State Director of Public Affairs

About the role

The State Director of Public Affairs serves as the senior political and strategic lead for our policy campaigns in Minnesota. This role is responsible for setting the political strategy, policy positioning, and developing and managing the relationships necessary to advance E4E’s national issue agenda at the state and local levels.

Responsibilities

• Set Political Strategy and Campaign Vision and Direction
• Analyze the state and/or local political landscape to identify opportunities, assess constraints, and advise on viable pathways for teacher-led policy change aligned with E4E’s national policy agenda
• Define the strategy and contextualized theory of change for state-level or local issue advocacy campaigns, in partnership with the National Director of State Campaigns
• Right-size campaigns based on political conditions, organizational capacity, and coalition alignment and/or capacity
• Lead assessment and recommendations on legislative pathways, timing, and decision-making that lead to success
• Anchor Campaigns in Educator Voice
• Partner with the National Director of State Campaigns to develop strong teacher leader fellowships that meaningfully shape and drive issue advocacy campaigns in Minnesota
• Ensure educator voice and priorities shape issue advocacy campaign strategies and vision
• Support and develop issue advocacy skills and competencies in teacher leader fellowships, ensuring a strong bench of campaign surrogates who can partner with the State Director of Public Affairs to lead issue advocacy campaigns
• Serve as the External Spokesperson of E4E in Minnesota
• Represent E4E publicly with policymakers, state officials, media, local elected officials, and other key stakeholders and decision-makers
• Build and maintain deep relationships with legislators, administration officials, coalition partners, and opinion leaders
• Serve as a spokesperson, shaping and delivering messages that reflect political realities while advancing E4E goals
• Position E4E as a credible, leading voice in shaping education policy across the state
• Build and Lead Strategic Coalitions and Government Affairs
• Build, lead, and sustain strategic coalitions aligned to campaign priorities and E4E’s issue agenda, leveraging existing relationships and cultivating new partnerships necessary to advance and win campaigns
• Develop and manage strong relationships with elected officials, policymakers, and other state and/or local stakeholders who influence or shape policy decisions
• Navigate complex political dynamics and opposition to maintain coalition alignment, build political capital, and advance viable pathways to campaign success
• Manage external lobbyists and government affairs partners, ensuring their work is strategically aligned to campaign goals and broader advocacy priorities
• Drive Political Communications and Positioning
• Inform messaging strategy, in collaboration with campaign communications staff, that ensures political context, alignment with our teacher leaders, and opposition
• Partner with SVP Campaigns and Public Affairs to ensure campaign messaging is strategic, disciplined, and effective
• Drive E4E’s public narrative and positioning in Minnesota, particularly in high-stakes or politically sensitive moments–through earned, owned, and paid media collaboration with campaign communications staff
• Contribute to Fundraising Strategy and Support Funder Relationships
• In partnership with the national team, help represent local work with funders, foundations, and individual donors who are aligned with E4E policy campaign priorities
• Provide the national development team with campaign insights and strategy that support donor relationships and new prospects
• Advise on alignment between fundraising strategies, donor management, and campaign priorities
• Ensure timely execution of grant deliverables and support clear, effective communications for internal and external fundraising efforts

Requirements

• Experience:
• - 10+ years of professional experience, including at least 5 years in education policy
• - Proven track record primarily designing and leading issue advocacy campaigns, ideally at the state level or at a minimum in a large urban local government
• - Deep experience operating in fast-paced, complex, highly political environments
• - Additional electoral campaign experience preferred
• - Bachelor’s degree required.

Positional Skills

• Setting Vision & Direction: Establishes a clear vision that is mission-aligned, sets measurable goals, and develops teams and activities to maintain alignment with this vision
• Leading Change: Identifies necessary shifts in a timely manner, involves key stakeholders in the planning process, promotes buy-in & follow-through, and adjusts course as needed
• Setting & Managing Expectations: Clarifies the outcomes of the work and names what progress should look like along the way; delegates and checks in with a productive cadence
• Influencing & Motivating: Inspires committed and positive action towards accomplishing individual and collective organizational work goals. Demonstrated ability to operate effectively and strategically amid opposition, scrutiny, or adverse political conditions. Able to influence, align, and drive results across campaign functions and supports across campaigns, policy, communications, and digital
• Making Decisions & Demonstrating Judgment: Makes strategic decisions, even in ambiguous situations; weighs factors both within and outside of one’s control to mitigate risk; exercises discernment when involving others in decision-making; leverages data when appropriate
• Cultivating Relationships & Collaborating: Develops a sense of rapport and trust with staff and seeks opportunities to share expertise and leverage the strengths of others; comfortably communicates with external stakeholders. Able to quickly build relationships with new stakeholders and advocates who bolster our coalition work
• Thrives in a matrixed campaign environment without direct people management over functions that will support campaigns across the Program Team