Policy, Research & Advocacy Director

About the role

Position Type: Independent Contractor – Director-Level Leadership. Location: Hybrid (mostly remote). Coordinates With: Co-Executive Directors. Contract Term: 12 months, with opportunities for renewal. Estimated Commitment: Approximately 20 hours per month. Compensation: $500 monthly stipend ($6,000 annually), with opportunities for increases as funding grows.

Transformative Changes (TC) is a Black woman-founded, community-rooted healing justice nonprofit and social enterprise advancing healing, leadership, cultural organizing, community power, and systems change. We center the leadership and lived experiences of Black and Brown youth, families, femmes, caregivers, and communities.

The Director of Policy, Research & Advocacy provides strategic leadership across TC's policy development, community-based research, advocacy, participatory policymaking, and systems-change initiatives. Collaborating with the Co-Executive Directors and Programs & Community Engagement Director, the Director translates community knowledge and research into policy recommendations, advocacy strategies, institutional reforms, and public investments.

Responsibilities

• Policy Development, Analysis & Systems Change – Lead TC's policy, research, and advocacy priorities in alignment with its strategic plan; analyze legislation, budgets, regulations, administrative actions, and emerging policy developments; develop policy briefs, legislative analyses, budget recommendations, testimony, and advocacy materials; advance systems-change initiatives related to education, youth and family well-being, health equity, restorative justice, community safety, and economic security; identify opportunities for public investment, institutional reform, and community-informed solutions.
• Research, Evaluation & Community Knowledge – Lead or coordinate participatory research, policy research, landscape assessments, needs assessments, and applied research; develop partnerships with universities, public agencies, community organizations, and researchers; coordinate surveys, interviews, focus groups, listening sessions, and qualitative and quantitative analysis; translate findings and community knowledge into policy recommendations, reports, and systems-change strategies; strengthen evaluation, ethical research practices, community ownership of knowledge, and impact measurement.
• Advocacy, Coalition Building & Community Power – Coordinate advocacy campaigns, coalitions, policy work groups, and systems-change collaboratives; build relationships with policymakers, agencies, community organizations, researchers, and institutional partners; coordinate legislative engagement, policy convenings, stakeholder meetings, and advocacy activities; create meaningful opportunities for youth, families, caregivers, and communities to participate in policymaking and institutional decision-making; support community leadership, collaborative policy agendas, and institutional accountability.
• Participatory Policymaking & Fee-for-Service – Coordinate projects through TC's Community Power & Policy Design Studio, including policy analysis, participatory research, community engagement, and systems-change consulting; support TC's Leadership Institute and Social Change & Innovation Lab when policy or research expertise is needed; develop project plans, deliverables, timelines, and implementation milestones; coordinate researchers, consultants, facilitators, and community advisors; develop reusable research frameworks, policy tools, and curricula that strengthen TC's intellectual property and earned-revenue capacity.
• Organizational Learning, Communications & Collaboration – Track policy priorities, research, advocacy activities, partnerships, deliverables, and outcomes; contribute research and policy content to