JOB TITLE: Senior Manager of Program Collaboration Based in San Diego, Los Angeles or San Francisco Application deadline: August 4, 2017
About the Opportunity The ACLU of California seeks a capable, flexible, and thoughtful Senior Manager of Program Collaboration who thrives in a dynamic, fast-faced, non-profit advocacy organization, skillfully handling a range of planning and coordination responsibilities in rapidly changing environment. This position is accountable to the Executive Directors of the three ACLU affiliates of California—the ACLU of Northern California, ACLU of Southern California and ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties. The person in this position will be managed on a day to day basis by the Executive Director of one of the affiliates.
The Approach You are an experienced manager with sophisticated interpersonal and communication skills who builds teams, develops plans, and works collaboratively with colleagues to design and complete a range of complex projects. You demonstrate good judgement; you are professional at all times, treating everyone with dignity and respect; you manage stressful situations with grace and poise.
The Position Your job is to foster inclusive planning processes, ensure real collaboration, and facilitate effective communication across the teams, issues, strategies, and geographies that comprise the ACLU of California Collaboration.
About the Organization The ACLU of California is the statewide collaboration of the ACLU of Southern California, the ACLU of Northern California, and the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties, also known as “affiliates” of a nationwide, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the defense and expansion of civil liberties and civil rights. For most of the last century, it has been at the heart of many of the most major – and sometimes controversial – struggles for civil liberties and civil rights in our state. Our mission is to ensure that Constitutional rights don’t just exist on paper, but are protected in practice. As we move into a new era and face dangerous policies that threaten our civil rights and civil liberties, we remain dedicated to confronting these issues and defending the progress we have made. We must use our decades of experience in impact litigation, legislative advocacy, and fearless organizing to fight these un-American policies and protect our most cherished rights and freedoms. We are the resistance. Join us.
About the ACLU of California Collaboration The ecosystem of this Collaboration is complex. We work across a large number of major civil rights issues, with eight of these issues organized each into a statewide team, and additional issues addressed locally or as needed statewide. We work across a number of major strategies, including litigation, policy advocacy, legislative advocacy, organizing, and communications. And we work across geographies, including not just the three affiliate headquarters in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, but also the Sacramento Center for Advocacy and Policy and regional offices in Fresno, Orange County, and San Bernardino.
ACLU of California’s vision is to enhance our protection of civil liberties statewide through collaboration. By leveraging our resources, respective strengths, collective strength, and by aligning our strategies, we will maximize ACLU’s statewide reach and impact.
Duties & Responsibilities

  1. Planning
    1. Lead the annual planning process each year with the Leadership Team and Issue Team leaders to identify the major goals, resource needs and additional factors that need attention.
    2. Organize convenings of issue team leaders, department directors, and the leadership team for bigger picture planning, training, and capacity building.
    3. Identify external resources, partners and experts who can inform and support our planning and work across the board, for example on demographic, political and other factors affecting the state.
    4. Gather the necessary information to assist the Leadership Team in documenting and evaluating outcomes, impacts and lessons.
  2. Project Management
    1. Manage projects as assigned by the Leadership Team, by convening the right people, tracking the work plan, and ensuring timely completion and decision-making with the appropriate people, including both short-term projects that need attention to longer-term projects for which additional support is needed.
    2. Identify system improvements and capacity needs and other infrastructure that can foster statewide collaboration and impact, and work with staff to implement those systems.
  3. Communication
    1. Ensure that designated leaders or members of key teams are convening their teams, and that major actions, decisions, and agreements are communicated to the appropriate stakeholders
    2. Participate in some range of these meetings to provide support for facilitation, planning, documentation and follow-up
    3. Ensure that issues that need attention are communicated within and among the various teams, including and especially to the three executive directors and the Leadership Team as a whole
    4. Foster communication and provide information across the teams that impact the whole collaboration
    5. Maintain the materials, agreements and protocols for statewide work and ensure that new employees and all staff understand these processes through orientation and training.

Qualifications
A minimum of seven years of experience leading planning processes, fostering collaboration, project management and advancing work across teams and in complex systems and organizations.

  • Excellent communication skills, able to listen and hear the needs and ideas being expressed, and communicating expectations and decisions clearly.
  • Strong commitment to collaboration, and ability to build trust and respect with people both more senior and more junior in the staff structure.
  • Demonstrated track record of establishing effective systems that foster collaboration and work, improve efficiency and communication, but that do not impose excessive restrictions or unnecessary demands.
  • Expertise in any particular civil liberties issue or strategy is not necessary.
  • Ability to think proactively, anticipate problems, analyze situations, and develop effective solutions.
  • Excellent judgment at all times.
  • Proficiency with office technology and information systems (including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Skype for Business).
  • Must be available for weekend and evening responsibilities.
  • Must be available for some travel throughout California.
  • Ability to work as a team member as well as independently.

Compensation Competitive salary is commensurate with experience. Excellent benefits package is provided.
To Apply Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on August 4, 2017. Applications must include
1) cover letter; 2) resume; and 3) a list of three references. Applicants concurrently applying to any other position with the ACLU should state what other position they are applying for in the cover letter.
Please submit your application packet to Search Consultant Phyllis Quan at phyllisq@san.rr.com.
Please note on the subject line “ACLU of California.”