners.
• Ability to translate political intelligence, policy developments, and campaign data into clear strategic recommendations.
• Experience developing and managing campaign plans, budgets, timelines, and performance measures.
• Demonstrated ability to allocate resources effectively, anticipate risks, and adjust strategy as political conditions change.
• Experience coordinating legislative, political, communications, legal, and grassroots strategies.

QUALIFICATIONS

• You possess exceptional conflict resolution skills, promoting a positive and productive team environment
• You are a skilled relationship builder who can quickly establish trust and credibility with legislators, legislative staff, grantees, lobbyists, coalition partners, colleagues, and other stakeholders across the political and ideological spectrum.
• You have excellent written and verbal communication skills and can represent Unite America credibly with elected officials, donors, partners, national organizations, and other external audiences.
• You have familiarity with grantmaking and philanthropic strategy and processes is preferred, not required
• You are an entrepreneurial, self-starter with strong critical thinking skills and proven ability to effectively manage details, recognize trends, analyze data, and make strategic recommendations
• You have excellent project-management skills and can manage multiple legislative priorities, shifting timelines, and competing demands while maintaining a consistently high level of execution.

Benefits

• Competitive Compensation ($165k-$190k)
• 401(k) Plan (with up to a 3% employer contribution match)
• Health Care Plan (medical, dental, and vision)
• Unlimited Paid Time Off (vacation, sick days, public holidays, and team-wide wellness days)
• Family Leave (maternity, paternity, and adoption)
• Paid sabbatical after 4 years on staff
• Training & Professional Development
• Wellness Resources
• Opportunity to join an inclusive, vibrant, and diverse team