Associate Director of Government Relations & Policy

(Boston and Waltham)

The Associate Director of Government Relations & Policy is a focused, ambitious, and strategic leader who will lead policy advocacy at More Than Words and provide oversight to the government contracts function. The Associate Director reports to the Chief Advancement Officer with a dotted line and close collaboration with the Founder & CEO, directly supervises a Government Contracts Manager, and engages and supports youth graduate and alumni leaders working on policy advocacy. The role includes a focus on strategic growth of government funding, developing and implementing advocacy plans on a youth-led policy agenda, and proactively developing youth leadership in advocacy.

About More Than Words
More Than Words (MTW) is a nonprofit social enterprise that empowers youth, ages 16-24, who are in the foster care system, court involved, homeless, or out of school to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business. MTW offers job training opportunities and transition support services to equip youth with first-hand experience working as a team to operate retail and online businesses and to develop the tools to enable them to make progress around education, employment and life goals. The MTW model is premised on the belief that an actual job – one which provides hands-on, real-world training combined with high expectations, accountability and opportunities for personal development, is the best way to equip youth with marketable skills critical for success in work, college and life.

MTW is committed to ensuring our staff and board reflect the racial and ethnic diversity and lived experiences of the young adults we are privileged to serve. People of color are highly encouraged to apply.

Key responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to:

Policy & Advocacy Management (40%):

• Engages youth and collaborates with CEO to iteratively develop, communicate, and advance policy priorities and workplans that address the experiences and needs of our youth, with a focus on where MTW’s efforts can be most effective to end the child welfare cliff and advance juvenile justice and criminal justice reform for emerging adults.

• Proactively drives a schedule of meetings and follow-ups with key partners in advancing priority workplans, including arranging meetings and holding MTW staff and stakeholders accountable for deliverables.

• Attends and passionately represents MTW’s policy agenda at meetings and events with government, expert, and nonprofit stakeholders. Speaks about MTW’s initiatives, system failures, and systemic racism frankly and drives actionable follow-ups.

• Identifies and proactively creates relationships with key stakeholders at the city, state, and federal levels through visits and meetings that can be leveraged to advance funding and policy priorities.

The Power Is Yours & Youth Leadership (20%):

• Creates room and structure for youth leadership by supporting youth and alumni to communicate directly with legislators and stakeholders, develop materials, lead meetings, and advance work related to all aspects of MTW’s policy agenda.

• Manages youth and alumni who are working on policy advocacy, including providing ongoing coaching and support.

• Establishes mechanisms to regularly discuss advocacy priorities, educate and learn from the youth team, and run programming related to policy work for youth at MTW.

Government Funding & Contracts (30%):

$70,000 - $80,624

• Partners with the CEO and Chief Advancement Officer to set and meet ambitious annual and long-term fundraising targets for government contributions currently representing $2.4M; develops, executes, and reports on tactics to meet goals.

• Supervises Government Contracts Manager who is responsible for youth enrollments and invoicing on all fee-for-service government contracts (7+ annually) and tracking deliverables on all government grants (8+ annually).

• Supports Government Contracts Manager to proactively and strategically review youth team to maximize fee for service funding opportunities for each youth and MTW overall.

• Builds relationships with funding contacts and decision-makers at city and state agencies and key contacts involved in government grants and cultivates their understanding of MTW.

• Regularly audits youth files to ensure compliance on government contracts, prepares for and hosts annual audit meetings with state agencies.

Leadership within Department & Organization (10%):

• Operates as a leader within the Advancement Department by identifying opportunities and risks, leading ad hoc projects, advancing equitable fundraising practices, participating in goal setting processes, and supporting staff and service members.

• Flexibly collaborates by participating in meetings and public-facing opportunities to support community engagement and fundraising goals and contributing to strategy, budgets, and new language development for philanthropic requests and asks.

Candidates should possess the following competencies and qualifications:

Note: This is a growth focused role and on-the-job training is expected. Passionate and learning-focused candidates with both strengths and growth areas on these responsibilities, skills, and qualifications are encouraged to apply.

An ideal candidate will be passionate about the MTW mission and be motivated by seeing youth lead with power and truth. The candidate should have strong alignment with MTW values and comfort and passion for speaking frankly and managing uncomfortable conversations. Given the breadth of the position, strong organization and prioritization skills are a must. The candidate should also be responsible, flexible, hardworking, ethical, trustworthy, sincere, and committed to personal growth in racial equity.

Additionally, a strong-fit candidate will also have:

• Experience working in a mission-driven setting, doing youth-work, and/or community organizing/policy advocacy.
• Knowledge and experience with city or state government is a plus.
• Lived experiences similar to the young people we serve is desirable.
• Ability to support occasional evening work for events.
• Ability sit and type for long periods of time and move up and down stairs.

Benefits:

• Medical and Dental Insurance
• 401K
• Generous paid vacation and sick time
• Significant growth opportunities and professional development
• Employee Discounts
• Compensation: $70,000 - $80,624; commensurate with skills and experience

To apply: please include a resume and cover letter.

MTW’s Boston and Waltham sites are commuter friendly and are conveniently located near public transportation.

Background Checks

More Than Words requires all staff, service members, volunteers, board members and youth over 18 years of age to undergo background checks. More Than Words is a CORI friendly organization and reviews CORIs on a case-by-case basis.

MTW EEO Statement

MTW is an equal opportunity employer, fully committed to achieving a diverse and inclusive workplace that embraces and encourages applicants of every background. The organization's policy regarding equal employment opportunity means that all decisions regarding recruitment, hiring, benefits, wage and salary administration, scheduling, disciplinary action, and termination will be made without unlawful discrimination on the basis of sex, gender, race, color, age, national origin, religion, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, citizenship status, pregnancy or maternity, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to recruiting@MTWyouth.org.