Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement (63918)

University Settlement partners with 40,000+ New Yorkers in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn every year to build on our collective strengths as we achieve healthy, stable, and remarkable lives. For 140 years, we’ve fought poverty and systemic inequality by building highly effective social services in collaboration with our neighbors. Established in 1886 as the first Settlement House in the United States, we bring the values of that movement into the 21st century by meeting New Yorkers where they live, listening deeply to all perspectives, and creating space for responsive cooperation.   

Joining with our neighbors to make stable foundations where people of all ages can grow and pursue their dreams, we build community strength by infusing a commitment to advocacy, civic engagement, equality, and communal action into each of our programs, which include early childhood education, youth development, healthy aging, mental health and wellness, English classes for adult immigrants, community centers, housing counseling and eviction prevention, and the arts.    

University Settlement advocates to support policies and practices that empower New Yorkers so that they can achieve healthy, stable, and remarkable lives. We routinely participates in advocacy efforts across many of our departments and programs. University Settlement aims to build on its tradition of active advocacy by more fully coordinating and expanding this work.  

This new Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement will spearhead and operationalize University Settlement’s preexisting advocacy efforts more fully across its programs and sites, and support University Settlement’s agency wide culture of advocacy within each division and program. The role will involve creating a variety of resources to engage and support staff and participants in developing advocacy campaigns, training staff to implement advocacy and education efforts, and creating campaign-specific resources. The impact of this work will include increased organizational impact in advocacy campaigns; a stronger integration of considerations of systems-change; increased exposure to broaden our reach to community members and prospective funders; developing a larger influence in policy at the city and state level, and greater presence in the field of advocacy leaders in NYC.  

Key Responsibilities 

• Develop and implement a comprehensive agency-wide advocacy and civic engagement strategy, providing leadership to embed advocacy, civic engagement, and systems-change approaches across all programs and divisions.
• Represent University Settlement and build, maintain, and strengthen strategic relationships with government agencies, elected officials, nonprofit partners, coalitions, and other key stakeholders to advance the organization’s advocacy, policy, and system change priorities.
• Elevate University Settlement’s profile as a leader in public policy and systems change by building partnerships with government stakeholders and connecting direct service experience to research, advocacy, and policy initiatives.
• Partner with program staff, participants, and community stakeholders to identify advocacy priorities and advance community-driven policy agendas; lead and coordinate city, state, and federal advocacy activities, testimony, and campaigns in support of those priorities.
• Design and facilitate advocacy trainings, workshops, and professional development opportunities to strengthen advocacy capacity among staff and participants, and oversee community engagement efforts, including town halls, listening sessions, public forums, leadership development initiatives, voter engagement activities, and digital advocacy campaigns.
• Establish systems to track advocacy participation, campaign outcomes, and key performance indicators using Salesforce and other data-management tools.
• Supervise advocacy staff, consultants, interns, and volunteers as assigned.
• Support grant proposals and reporting related to advocacy initiatives.
• Track and analyze city and state budget items, legislation, and regulations that impact the communities University Settlement serves in order to identify priority target areas, and research emerging trends and best practices in advocacy, community organizing, civic engagement, and systems-change strategies, providing recommendations for organizational implementation.
• Support the organization’s digital Advocacy resource hub.
• Lead the development of advocacy materials, including policy briefs, testimony, community alerts, presentations, digital content, and other resources that educate, engage, and mobilize staff, community members, and external stakeholders.
• Contribute to program planning, continuous quality improvement efforts, organizational learning, and evaluation activities.
• Perform other related duties as assigned. 

• Bachelor's degree required; master’s degree in social work, human services, public administration, public policy, community organizing, or a related field preferred.
• 7-10 years of experience in advocacy, public policy, community organizing, or related work.
• Strong knowledge of New York City and New York State legislative, regulatory, and budget processes.
• Experience coordinating projects and moving teams through culture change and new initiatives
• Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
• Experience developing and delivering trainings, educational materials, and community outreach campaigns preferred.
• Ability to analyze complex policy issues and translate information into clear accessible language.
• Strong organizational, project management, and prioritization skills, with the ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, virtual meeting platforms, and database management systems; Salesforce experience preferred.
• Commitment to social justice, anti-poverty work, and community leadership and engagement.
• Ability to build effective relationships and work collaboratively within culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
• Bilingual skills are strongly preferred, particularly in languages reflective of the communities University Settlement serves.

Work Schedule:Full time, Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 5:00pm, 35 hours per week 

Why Join We Got US? This role offers a unique opportunity to advance community-driven system change across one of New York City's most historic and respected settlement houses. This position offers a unique opportunity to take University Settlement’s system’s change advocacy work to the next level and support the organization to use its vast direct services expertise into policy and system change.  

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive community. We support a broadly diverse team that will contribute to our organization. We are an equal opportunity employer for all regardless of race, color, citizenship, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran or reservist status, or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law.