Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

ABOUT US

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation of Florida seeks a Program Manager. The Program Manager works within the Field Department to achieve the organization’s goal of protecting the liberties that define our democracy. This position is located in Florida, preferably but not limited to Orlando, Tallahassee, or Jacksonville.

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida (ACLU of Florida or ACLU-FL) is an affiliate of the national ACLU, a national public interest organization devoted to the defense of the Bill of Rights. For over 100 years, the ACLU has served as the nation’s primary protector of the liberties that define our democracy. The organization implements its vital civil liberties mission in all 50 states in large part through affiliate entities such as the ACLU of Florida.

The ACLU of Florida, the state’s largest civil rights and civil liberties organization, employs litigation, public policy advocacy & organizing, and public education to protect and promote a broad range of constitutional values and individual rights, such as freedom of speech, racial justice, right to privacy, religious liberty, criminal justice reform, voting rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, disability rights, and immigrants’ rights. The ACLU of Florida litigates a broad range of complex constitutional cases in federal and state courts through direct representation, filing amicus briefs, and submitting administrative complaints to state and federal agencies.

ORGANIZING APPROACH

The ACLU of Florida has adopted a “campaign” approach for its work. Work is focused on pursuing specific integrated advocacy issue area campaigns to achieve measurable goals that will expand civil liberties and civil rights, while building the long-term power of the ACLU and the civil liberties movement.

At the moment, the ACLU of Florida is focused on 3 strategic imperatives: First Amendment Freedoms, Equality Justice and Dignity, and Democracy and Accountability. The priorities in which the organization engages are about integrated advocacy, and include policy, communications, and litigation in addition to grassroots organizing.

As a result of this campaign approach, the ACLU of Florida’s organizing model focuses on developing volunteer leaders for the civil liberties movement, mobilizing grassroots support for campaign objectives, and educating Florida residents about campaign objectives through person-to-person field contact. The ACLU of Florida organizing is intended to engage both existing ACLU members/supporters/volunteers in the movement, as well as to reach new constituencies. Organizing at the ACLU of Florida centers the experiences and leadership of directly impacted people and engages directly impacted people in the work, while also ensuring that non-impacted allies engage in effective and substantive action.

The Field team works with Florida residents to influence decision-makers, via direct contact with decision-makers by residents and by holding events/actions. The Field Department focuses on identifying and supporting volunteer leaders willing to work to mobilize contacts with their own networks, in order to expand the size, reach, and power of the movement.

Organizing at the ACLU of Florida is intended to complement the approaches used by some other groups—especially those that connect individuals to resources, build community/social capital, primarily react to unanticipated or emerging community concerns, or educate the public about important issues—but not to replicate those approaches. Organizing at the ACLU of Florida is instead oriented towards systemic change and policy action—moving people to take strategic actions that lead to decision-makers making different decisions, ones that result in the advancement of specific campaign objectives. These strategic actions can take place in the electoral, legislative, legal, and community education contexts. Organizing at the ACLU of Florida is also designed to build long-term political and community power for the civil liberties movement, so that civil liberties and civil rights are better protected and strengthened.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Program Manager is a staff position within the Affiliate’s Field Department. The position reports to the Field Director and is responsible for the overall design, implementation, and evaluation of programs that build and sustain the ACLU-FL base through leadership development, skills-building, and community engagement.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Setting goals based on evolving organizational needs and designing new programs to achieve those goals
• Managing implementation and evaluation of established and new or evolving programs that engage ACLU-FL supporters
• Supervising and developing 5-6 Field staff members in programmatic work that aligns with strategic priorities and department needs
• Collaborating with ACLU-FL colleagues, other affiliate colleagues, and/or National colleagues to synchronize and evaluate programs and identify best practices
• Supporting overall department management and leadership, in partnership with the Field Director
• Managing the ACLU-FL Field Fellowship and Internship programs
• Overseeing and growing our statewide College Campus Club Initiative Program
• Developing programming for annual or regular convenings, such as our College Retreat and our Activist Leader Retreat
• Developing, launching, recruiting for, and overseeing our Leadership Academies program
• Supervising infrastructure to introduce and train new volunteers
• Identifying programming needs to develop existing volunteers
• Performing other duties as assigned

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

While no one person will have all the qualities enumerated below, the successful candidate will bring many of the following qualifications and attributes:

• 3-5 years of professional field organizing experience
• Understanding of the current political climate
• Experience in community/field organizing and base building that uses a “snowflake” organizing model preferred.
• A history of working collaboratively and successfully with people and organizations from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and a broad range of ideological positions and religious views.
• A flexible team player who works collaboratively and shares responsibility and credit.
• Compassionate, approachable and sociable, enjoys spending time with supporters, volunteers, and other staff.
• Maintains a high level of professionalism.
• Commitment to meeting a high bar with a history of getting things done even in the face of obstacles.
• Ability to work on fast-paced campaigns with many moving pieces and ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
• Experience managing multiple projects at once.
• Deep understanding and enthusiasm for volunteer leadership development through program design, group trainings, individual development and relationship building.
• Demonstrated experience in large scale event design and management.
• Attentive to details when managing meetings, events and trainings ranging in size and complexity.
• Strong writing and analytical skills, including the ability to conceptualize and finalize high-quality activist materials, toolkits, trainings and presentations.
• Strong public speaking and facilitation skills, especially when working with people from mixed backgrounds or knowledge bases.
• Comfortable implementing standard equity and inclusion practices.
• Strong project and time management skills, including developing and adhering to timelines and deadlines, tracking progress on goals, and managing and prioritizing competing projects for individual work, supervised staff and lateral colleagues.
• Disciplined in completing routine, daily administrative functions and keeping track of details, or delegating these tasks effectively, including tracking volunteers in databases, scheduling meetings with many participants, sending reminder emails to volunteer program participants, and other administrative tasks.
• Very skilled at giving feedback to direct reports and identifying opportunities for their further development.
• Ability to supervise and coach staff on giving feedback, fostering an equitable environment, navigating challenging relationships, project planning, and developing growth plans.
• Ability to work collaboratively with a variety of organizational stakeholders, including staff, volunteer, and complex partnerships or coalitions, and to resolve conflicts when working with people from different backgrounds and life experiences;
• Initiative to think proactively, anticipate problems, analyze situations, and develop and implement effective solutions.
• Adaptability and capacity to change course quickly when required, propose new ideas or solutions, or take on temporary added work as needed.
• Comfort with high levels of ambiguity, especially when developing new programs or trying new things.
• Ability to: cope and respond strategically when dealing with stressful situations; work with the Field Director to propose solutions to address problematic volunteers; support staff in navigating challenges with other staff or volunteers; and manage challenges with partner organizations.
• Excellent judgment, especially when dealing with sensitive situations or information, including legal and personnel matters.
• Has a valid driver’s license and regular access to a car, can drive outside of the county, as necessary, and work evenings and weekends when needed.
• Unwavering commitment to the mission and goals of the ACLU, including a demonstrated commitment to racial justice and civil rights issues.
• Fluency in another language is a plus but not required.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Compensation will be commensurate with experience, within the range of $69,000 – $81,000.

The ACLU of Florida provides excellent benefits, including health and dental insurance with generous vacation, holiday and sick leave policies, as well as a Defined Contribution 401K Retirement Plan. Base vacation leave is five weeks per year (and six weeks per year after five years).