Federal Legislative Manager
Working Families Party
Washington, DC, USA
Posted on Wednesday, April 3, 2024
About the Working Families Party
The Working Families Party (WFP) is the progressive party for the multiracial working class, fighting for a nation that works for the many, not the few. We recruit, train, and support transformational candidates up and down the ballot — and run them to win.
We believe that no matter where we come from or what our color, most of us want the same things. We want to earn enough to thrive, not just survive, and leave a better future for our kids. We want healthy food and clean water, safe neighborhoods and a safe world. We want to be free.
The Working Families Party is regular people coming together across our differences to make a better future for us all. We’re a multiracial party that fights for workers over bosses and people over the powerful. We want an America which realizes the promise – unrealized in our history – of freedom and equality for all.
WFP launched its Federal Affairs team in late 2020, after making major contributions to the election of several new progressive members of Congress. The Federal Affairs team exists to bring a specifically federal focus to WFP’s work, with a core focus on electing new WFP champions to Congress, protecting existing champions, and facilitating the strategic alignment of WFP champions in Congress, with the overall goal of maximizing the size and power of a WFP-aligned bloc of members that can drive a progressive governing agenda with and for the multiracial working class. The Legislative Manager will work closely with WFP champions in Congress and their staffs, organizational and coalition partners, WFP regional and state staff, and WFP national program staff to inform WFP’s stances and posture on federal issues, and to advance WFP priorities in Congress.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- Engage frequently with the staffs of WFP Congressional champions on priority-setting and mutual support.
- Represent WFP in federal advocacy coalitions.
- Track the full range of federal policy and political developments in which WFP might have an interest, and advise the party as a whole on positions to take and ways WFP organizationally can advance those positions.
- Build relationships with a broad range of aligned advocates, including but not limited to staff from groups like CPC, Indivisible, People’s Action, and Congressional staff to maximize WFP’s knowledge of developments and opportunities for intervention at the federal level.
- Build sustainable systems and practices for engaging WFP state chapters in federal advocacy.
- Develop policy memos and briefings for both internal and external stakeholders.
- Provide research and policy issue support to electoral campaigns.
- Help the Federal Affairs team develop internal WFP research & policy initiatives including but not limited to the Multi-Racial Working Class research project.
Skills and Qualifications
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Minimum three years experience working in a Congressional office or at a federal issue advocacy organization or coalition.
- Working knowledge of federal policy around domestic issues; experience in labor, education, health care, environmental, racial justice, and other core WFP issues are preferred.
- A demonstrated ability to both learn and communicate complex policy issues.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to develop deep and collaborative professional relationships with internal and external partners.
- A strong understanding of the political landscape in the U.S. Congress and among federal advocacy organizations; strong existing relationships in both preferred.
- Knowledge of the WFP’s mission strategy and unique role in the national political landscape.
- An understanding of coalition work and an ability to align partners across differences in order to work in a unified direction.
What Else Should You Know
- Compensation: The salary range for this position is $85,000 to $110,000. The final salary will be determined based on an internal equitable scale that takes into consideration years of experience, geographic location, and final job description. We also offer a robust benefit package for full time employees including paid time off; health, dental, vision, and life insurance; flexible spending accounts; retirement plan options; professional development funding; and remote work support.
- Location: The position is full-time and remotely based in Washington D.C.
- Schedule: Full Time, permanent.
- Union Affiliation: WFP is a unionized workplace. This is a nonmanagerial role eligible to join WFP's staff bargaining unit after six months of employment. WFP's union employees are represented by the New York Metropolitan Area Joint Board, Workers United union.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Working Families is an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to economic and social justice. Women, people of color, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, and members of other historically disenfranchised populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Any applicant who requires an accommodation in order to apply for or perform the essential functions of the job should contact us at jobs@workingfamilies.org with the subject line "Application Accommodation" to request such an accommodation.