Legislative Assistant/Legislative Advocate

Legislative Assistant/Legislative Advocate

Sacramento, CA (Hybrid)

Job Title: Legislative Assistant/Legislative Advocate

Location: Sacramento, CA. Hybrid schedule, with regular in-person presence in the Sacramento office and at the State Capitol required.

Term: Full-time, occasional evenings and weekends required

Position Status: Exempt

Pay Range: $71,106 - $78,488 annual, commensurate with skills and experience.

Reports To: Government Affairs Director

Organizational Summary

The mission of the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC) is to uphold the humanity of immigrant communities in California by transforming systems to achieve racial, social, and economic justice. CIPC is a non-partisan, non-profit statewide organization engaging in advocacy, organizing, and strategic communications to uplift immigrant communities. CIPC was founded in response to the 1996 passage of federal immigrant and welfare laws that profoundly affected immigrants. Today, CIPC advances inclusive policies that build a prosperous future for all Californians, using policy analysis, advocacy, and capacity building.

Over the past 28 years, CIPC has led groundbreaking campaigns that have greatly expanded protections, as well as access to publicly-funded services and programs, for California's low-income immigrant populations, including but not limited to the Safe and Responsible Driver Act, the TRUST and TRUTH Acts, CA Values Act, E-Verify Bill, the Health for All campaign, California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC), and One California, the largest investment in legal services protection in the country.

Position Summary

CIPC seeks a Legislative Advocate to support and advance CIPC's legislative, budget, and administrative advocacy in Sacramento. The Legislative Advocate monitors and analyzes legislation and budget items, supports assigned campaigns and coalitions, builds relationships with legislative offices and state agencies, drafts advocacy materials, and helps coordinate advocacy opportunities that advance CIPC's priorities.

The role requires independent judgment, legislative knowledge, writing and analysis, external representation, and campaign support.

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor assigned legislation, budget items, hearings, amendments, administrative actions, and political developments related to CIPC's priorities.
• Track bill language, committee deadlines, hearing dates, vote counts, co-author requests, author and staff engagement, and other key developments for assigned campaigns and issue areas.
• Review, summarize, and help analyze legislation, budget proposals, amendments, and administrative actions to support CIPC's advocacy.
• Draft and edit advocacy materials, including position letters, bill summaries, legislative analyses, budget summaries, talking points, fact sheets, hearing notes, meeting briefs, testimony, action alerts, and partner updates.
• Support CIPC's advocacy before the Legislature, administration, state agencies, and other government bodies, including by preparing materials, attending hearings, coordinating testimony, providing public comment, and offering "me too" testimony when appropriate.
• Staff assigned campaigns, policy areas, and coalitions in partnership with Government Affairs, Policy, Movement Building, Communications, and other relevant departments.
• Help execute legislative, budget, and administrative advocacy strategies by identifying legislative targets, advocacy timelines, key messengers, hearing opportunities, partner engagement needs, and follow-up actions.
• Serve as a Government Affairs point of contact for assigned campaigns, coalition spaces, or policy areas, while ensuring alignment with CIPC's organizational priorities and supervisor direction.
• Coordinate with policy staff to ensure CIPC's positions are accurately represented in legislative offices, coalition spaces, hearings, administrative meetings, and advocacy materials.
• Support impacted community members, partners, and coalition members participating in advocacy activities, including testimony preparation, hearing logistics, legislative meeting preparation, and Capitol navigation.
• Build and maintain working relationships with legislative offices, committee staff, agency staff, coalition partners, and other stakeholders relevant to assigned campaigns and issue areas.
• Represent CIPC in legislative meetings, coalition meetings, briefings, hearings, partner meetings, and advocacy events, as assigned.
• Support legislative visits, member meetings, agency meetings, caucus engagement, district-based advocacy, lobby days, legislative briefings, and partner convenings.
• Prepare timely internal updates, meeting summaries, hearing notes, and follow-up materials for supervisors, campaign teams, and other relevant staff.
• Maintain accurate and timely tracking systems for assigned bills, budget items, hearings, amendments, meetings, follow-up tasks, and advocacy materials.
• Support the Government Affairs team's bill tracking, meeting tracking, vote count tracking, co-author request tracking, legislative calendar, and advocacy follow-up systems.
• Serve as a lead or co-lead on assigned portions of the annual bill tracking process, as directed.
• Support CIPC-led and co-led events in Sacramento, including Immigrant Day of Action, legislative briefings, partner convenings, lobby days, coalition events, and other advocacy opportunities.
• Help partners and coalition members understand legislative and budget processes, hearing timelines, advocacy opportunities, Capitol procedures, and administrative advocacy opportunities.
• Help prepare partner-facing materials, including legislative updates, action alerts, talking points, briefing materials, campaign summaries, hearing guidance, and advocacy toolkits.
• Coordinate with Communications staff to ensure legislative updates and campaign materials are accurate, timely, accessible, and aligned with CIPC's approved positions.
• Assist with timely completion of required lobbying, administrative, and compliance-related information as requested by supervisors.
• Provide guidance, coordination, or project support to interns, fellows, temporary staff, or volunteers as assigned.
• Represent CIPC at organizational functions and events as appropriate.
• Support Development and Executive team requests by providing timely updates, summaries, or materials related to campaigns, funder briefings, grant reports, or proposals, as needed.
• Support the development team and administrative departments tracking deliverables and programmatic activities to support the government affairs departments fundraising and development tasks.
• Other responsibilities as required.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 2 years of related experience in legislative advocacy, public policy, community advocacy, nonprofit advocacy, government, labor, immigrant rights, or another relevant field.
• Demonstrated commitment to immigrant rights, racial justice, social justice, and economic justice.
• Working knowledge of the California legislative process, budget process, administrative advocacy, or a demonstrated ability to quickly build expertise in these areas.
• Experience tracking legislation, reviewing bill language, drafting advocacy materials, preparing meeting briefs, supporting legislative campaigns, or engaging with legislative offices.
• Ability to understand, summarize, and communicate complex policy, legislative, and budget information clearly for different audiences.
• Strong writing, editing, research, and oral communication skills.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple deadlines, priorities, meetings, hearings, and follow-up tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, and represent organizational positions with professionalism and consistency.
• Experience working with coalitions, community-based organizations, legislative offices, government agencies, or directly impacted communities.
• Ability to work collaboratively across departments and with diverse partners, while maintaining clarity about role, decision-making, and organizational priorities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, spreadsheets, shared calendars, and online meeting platforms.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends and travel within California as needed.
• Bachelor's degree in a related field preferred. A combination of relevant education, work experience, and lived experience may be accepted in lieu of a degree.
• Proficiency in a non-English language spoken by immigrant communities in California is a plus.

Compensation and Benefits

Salary Range: $71,106 - $78,488 annual, commensurate with skills and experience

CIPC is a unionized workplace and is represented by Immigrant Advocates United-United Auto Workers. This position is in the bargaining unit.

CIPC provides a comprehensive benefits package to its employees:

• Paid medical, dental, vision insurance, and life insurance (100% of the full insurance premium for qualified employees and 75% of the premiums for their dependents)
• 3% contribution to 401K-retirement plan
• Commuter benefit or paid parking access
• Monthly reimbursement for cell and internet usage
• $1,500 professional development allowance
• 4-week paid sabbatical leave after 5 years of service.
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California Immigrant Policy Center