Manager, EC-12 Policy

Job DescriptionJob DescriptionJob Summary:

Commit Partnership is seeking a detail-oriented and strategic thinking advocate to join the Policy & State Coalitions Team to play a crucial role in advancing systemic change with an emphasis on advocacy to state legislators and agencies. Commit’s Policy & State Coalitions team has played an integral role in passage of several pieces of meaningful legislation at the state level to improve student outcomes, including school finance reform in the 2019 Texas legislative session and several more recent policies to scale evidence-based practices including Advanced Math Pathways (SB 2124, 88R), High-Quality Instructional Materials (HB 1605, 88R), and High-Impact Tutoring (HB 1416, 88R).

Under the direction of the EC-12 Policy Director, the EC-12 Policy Manager will play a critical role in monitoring relevant education policy initiatives in the state, working closely with all members of the Policy team to support Commit’s policy agenda. Additionally, utilizing strong stakeholder engagement and collaboration skills, the manager will manage the Policy team’s facilitation and participation in the organization’s EC-12 advocacy coalitions. Building both internal and external relationships, the manager will collaborate with the other members of the Policy team (as well as in coordination with the programmatic, Communications, Analytics & Insight teams) to research, develop, advocate for, and implement policy priorities at the state level through both the legislative session and rulemaking opportunities.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Support the development of Commit’s policy agenda and the brand Commit has built with policy partners in Dallas, Austin, and throughout Texas.
• Collaborate with EC-12 Policy Director and other Commit leaders to ensure that data, True Noth goal alignment, and programmatic work inform EC-12 policy priorities.
• Manage PK-12 and support EC policy coalitions to enable policy prioritization process and advocacy.
• Manage processes for seeking stakeholder input for early childhood and PK-12 policy priorities and ensuring minimal unintended consequences; work with the Analytics & Insights team to understand the implications of potential policy updates, as well as the impact of past policies.
• To build support for policy priorities and cultivate meaningful relationships with select legislators and staff and relevant agency staff.
• Build and cultivate relationships with organizations to support policy priority areas and specific policy goals.
• Represent Commit at public forums, conferences, state task forces, government agencies, etc. on policy issues as needed.
• Participate in working groups to advocate for Commit’s policy priorities.
• Manage regular interactions / reporting with internal and external stakeholders as it relates to state public policy and Commit’s messaging.
• Monitor relevant changes to education statutes and regulations at the state level that impact Commit’s policy agenda/programmatic work and elevate to others or weigh in as appropriate.
• Collaborate with the Early Matters Dallas and Middle-Grade Initiatives teams to inform policy priorities, gather relevant data, and highlight champions.
• Enhance internal communications alignment: support the Communications team to align and augment advocacy strategy with Commit’s key messages.
• Prepare partners to provide testimony and write comments, sharing information in a compelling way to advance Commit’s policy agenda.
• Support the development of team systems, processes, and practices that improve internal workstreams, communication, organization, and alignment.

TYPICAL DELIVERABLES:

• Educate and support identifying and mobilizing stakeholders and coalitions, especially partner organizations, teachers, parents, students, business voices, and community-based organizations, to help advance policy priorities.
• Communicate with and brief legislative staff and relevant state agencies through in-person meetings, written communications, and phone calls – to advance relevant legislation and regulation and help strengthen the Commit brand.
• Travel to Austin semi-regularly (< or = 25%) to advocate for policy priorities and support partner advocacy at hearings and meetings with legislators, staff, and agencies
  • Synthesize hearings into digestible notes with key takeaways.
  • Utilize conversations to inform effective/needed messaging and data analysis.
• Work with the communications team to develop advocacy collateral material and content to include legislative agendas, policy position papers, one-pagers, written and oral testimony for hearings, talking points, presentations, action alerts, digital content, video, and social media. Collaborate with Analytics & Insights to build support for legislative agenda and identify valuable legislative-facing data initiatives.
• Plan and execute events (both legislative- and advocate-facing to raise Commit’s profile as a trusted resource/education advocacy expert and leader and to educate on Commit policy priorities.
• Manage Policy team intern(s) to perform at high levels, contributing to the team’s overall goals.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

