Political Manager

Clean Virginia is an independent and bipartisan advocacy organization with an associated Political Action Committee. We are working towards a Virginia where clean, affordable and reliable energy is accessible to all, and where elected officials are held accountable to the communities they serve. We believe in a government where the public interest has the biggest voice in our policy process and political system—not special interests or corporate monopoly utilities.

Clean Virginia is working towards this vision in three ways. We:

• Work with a broad movement to engage the public about the harmful impacts of corruption in Virginia and organize communities to promote good governance and energy reform.
• Engage in innovative research to advance the next generation of energy policy in Virginia.
• Support delegates, state senators, and candidates for Virginia’s General Assembly and Executive Branch who share a principled stance of refusing contributions from publicly regulated utility monopolies through Clean Virginia Fund, Clean Virginia’s Political Action Committee.

Clean Virginia is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. This position has a preference for a candidate who is located in Charlottesville or Richmond and this position requires regular, in-person time at our Charlottesville office.

About Us

We are a small team of dedicated people headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. We are a highly collaborative staff, and we lean on the collective experience, knowledge, and skills of our team and cultivate interpersonal trust and open communication. Clean Virginia believes a staff that reflects the Commonwealth’s diversity is central to our organizational goals of advancing clean governance and an equitable clean energy transition in Virginia. We are committed to

1. Building an inclusive team at Clean Virginia in which diversity is deeply appreciated for its ability to strengthen teams
2. Fostering a welcoming work environment in which everyone feels safe, respected, and valued, and
3. Offering equitable employment policies and benefits.

Application Instructions

Please submit a resume, cover letter, and three references by filling out this form. We will not contact references until later in the hiring process, and not without your permission.

Applications will be reviewed until November 22, 2024, 11:59 PM EST, with screening interviews to follow soon after.

Clean Virginia is committed to a just, representative, and inclusive working environment and encourages people of color, women, persons with disabilities, and persons who are LGBTQ to apply.

Job Description: Political Manager

Through its electoral program and Political Action Committee, Clean Virginia is dedicated to electing candidates who always put the interests of their constituents first. We believe elected officials should reflect the diverse communities they represent; anyone - regardless of where they’re from and how much money they have - should be able to run for office, shape public policy, and benefit their community without being beholden to corporate interests. The Political Manager will play a vital role in advancing this mission by supporting the development and execution of Clean Virginia’s involvement in gubernatorial and state-level electoral campaigns. This includes, but is not limited to: candidate recruitment, campaign launch, development of campaign strategies, and the allocation of Political Action

Committee resources. For reference, over the course of the 2022-2023 Virginia legislative election cycle, Clean Virginia worked with over 100 State Senate and House candidates.

This position reports directly to Clean Virginia’s Political Director and requires a willingness and ability to travel around the Commonwealth and work outside of traditional 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday hours. Compensatory time will be allotted in those circumstances. Our full team currently meets twice weekly in our Charlottesville office; our in-person office time is subject to change if needed in order to meet our mission.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Work closely with the Political Director to foster and manage relationships with legislators, electoral candidates, community partners, and allied organizations.
• In coordination with the Political Director, develop a bipartisan campaign plan to strategically allocate Clean Virginia resources to elect good governance and clean energy majorities in the Virginia legislature and Executive Branch.
• Manage large-scale Clean Virginia funded paid communications campaigns, including mail, digital, and TV, in support of endorsed candidates; coordinate with candidates to procure campaign collateral.
• Develop and manage events from initial concept to execution for endorsed candidates or Clean Virginia external initiatives.
• Facilitate and operate paid canvasses in support of Clean Virginia endorsed candidates.
• Ensure smooth operations and efficiency for Clean Virginia’s political giving and endorsement processes.
• Maintain internal CRM to track political activities, relationships, and contributions.
• Conduct in-depth research from multiple sources and synthesize electoral/political information into concise and actionable memos.
• Daily monitoring of electoral news, finance reports, and political activities, and how it relates to Clean Virginia’s mission.
• Contribute to the team’s strategic planning process and help forge a tactical path towards shared goals.
• Evaluate and manage consultants, third-party vendors, and organizers for Clean Virginia electoral efforts.
• Work closely with the Communications and Advocacy Director and Communications Manager in coordinating voter mobilization and messaging opportunities.
• Attend political meetings and functions, both large and small, across the Commonwealth; speak confidently about clean energy and good governance issues.
• Ensure Clean Virginia’s strategic imperative of equity, justice, and inclusion is included in political organizing efforts.
• Assist the Political Director and Operations and Grants Manager in ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations regarding 501(c)(4) and PAC activities.

Qualifications

• 2-3 years of professional campaign experience; strong preference for those with at least one cycle of campaign management experience.
• Ability to analyze and offer feedback on all aspects of candidate campaign plans: budget, fundraising, field, and paid communications.
• Experience with voter targeting, and running large-scale paid communications and field organizing campaigns.
• Ability to draft polling and translate results into strategic actions in support of endorsed candidates.
• Superior communication and interpersonal skills, including strong emotional intelligence; comfortable with public speaking to large and small groups.
• Experience with producing and managing events with multiple stakeholders; ability to pitch press and generate earned media.
• A passion for Virginia politics and comfort working in bipartisan spaces including working with political candidates from across the political spectrum.
• A deft ability to work with multiple stakeholder groups, enthusiasm for teamwork and collaboration, and a strong respect for your colleagues and their unique ideas and perspectives.
• A collegial and collaborative work style, innovative thinking, strong work ethic, enthusiastic attitude, and a sense of humor are essential.
• Strong administrative and project management skills including operational budgeting, database management, and relationship management.
• A flexible approach to work, with a willingness to travel for meetings with candidates, legislators, and organizers and relevant political events. Travel will be most frequent during Virginia electoral cycles and will be at the discretion of the Political Director on when it is strategic. Travel will likely make up approximately 20 percent of the Political Manager’s time.
• Strong demonstrated interest in government ethics, climate change and clean energy, economic justice, and the overall vision of Clean Virginia.

Compensation/benefits

Clean Virginia offers a highly competitive salary and benefits package which includes:

• A salary range of $75,000 to $95,000 based on relevant experience.
• Healthcare: Employer contribution of 90% of monthly premium cost for UnitedHealthcare Choice Plus Direct plan (Platinum level), including dental and vision coverage;
• 401(k): Employer match of up to 5% of salary (following 60 days of employment). Employee has flexibility on investment fund, administered through Paychex;
• Life insurance coverage: Employer contribution of 90% of monthly premium cost;
• Worker’s compensation;
• Four weeks (160 hours) paid vacation per year; two weeks (80 hours) paid sick leave per year; twelve weeks (480 hours) paid parental leave, of which a minimum of eight may be taken consecutively, with an additional four taken either consecutively or at a later date to be determined in coordination with the employee's supervisor;
• Paid Virginia State Holidays;
• $75 monthly personal device reimbursement; and
• $3000 technology allotment for purchase of computer and related hardware.