National Program and Political Director 

Higher Heights is the only national organization exclusively dedicated to harnessing Black women’s collective political power to elect Black women, influence elections and advance progressive policies.

Higher Heights for America, a 501(c)4 organization, and its sister organization, Higher Heights Leadership Fund, a 501(c)3 are rapidly growing and expanding its leadership team. 

Higher Heights seeks a high-level experienced National Political and Program Director who will work directly with the VP of Programs and is responsible for a broad range of program objectives to build and strengthen Higher Heights’ political and program strategy. 

The Program and Political Director requires work with key stakeholders at the local, state and national level to set plans and programs that achieve multiple, shared objectives. 

The position requires a candidate to be highly collaborative, to function with a high level of autonomy, to help lead and manage multiple projects and work on time sensitive deadlines. This is a full-time position that requires significant travel. This is a hybrid role requiring routine work in one of Higher Heights' offices in New York City or Washington, D.C. (DMV) metropolitan areas, as well as travel for activations.

Essential Responsibilities and Tasks

• Develop and implement short and long-term strategies and plans to recruit, train and support Black women running for office as well as engage and organize a rapidly growing membership on the national, state and local levels. 

• Assess and analyze political campaigns, races and landscapes and communicate/report/store findings according to the needs of the team. 

• The Program and Political Director will collaborate with the Vice President of Programs to lead, build, and strengthen the organization’s political leadership pipeline strategy and the electoral and organizing program.

• Manage Higher Heights’ endorsement process from start to finish, working with the VP of Programs, the Program and Political team, and the volunteer-led political action committee to drive candidate interviews and endorsement decisions, including providing strategic analysis and development of the materials and tools to inform decisions.

• Manage and help develop leadership development, electoral and grassroots campaign plans, logistics, and timelines and work across teams to engage and mobilize members, partners, and voters.

• Plan the quality execution of the overall program and its activities in accordance with the mission, strategic plan, the goals of the organization as well as develop new initiatives to support the strategic direction of the organization. 

• Identify and develop relationships with key organizational partners and stakeholders nationally and in key states. 

• Promotes a culture of rigor and metrics-based evaluation alongside qualitative data and develop a program evaluation framework to assess the strengths of the program and to identify areas for improvement 

• Advanced user knowledge of NGP VAN, Catalist, and other data platforms and tools.

• Hire and manage the Political and Programs Teams’ fellows, interns, vendors and consultants.

• Other responsibilities and tasks as needed. 

Qualifications: 

• At least 8-10 years professional experience, with at least one cycle of congressional, presidential, or local electoral experience with a campaign or with an electoral/grassroots organization.

• Knowledge of 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 organizations and experience building power with both types of organizations .

• Commitment to gender and racial justice and social justice values. Extensive familiarity with women’s and social justice organizations and actors is a plus. 

• Must be a self-starter with strong organizational skills.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills. 

• A strong commitment to rigor and metrics-driven work, including using experimentation and to measure impact.

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex projects, develop work plans and meet target goals and objectives. 

• Desire to work in and foster a culture of high output, open communication, low ego, and no drama.

• Experience working for a membership organization.

• Significant travel required.

Salary and Benefits:

• Annual salary range is $90,000 - $110,000.

• The employee benefits package includes health insurance, paid time off (PTO) and other employer-paid contributions.

Please submit resume and cover letters on JazzHR. Applicants of Color and women are encouraged to apply. Visit www.higherheightsforamerica.org to learn more about the organization.

Higher Heights is an equal-opportunity employer. Higher Heights prohibits unlawful discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, age, national origin, genetic characteristics, disability, status as a special disabled veteran or veteran, marital status, sexual orientation, sexual identity, or any other basis prohibited by law.