Program Manager, North Carolina
Common Cause
Operations
North Carolina, USA
Posted on Jul 12, 2025
We are looking for a collaborative and highly organized Program Manager to join the Common Cause team in North Carolina. In this role, you will lead and implement state policy advocacy programs, manage relationships with key policymakers and partners, and coordinate organizing to support our policy goals. You will play a key part in advancing our mission to protect democracy and ensure the fair and equitable representation of all communities.
In this role, you will be a registered lobbyist, primarily focused on policy advocacy, bill tracking, and building relationships on both sides of the aisle in the General Assembly during and outside of legislative sessions. You will help engage community members in legislative advocacy, including through in-district meetings. In addition, you will also support our county board of elections program by helping to monitor county boards and support volunteer monitors. Like everyone on our North Carolina team, you will also pitch in to support our organizing teams as needed for events and programs throughout the year.
This is a full-time role reporting to the Policy Director, NC and based in Raleigh, North Carolina. This is primarily a remote role with access to a co-working space in Raleigh. The Program Manager is expected to work in person at the North Carolina General Assembly in Raleigh up to 3-4 days per week during legislative session and to travel around North Carolina 2-3 days per month. We hope our new Program Manager will start in September.
Responsibilities
Manage state programmatic work and campaigns
· Execute lobbying efforts for designated legislation, including drafting and managing testimony, public comment, and other advocacy tools
· In consultation with the Policy Director, lead policy research, analysis, and the identification of opportunities for policy proposals to advance Common Cause’s state goals.
· Draft, edit, and disseminate policy briefs, reports, and advocacy materials to inform and engage decision-makers and stakeholders
· Monitor state and local legislative developments, track relevant bills, and provide strategic guidance to ensure timely responses to policy opportunities and threats
· Develop positive working relationships with legislators, legislative staff, state and county Boards of Elections members and staff, and other policymakers, including those who may hold views that are not aligned with Common Cause.
· Lead the execution of statewide policy advocacy campaigns leveraging Common Cause members and supporters to reach the North Carolina General Assembly and with state and county Boards of Elections as appropriate
· Support coalition work, including managing working groups or project groups within coalitions, to include organizing meetings, coordinating actions, and ensuring effective communication among coalition members
· Participate in cross-team and cross-organizational election protection program, ensuring effective communication and coordination of outreach efforts to safeguard voting rights and the electoral process, before, during, and after the election.
Outreach and stakeholder engagement
· Build and maintain strong relationships with community organizations, partners, and members to strengthen Common Cause’s network and extend our outreach
· Help produce accurate and audience-appropriate materials on policy issues for organizing and public education efforts across teams
· In collaboration with the Policy Director and the rest of the North Carolina team, execute outreach campaigns to educate the public on priority issues and encourage active participation in advocacy efforts
· Represent Common Cause at community events and coalition meetings to strengthen public awareness and mobilize support
· Contribute to digital and social media campaigns to engage members and stakeholders, ensuring messaging aligns with Common Cause’s values and goals
Supervise temporary staff and interns
· Manage temporary staff, as needed
· Recruit, train, coordinate and mentor interns and volunteers
Provide fundraising and advisory board support
· Support fundraising efforts, including helping draft grant proposals, briefing donors on policy issues, and producing data and materials to meet reporting requirements
· Assist with tasks related to the state advisory board, including attending meetings, preparing materials to brief the advisory board on our work
Perform administrative and other duties
· Complete administrative tasks as needed
· Perform other duties as assigned
You will thrive in this role if you have:
- A strong commitment to Common Cause’s nonpartisan mission and to advancing civil rights through our pro-democracy agenda
- A commitment to equity in the goals of your work and in how you work with others
- Openness to feedback and awareness of your own strengths and areas for growth
- Willingness to be a team player and support cross-team collaboration
- Ability to build rapport, trust, and credibility with multiple stakeholders with diverse interests, and a track record of working collaboratively with others
- Ability to manage and meet deadlines for multiple short- and long-term priorities at once, with high attention to detail; strong organization skills, and the ability to manage your time independently
- Ability to compel action through both written and verbal communication, including distilling complex concepts for a broad audience, and to differentiate communications as needed for various audiences
- Familiarity with office productivity tools including Microsoft Office, Slack, and Zoom
The following is required:
- Have worked on public policy advocacy related to civil rights and civil liberties and demonstrated interested in democracy issues, voting rights, redistricting, campaign finance reform, disinformation, ethics and related issues.
- Demonstrated knowledge of legislative policy advocacy, preferably in the North Carolina General Assembly, and strong interest in current North Carolina politics, with a demonstrated knowledge of the unique aspects of North Carolina's political dynamics
- Have managed coalitions or groups that represent stakeholders with diverse interests to achieve a goal
- Ability to travel overnight 1-2 times per year for team and/or all staff retreats
- Ability to work in-person at the North Carolina General Assembly up to 3-4 days per week during legislative session and travel up to 2-3 days per month around North Carolina throughout the year.
- Per our nonpartisan policy, Common Cause staff members may not currently be in elected office (or running for office); on the Steering Committee or Finance Committee for any political candidate; or affiliated with the leadership of a political party
Additional Information about this role:
- This position is included in a union-represented collective bargaining unit and specific employment terms and conditions are subject to collective bargaining negotiations.
- Common Cause is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time; please note that if hired, you will be asked to produce documentation for authorization to work in the US.
Common Cause is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applicants of any race, creed, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, income class, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or marital status, as well as applicants who have been previously incarcerated.
Common Cause (501(c)(4)) and Common Cause Education Fund (501(c)(3)) are nonpartisan, nonprofit grassroots affiliate organizations dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create an open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.