Senior Advisor, Affiliate Strategic Planning
About The Job
The ACLU seeks applicants for the full-time position of Senior Advisor, Affiliate Strategic Planning in the Affiliate Support and Nationwide Initiatives (ASNI) Department of the ACLU’s National office in New York, NY. This is a hybrid role that has in-office requirements of two (2) days per week or eight (8) days per month.
Reporting
Reporting to the National Director, Affiliate Support and Nationwide initiatives, the Senior Advisor, Affiliate Strategic Planning is a senior role within Affiliate Support and Nationwide Initiatives (ASNI) responsible for strengthening the quality, rigor, and impact of strategic planning across the ACLU’s nationwide enterprise.
Key Responsibilities
Provide direct advising and facilitation to affiliates undertaking strategic planning processes. At their request, help affiliates steward their strategic planning processes, using a unified but flexible methodology grounded in organizational diagnostics, inclusive planning processes, equity considerations, and long-term sustainability.
In partnership with other department teams, promote the integration of organizational capacity, governance, staffing, culture-building, program and campaign planning, power building, and financial sustainability goals in the planning process.
Help affiliates translate strategic priorities into operational plans, milestones, and accountability structures that support effective implementation.
Support affiliates in establishing lightweight monitoring practices that enable leadership teams and boards to track progress and adjust strategy as conditions evolve.
Track strategic plan implementation progress and support course correction as conditions evolve.
With department leadership, support executive directors in structuring board engagement in strategic planning processes, strengthening governance alignment around long-term priorities and organizational sustainability.
Use strategic planning as a preventive leadership and governance tool, helping affiliates surface risks early, align leadership around priorities, and strengthen long-term institutional resilience.
Maintain strict confidentiality and discretion when engaging with affiliate boards and executive leadership, particularly when this work involves sensitive matters such as organizational health, leadership transitions, financial sustainability, and governance challenges.
Develop the tools, resources, and systems that enable effective strategic planning across the nationwide enterprise.
Oversee and resource a vetted pool of consultants supporting affiliate planning processes, ensuring quality, methodological consistency, and alignment with ASNI planning principles while adapting to affiliate context.
Develop tools and learning resources—including case studies and peer exchanges—that help affiliates address common planning challenges and share innovations, learnings, and effective approaches to scale across the network.
Advise departmental leaders managing affiliate grant portfolios to strengthen the impact and durability of affiliate strategic investments; review and synthesize affiliate grant reports for department leadership.
Develop and apply criteria to prioritize affiliate strategic planning engagements based on organizational need, timing, readiness, and potential enterprise impact.
Provide lighter-touch advising, tools, or referrals when full planning support is not feasible.
Consult with departmental leadership to ensure planning support is targeted where it will most strengthen affiliate resilience and long-term impact.
Ensure national priorities and opportunities are communicated to affiliates in coordination with relevant national teams.
Translate patterns emerging from affiliate strategic plans into insights that inform departmental and national strategy discussions.
Identify recurring structural challenges or emerging opportunities across affiliates and elevate them to department leadership to inform enterprise-level decision making.
Serve as a connective function between affiliate strategic planning and national strategy development, ensuring that consultation and synthesis inform enterprise strategy while respecting affiliate authority over their own priorities and plans.
Serve as an ambassador to other National departments and affiliates about this work and its impact.
Cross-Department Coordination and Leadership
Work closely with Department teams to draw on special expertise and ensure coordinated and coherent affiliate-facing support, including identification of key opportunities for training, coaching, or facilitation support.
Contribute to departmental strategy, frameworks, and continuous improvement based on emerging trends and patterns across the affiliate network.
Partner with department teams to integrate best practice strategic planning approaches as appropriate.
Contribute to the design and production of the annual affiliate Overview Survey.
Qualifications
At least 10 years of experience in strategic planning, organizational development, or a closely related field.
Demonstrated commitment to the mission of the ACLU.
Demonstrated experience leading complex planning processes with senior leaders, boards, and multi-stakeholder organizations.
Substantial experience working with federated, networked, or multi-entity organizations.
Strong understanding of organizational systems, governance, budgeting, and people management in mission-driven organizations.
Prioritized ability to work across lines of authority and influence without direct control.
Exceptional facilitation, analytical, and written communication skills.
Deep commitment to equity and inclusion organizational practices.
Compensation
The annual salary for this position is $167,568.00 (Level E), reflecting the salary of a position based in New York, NY. Salaries are subject to a regional pay adjustment if authorization is granted to work outside of the location listed in this posting. For details on our pay structure, please visit: here.