Senior Vice President, People, Equity & Inclusion
Common Cause
People & HR
Washington, DC, USA
Posted on Feb 7, 2026
We are looking for a strategic and values-driven executive to serve as our Senior Vice President, People, Equity & Inclusion (SVP, PEI). This role is responsible for setting and advancing Common Cause’s organization-wide people strategy, ensuring that our structures, systems, and culture enable staff to do their best work in service of our mission.
The SVP, PEI serves as the head of the People, Equity & Inclusion function and is a core member of the executive leadership team. This role shapes how the organization works by aligning talent strategy, organizational design, equity commitments, and labor relations with Common Cause’s long-term goals. The SVP, PEI provides enterprise-wide leadership and judgment, balancing strategic vision with operational rigor in a complex, unionized, and mission-driven environment.
This is a full-time role reporting to the President; this role is based in Washington, DC, with an expectation to come into our office at least two days per week. We hope our new Senior Vice President, People, Equity & Inclusion will start in early May.
Responsibilities
Develop and implement our organization-wide people strategy to advance equity, inclusion and culture
- Set and lead the strategic vision for People, Equity & Inclusion that reinforces Common Cause’s mission and strengthens its ability to protect and expand democratic rights
- Ensure alignment across people systems, structures, and policies so that the employee experience is coherent, equitable, and effective across the organization
- Ensure a total reward system (compensation and benefits) that attracts and retains high-performing staff
- Lead and embed Common Cause’s equity and inclusion commitments across people practices, systems, and leadership behaviors; ensuring that equity considerations are integrated into talent decisions, performance expectations, and organizational policies
- Anticipate future organizational needs and guide the evolution of people strategies to support growth, change, and long-term sustainability
- Shape organizational design, team structures, and role architecture in support of strategy and impact, ensuring that roles, levels, and performance expectations are clear, equitable, and aligned with organizational needs
- Guide change management efforts related to restructuring, growth, or strategic shifts, ensuring staff are supported through change
- Foster a culture of accountability, learning, and belonging across the organization
Contribute to Organizational Leadership
- Act as a trusted advisor to the President and executive leadership team on people, culture, labor, and organizational effectiveness matters
- Model strong leadership, integrity, and collaboration as a senior executive
- Partner across departments to ensure people strategy is fully integrated into organizational planning and execution
- Serves as a strategic advisor and thought partner to senior leaders, guiding organizational decisions with a system-wide perspective
- Support Board engagement as needed on people strategy, equity initiatives, and labor relations matters
Support and develop the People, Equity & Inclusion team to achieve goals
- Serve as the senior executive leader of the People, Equity & Inclusion department, setting vision, priorities, and expectations for learning & development, talent acquisition, people operations, labor relations
- Build, structure, and evolve a high-performing PEI team capable of delivering both strategic leadership and strong operational execution
- Manage members of the People, Equity & Inclusion team, collaboratively set goals, coach and develop them towards these goals and support their career progression and retention at Common Cause
- In partnership with other members of the management team, ensure efficient coordination between members of the - - People, Equity & Inclusion team and other internal teams
- Oversee, monitor and adhere to department's budgetary objectives to support the organization's fiscal health and sustainability
Lead Labor Relations and Union Engagement
- Serve as the organization’s senior leader responsible for labor relations strategy and union engagement
- Lead or oversee collective bargaining strategy, contract interpretation, and responses to grievances and disputes, in partnership with legal counsel and organizational leadership
- Exercise sound judgment in balancing organizational priorities, legal obligations, and employee relations considerations
- Assess and evolve the organization’s labor relations capacity over time, including determining appropriate staffing models and supports as needs change
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 deep commitment to equity and building equitable systems and strategies to advance the goals of an organization
- A track record of working collaboratively with others, with the ability to build rapport, trust, and credibility with multiple stakeholders with diverse interests
- Ability to navigate organizational and power dynamics, respectfully navigate conflict while maintaining your values, and influence others to adopt changes to meet common goals
- 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
- Innovative and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to navigate through ambiguity to achieve goals, and a resourceful approach to solve problems
- 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
- Openness to feedback and awareness of your own strengths and areas for growth
- Familiarity with office productivity tools including Microsoft Office and Zoom
The following is required:
- Have led and set strategy for at least one component of people or talent strategy for an organization (e.g. talent acquisition, people operations, learning & development, etc.)
- A track record of implementing innovative and successful organization-wide people or talent strategies, including organization-wide change initiatives
- Ideally, you have experience managing labor relations, and have negotiated contracts
- Experience coaching and managing teams, managing through managers to achieve outcomes, and a track record of setting and reaching ambitious team-wide strategic plans and goals
- Experience setting strategic direction for a team, and building a unified approach to achieve goals
- Ability to work in-person in the DC office at least two days per week, and to travel 1-2 times per year for team, leadership and/or all staff retreats
- Willing to have a social media presence on behalf of Common Cause, including being tagged on posts and creating content on behalf of the organization (as needed, Common Cause may provide accounts for staff members to use)
- 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 classified as management and therefore not included in the union-represented collective bargaining unit
- 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.
Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Washington, DC, Common Cause has members and supporters living in every congressional district in the United States, and offices in 23 states around the country.
180250 - 231750 USD a year
Note that as this role is based in Washington, DC, there would be a 3% increase on the offered salary as part of our geographic adjustment.
In order to ensure greater equity and transparency as an organization, Common Cause sets salary ranges consistently based on job responsibilities, and we determine salary for each staff member based on relevant years of experience (you can read more about our approach to compensation here, including where we offer geographical adjustments). For these reasons, we do not negotiate on our salary ranges or our specific salary offers.
In addition to salary, we also offer a generous benefits package, including:
- A robust healthcare plan that covers 97% of employee’s medical care, 100% of employee’s vision and dental benefits, and 75% of family medical care and 100% of family vision and dental benefits
- Long-term disability and life insurance
- Generous Paid Time Off including 20 Days of Vacation and 10 observed Holidays per year, and additional days off for Thanksgiving and Winter break
- 16 weeks of paid parental leave
- Flexible spending accounts
- A 401k retirement savings plan, with immediate Employer Match
- Dependent Care and Pet Care Support when you travel for work
- Funds for professional development