• Insatiable desire to transform student achievement in Texas and belief that education can be an equalizer.
• Working understanding of the legislative process at the state (Texas preferred) or federal level.
• 3-5 years experience working in the legislature, a state agency, and familiarity with Texas early childhood and PK-12 education policy.
• Passion for learning and continuous improvement; comfort with ambiguity and demonstrated humility when learning something new.
• Data analysis and interpretation

PREFERRED KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

• Presentation skills in front of medium to large audiences
• Strong digital skills and social media experience
• People management

TECHNICAL/FUNCTIONAL SKILLS:

• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Experience developing strong PowerPoints and other pitch collateral.
• Solutions-oriented
• Excellent time management with a strong sense of responsibility and follow-through
• Collaboration across bands, teams, and organizations
• Nimble - ability to quickly course correct and seize new opportunities.
• Converting information into clear and concise insights
• Strong facilitation skills that build consensus across various stakeholder groups

LEADERSHIP & COLLABORATION COMPETENCIES:

• Influencing without authority
• Strategic thinking
• Getting/giving feedback at all levels
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Stakeholder engagement

 

About The Commit Partnership:

Our Mission

We believe that through our actions, Dallas County – which educates 10% of Texas and 1% of the nation– can be an inclusive and prosperous region where economic opportunity is shared equitably. That’s why our true north goal is that by 2040 at least half of all 25-34-year-old residents of Dallas County, irrespective of race, will be provided the opportunity to earn a living wage.

To increase living wage attainment, we must equitably increase educational success aligned with high-demand jobs, maximizing the cumulative impact from early education all the way to college, career, and/or military readiness and accessing and completing a strong postsecondary education. Our staff aligns community stakeholders around this shared future roadmap – analyzing data to lift up strategic initiatives that improve policies, practices, and funding that grow our community’s capacity to serve every student more effectively.

Our Story

Founded in 2012, this partnership is the nation’s largest educational collective impact organization, composed of backbone staff and over 200 partners across Dallas County and the state of Texas working collaboratively to solve systemic education challenges. Our staff aligns community stakeholders around a shared future roadmap – analyzing data to lift up strategic initiatives that improve policies, practices, and funding that grow our community’s capacity to serve every student more effectively.

Together, we work to advocate for excellent and equitable public education that ensures all students – regardless of race, place, or socio-economic status – have the power to determine their future and earn a living wage. We do this work through several ventures including Early Matters Dallas, North Texas Tutoring Corps, Dallas County Promise, Texas College Bridge, Dallas Thrives, Commit’s Policy Team, the Texas Impact Network, and several coalitions.

True North Traits

Our True North Traits creates a mission-driven environment and champions us to do our best work each day.

Systemic Impact: You understand the barriers and lived experiences that our students face and are skilled at delivering systemic solutions at scale that address these needs. You achieve significant, sustainable results that increase equitable outcomes through your work (including the reallocation or improvement in public funding), and you recognize the difference between activity and impact.

Judgment: You exhibit a relentless “students first” focus by thinking strategically about what data must be collected, analyzed, visualized, and activated (and what steps must be taken, in what order) to cause resources to be reallocated and actions to be taken to systemically overcome the root causes hindering achievement of the Partnership's mission.

Communication: By listening to understand before seeking to be understood, you’re able to build trust and facilitate collaboration across lines of difference, recognizing that both are essential to our success. You are also able to find common ground with diverse stakeholders and can tailor the organization's message to different audiences as needed to influence meaningful change.

Innovation: You can create or meaningfully contribute to the design and execution of a systemic and transformational strategic plan to solve complex problems, often at scale, that improves organizational effectiveness and/or closes equity gaps for our students and families.

Equity and Inclusion: You intentionally create spaces where relevant stakeholders have a seat or voice at the table, ensuring that each person at the table's thoughts and perspectives are shared, valued by all others at the table, and reflected in our work. You're excited to help build and/or contribute to teams where everyone feels welcomed, respected, valued, and highly supported.

Joy: You recognize that people are central to our work, striking a balance between people and process, and you inspire others with your optimism and thirst for substantive change in service to the mission.

Integrity: You admit mistakes openly, share learnings widely, and elevate bad news quickly, also capable of making difficult decisions in all situations to ensure the success of the organization.

The Commit Partnership is an Equal Opportunity Employer that seeks to hire individuals with backgrounds similar to that of the stakeholders they serve. As an organization that embraces equity and inclusion, all employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Commit does not sponsor visas of any kind.

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