Assistant Vice President of Field & Constituencies

The National Immigration Forum (the Forum) advocates for the value of immigrants and immigration to the nation.

Founded in 1982, the Forum plays a leading role in the national debate about immigration, knitting together innovative alliances across diverse faith, law enforcement, veterans, and business constituencies in communities across the country. Coming together under the Forum’s leadership, these alliances develop and execute legislative and administrative policy positions and advocacy strategies.

Leveraging our policy, advocacy, and communications expertise, the Forum works for comprehensive immigration and sound border security policies, balanced enforcement of immigration laws, and ensuring that new Americans have the opportunities, skills, and status to reach their full potential.

Visit our website at www.ImmigrationForum.org for more information about the Forum.

Location: Remote

Reports to: Senior Vice President of Field & Constituencies

Primary Responsibilities:

The Forum is hiring an Assistant Vice President to play a critical role in supporting the Senior Vice President in developing and implementing the strategies, campaigns, and programming of the Forum’s faith initiatives to advance its mission and vision. The AVP will work with the SVP to hold together the entire faith strategy of the Forum, through innovation and creativity. Additionally, this person will have hands-on responsibilities related to the execution of tasks, supervising and/or supporting staff in work product development and processes. In particular, the AVP’s role will focus on primary leadership of the following initiatives: Students of Welcome, EAW faith expansion (aka RELATE), and the Welcome community (including Women of Welcome and We Welcome). The AVP will also help to connect these strategies with the grasstops advocacy work of the BBB mobilizers and alignment with Evangelical Immigration Table.

Faith strategy and priorities

• Lead the work to meet faith-related Forum goals, including overseeing Students of Welcome and EAW faith expansion and supporting WW and WoW to achieve their project goals.
• Provide strategic leadership to develop, formulate, and implement Forum priorities on faith strategy in coordination with SVP of Field & Constituencies.
• Work with SVP of Field & Constituencies to incorporate grassroots faith work into overall faith strategy.
• Hold staff and consultants accountable to measures of success for faith work and corresponding outcomes.
• Work with Forum staff and consultants to create plans for and involve faith leaders in advocacy campaigns at the state and federal level.
• Manage administrative aspects of the faith work to facilitate accurate and timely information sharing and communication.
• Assist development staff with proposals, programmatic information, and summaries of work; attend meetings with funders as requested.
• Supervise the info tracking, gathering, and reporting of grassroots and program initiatives.

Welcome

• Partner with directors of We Welcome and Women of Welcome on the intersection between Forum strategy and WW/WoW strategies.
• Conduct oversight of WoW/WW and hold regular check-in meetings with leads of WoW and WW.
• Meet with the WoW and WW teams both separately and together, encouraging collaboration across programs.
• Ensure that the Welcome programs identify annual goals in line with Forum goals and that they are held accountable to achieve these goals.
• Oversee Welcome budgets, meeting with WoW and WW directors and the CFO on a regular basis.
• Work with Chief Program Officer and project leads to set agendas for All-Welcome meetings, including LTW Welcome meetings and retreats.

EAW Faith Expansion

• Lead initiative, coordinating with the SVP of Field & Constituencies and other relevant staff to set and carry out priorities in connection to EAW faith expansion initiative.
• Write and distribute regular Community of Practice “Thinking about Welcome” emails to support our goal of narrative change.
• Convene and lead advisory team of church and program leaders to evaluate fall launch in coordination with Forum staff, mobilizers, and church personnel and volunteers.
• Using feedback from the fall pilot, launch new cohorts in coordination with other Field staff and consultants.
• Coordinate the launch of the expansion to new churches while continuing to offer programming at the current churches.
• Manage church relations, including promoting the project, onboarding and crafting MOUs, finding volunteers and teachers, organizing and leading trainings, acting as the liaison between the churches and the EAW team, troubleshooting, and all other tasks necessary to the success of the initiative.
• Note that the Forum’s goal is to expand this initiative so the parameters of the role vis a vis this initiative may change.

Students of Welcome (SoW)

• Lead SoW initiative, coordinating with the SVP of Field & Constituencies and other relevant staff to set and carry out priorities in connection to SoW.
• Convene and lead team of students and college/university leadership to provide guidance and feedback concerning the fall pilot and launch of SoW at new schools.
• Evaluate fall launch in coordination with Forum staff, mobilizers, students, and school faculty and staff.
• Coordinate the launch of the expansion of SoW while continuing to build on the programming offered at the current schools.
• Organize annual or bi-annual SoW proximity events or activities such as advocacy days and border trips.
• Manage college/university relations sharing opportunities for student campus-related activities, troubleshooting, and all other tasks necessary to the success of the initiative.
• Note that the Forum’s goal is to expand this initiative so the parameters of the role vis a vis this initiative may change.

Additional duties as needed and assigned.

Required Experience and Qualifications:

• Have a minimum of eight years of relevant professional experience with progressive responsibilities.
• Possess a bachelor’s degree or similar professional accreditation.
• Understand and commit to the mission and goals of the National Immigration Forum.
• Willingness to travel approximately 2-3 times per quarter to Washington, DC, or other locations to support on-ground efforts.
• Have demonstrated expertise and experience in field/digital organizing and/or advocacy work in the faith community.
• Have extensive contacts within US evangelical communities.
• Interest in working collaboratively across teams and at all levels of positions within the organization.
• Ability to provide clear direction and feedback to Mobilizers, Managers, Associates, and Coordinators.
• Be capable of design, oversight and implementation of complex, high-level, and high-visibility campaigns and initiatives.
• Possess excellent writing and oral communication skills.
• Be a collaborative and decisive decision-maker.
• Ability to proactively identify opportunities to advance the Forum’s mission and vision.
• Have demonstrated strong project management and organizational skills, including ability to work independently, multi-task and operate under tight deadlines.
• Attention to detail and ability to meet internal reporting deadlines.
• Demonstrate excellent judgment and discretion.
• Work in a team and in a coalition.
• Communicate an inspired vision or sense of core purpose.
• Must be passionate about seeking just, compassionate immigration policies, including respect for the rule of law, family unity, revisions to the visa system to meet the needs of employers, and an earned process by which undocumented immigrants could become Lawful Permanent Residents, and eventually U.S. citizens.

Preferred Experience and Qualifications:

• Experience with political advocacy, community organizing, and/or service to immigrants.
• Experience working with multiple evangelical communities/denominations in different parts of the country.