Program Manager, Research & Strategy, Racial Justice Center

SEIU is a union of about 2 million diverse members in healthcare, the public sector, and property services. We fight for a Vision for a Just Society: where all workers are valued and all people respected, no matter their origin or race; where all families and communities can thrive; and where we leave a better, more equitable world for future generations. As an anti-racist union, we challenge corporate power and uproot structural racism through unions, worker power, collective action, and government, legislative, and political action.

About the Racial Justice Center

The Racial Justice Center (RJC) was established in 2017 to anchor SEIU's conviction that racial justice is fundamental to building union power and achieving economic justice. In its next phase, the RJC will serve as a strategy partner, integrating racial justice across SEIU campaigns and programs. The center will drive systemic change through research and analysis to inform SEIU's campaign strategies, aiming to build power to win Unions for All and end poverty wages. The RJC works to rewrite rules so that all workers, regardless of race or location, can organize across employers, industries, sectors, and geographies.

Responsibilities

• Lead applied research into the sectors and industries where SEIU operates, focusing on racial history, economic conditions, labor structures, and implications for workers and organizing.
• Analyze laws, policies, economic systems, institutional practices, and industry trends that have created or reinforced racial exclusion, disinvestment, occupational segregation, and racial wealth and income gaps.
• Develop race-class analysis connecting historical and current conditions to campaigns, programs, organizational priorities, and opportunities to build worker power.
• Research emerging racial- and economic-justice issues affecting SEIU members, sectors, campaigns, and communities.
• Examine barriers and opportunities related to cross-racial solidarity, collective action, and worker organization across employers, industries, sectors, and geographies.
• Produce research reports, sector analyses, briefing materials, presentations, and other products that clearly communicate findings, implications, and strategic considerations.
• Work with the Director and RJC colleagues to frame research questions and develop evidence-based recommendations for campaigns, programs, and organizational strategy.
• Collaborate with SEIU departments, centers, local unions, and campaign teams to identify research needs, interpret findings, and apply race-class analysis to their work.
• Build relationships with scholars, researchers, movement organizations, and external experts to strengthen the union's analytical depth and remain current on relevant research and thinking.

Requirements

• Five to seven years of experience conducting applied research related to racial justice, economic justice, labor, public policy, industry conditions, social movements, or comparable subject matter, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience advancing racial or economic justice in a union, worker organization, movement organization, research institution, policy organization, or comparable social justice setting.
• Demonstrated experience conducting historical, sector, industry, policy, economic, qualitative, or quantitative research and connecting findings to current strategy or decision-making.
• Deep knowledge of racial and economic justice theory and practice, including the ability to apply race-class analysis to institutions, industries, policies, and worker experiences.
• Working knowledge of labor, unions, worker organizations, or worker-led campaigns; direct union experience is preferred.
• Strong analytical judgment and the ability to develop clear, well-supported conclusions from complex, incomplete, or competing sources of information.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce substantive research products and explain complex findings to varied internal audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple research projects, work across functions, and build productive relationships with staff, leaders, local unions, scholars, and external partners.
• High emotional intelligence, cultural competence, and political judgment, particularly when researching or discussing sensitive racial, historical, economic, or organizational issues.

Schedule

Work is generally performed in an office setting but may require field assignments. Long and extended hours and travel are required.

Pay

Annual salary: $108,104.86

Benefits

• A comprehensive, employer-sponsored health benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• A defined benefit pension plan.
• Paid time off, including vacation, sick leave, and holidays.
• Additional benefits consistent with a mission-driven workplace.