For more information please visit: Color of Change
ROLE SUMMARY
Color Of Change is hiring a full-time Research Director to lead our campaign research work. The Research Director, Campaigns will manage a team of Campaign Researchers and Senior Campaign Researchers who conduct research projects that investigate, analyze, and present findings to achieve strategic campaign goals and win real change from targeted individuals and institutions in government, business, media, or public leadership positions. Researchers will report to the Research Director while their work is embedded in Color Of Change’s corporate and government campaign verticals and across all major focus areas: [Criminal] Justice, Economic Justice,Democracy, and Media & Tech Justice. This is a new position, ideal for a flexible and creative leader with strong planning, organizational, and communications skills. The ideal candidate will have experience leading initiatives with civil rights, racial justice and/or equity frameworks.This position reports directly to the Deputy Senior Campaign Director and will work closely with team members throughout the organization to achieve Color Of Change’s mission.
Responsibilities:
· To succeed as a Research Director, we’ve identified four areas of responsibility -- grouped into Research, Planning and Organization, Communications, and Management.
Research
· Lead the research team to develop research and analysis that advances campaign goals and strategy.Design and conduct impactful research projects that drive successful campaigns to win government action or corporate accountability.
· Develop and lead training on research concepts and skills for research and non-research staff.
· Use a wide variety of public and private sources, including internet, media, corporate and financial research, legislative and policy research, lobbying and political spending, public records, interviews, and more. Advise and train team members on sources. Identify and manage COC research tool contracts.
Planning and Organization
· Coordinate Researchers’ role across multiple teams, projects, and issue areas across the organization to ensure effective and powerful participation in campaign planning and ongoing work.
· Design and project manage Color Of Change research projects, products, and related events (such as convening, panels). Develop and implement mechanisms for tracking and evaluation of projects as part of continuous learning and improvement.
· Coordinate and track the overall work of the research team, evaluate capacity and needs for external contractors or vendors.
· Participate actively on the Campaigns Department and as a part of the overall COC leadership to share responsibility in developing an inclusive, learning-based culture that centers campaigns to make real-world change in the lives of Black people.
Communications
· In conjunction with campaign teams, determine and execute the most powerful uses of information. Write a wide variety of internal and external products for many audiences including strategy decks, briefings for policy makers, infographics, reports, websites, and more.
· Develop and guide the development of research products with a Black racial justice frame.
· Ensure research products are accurate and effective across the team.
Management and Leadership
· Manage staff and provide training, supervision, and consistent feedback, growth, and professional development opportunities.
· Manage relationships with service providers, vendors, consultants and other contractors as necessary to successfully execute on your program strategy.
· Represent Color Of Change in working groups, coalitions, and cross-organizational projects.
· Any other duties as assigned by management.
Qualifications
· In this role and organization, strategic thinking, communication, organization and flexibility are paramount. While experience in a similar role in the civil rights sector is not required, experience in research for organizing and advocacy and a commitment to civil rights and racial justice is. A qualified candidate should have:
· At least 5 years research experience, with a proven record of using research for policy advocacy or organizing campaigns. Experience managing staff is crucial to this role.
· Excellent research skills: Deep experience in conducting research and analysis, including internet based research, information and data gathering, public records searches, and the ability to synthesize relevant facts.
· Critical thinking and experimentation: You meet challenges with problem-solving with a mix of traditional and non-traditional approaches. You have deep intellectual curiosity, creativity and the ability to quickly learn new skills
· Strong writing and verbal skills. Experience developing research and writing products, from initial concept stage to final drafting. The ability to communicate information clearly is fundamental to this role, including a variety of public communications with varied audiences, and internal reports, strategy decks, memos, and other strategy-related documents.
· Top-notch organization skills. Experience planning and coordinating larger projects, long-term research plans and managing multiple priorities is key.
· Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. This position will manage a team whose daily work spans projects across the organization. The ability to clearly communicate with the staff you are working with, with teams and roles throughout organization, and with external targets, partners, consultants and vendors are paramount.
· Skills in developing talent - strong management skills, including the ability to training and develop early-career researchers, coaching, work planning, feedback, delegation, and accountability will be crucial to this position.
· Excellent judgment: This role requires confidentiality, attention to detail, a commitment to accuracy, strong fact-checking, and the judgment to evaluate risk.
· A deep racial justice analysis and a strong ability to effectively use a Black/racial justice frame of reference to write compelling and persuasive program and engagement material
· Constructive optimism. The work that we do – be it political, organizing, or creative – is all about the art of the possible. While we’re looking to remedy deep structural issues, our progress comes incrementally – a series of wins, some small and some large, that help advance us closer to the systemic change we seek.
· Flexibility: Willingness to adapt to changing needs and to travel as needed.
COMPENSATION
The salary for the Research Director is $110,000- $110,000. This is a full-time exempt position. Color OfChange also offers a competitive benefits package.
MORE INFORMATION
Union Position: No
Location: Washington, DC / New York, NY preferred, but remote (US BASED) candidates are welcome.
For more information please visit: Color of Change