Political Director

Department: Mobilizing
Supervisor: President


Sojourners has an opening for a Political Director to develop and implement Sojourners’ policy strategy, positioning, framing, messaging, and advocacy for outreach and impact on Capitol Hill and the public sector. The Political Director works with the President, Senior Director of Campaigns and Mobilizing, and other staff to maximize Sojourners’ influence in the policy arena and advance the organization’s mission and priorities.

This is a full-time position based in Sojourners’ Washington, D.C. office.

Responsibilities:

  • Develop and manage organization’s policy and advocacy agendas with public sector and government representatives, including Executive, Legislative, and Judicial, as well as state and mayoral representatives as needed.
  • Monitor relevant activity on Capitol Hill and in the executive branch, forecast policy trends, and identify opportunities for advocacy.
  • Conduct comprehensive legislative, regulatory, administrative, and legal research and analysis related to Sojourners' policy priorities and develop policy recommendations for both internal and external use.
  • Maintain and build relationships with external public sector partners and coalitions, including working with the Circle of Protection and guiding Sojourners’ anti-poverty portfolio.
  • Provide political and policy advice to organizational leadership.
  • Evaluate sign-on and endorsement opportunities.
  • Review organizational materials, including action alerts, press releases, statements, and fundraising proposals and letters, for policy consistency and 501(c)(3) compliance.
  • Pitch op-eds on relevant topics to Sojourners editorially independent print and online publications and external media.
  • In consultation with organizational leadership, identify and evaluate opportunities for influencing public narratives to advance organizational priorities.
  • Work with the Director of Campaigns and Mobilizing to research policy issues, track legislation, and develop an internal campaign strategy.
  • Mentor, equip, and support government relations of campaign leads to help them more effectively engage government entities.
  • Work in coordination with other mobilizing directors and relevant SojoAction team members to develop and implement grassroots/grasstops advocacy and mobilizing strategies to achieve programmatic goals, including FRAN.
  • Coordinate grassroots advocacy efforts with the Mobilizing Team, with the goal of educating and mobilizing partners to take action that can influence federal and state policy formation through online Action Alerts, curriculum development, and church network development.
  • Promote effective and clear communication within the mobilizing team and cross-organization teams.
  • Represent the organization externally, including through public speaking.

Qualifications:

  • Master's degree in public policy, public administration, social work, theology, or related field, or juris doctorate, plus five years’ experience with policy advocacy; OR a Bachelor’s degree and 8+ years’ experience with policy advocacy in one or more of Sojourners’ policy priority areas.
  • Capitol Hill familiarity and experience; established relationships with religious and secular public sector partners.
  • Excellent communications skills, including public speaking and writing.
  • Attention to detail and deadline-driven timelines, and a high standard of work product.
  • Knowledge in Sojourners issues, mission, non-profit status, and positioning in the faith-based mobilizing context.
  • Strength and experience in cross-team leadership and collaboration.

To Apply:

Please send a cover letter, resume, and three professional reference contacts to jobs@sojo.net with the subject line Political Director Search. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. This position will be based in the Washington, D.C. office with minimum in-office days required.

Sojourners is an equal opportunity employer that continually seeks to diversify its staff and create an inclusive and equitable culture.

Starting annual salary for this position is $75-85,000, based on experience. Excellent benefits package includes paid health insurance, 20 days paid vacation, 12 days paid sick leave, 401(k) Plan, and a positive, faith-based work environment.

Managing Editor, sojo.net

Department: Online Editorial
Supervisor: Editor-in-Chief

 

Position summary:

Sojourners seeks a dynamic managing editor for online content and to lead the team that produces award-winning daily news, opinion, and culture coverage for sojo.net.

Our ideal candidate will be an experienced editor, skilled at managing both people and projects, who feels at home in a fast-paced digital media environment of a Christian nonprofit organization. We want someone who is creative, hands-on, and strategic: full of ideas for new stories and projects, but also eager to roll up their sleeves and test those ideas against engagement data, team feedback, and budget considerations. We’re looking for someone enthusiastic about Sojourners’ editorial mission as an independent, award-winning publication of faith, culture, and politics — someone who brings a nuanced understanding of Christian faith and social justice to the stories they publish, the way they manage a diverse team, and their navigation of an ever-changing media landscape.

Editorial responsibilities: 

  • Define clear editorial goals for sojo.net, develop new areas of growth, and assist with evaluating and improving content in collaboration with the Editor-in-Chief, online editors, Audience Engagement Manager, and Editor of Sojourners.  
  • Oversee all aspects of online editorial calendar and publication process, including story development, soliciting, assigning, editing, crafting headlines, selecting photos, and publication. 
  • Ensure all content on online publication conforms with Sojourners in-house style and editorial mission.
  • Monitor national and international news with an eye to developing coverage of religion, faith, politics, and social justice. 
  • Collaborate regularly with monthly print magazine editorial team and help shape editorial retreats alongside Editor of Sojourners print magazine and Editor-in-Chief.
  • Collaborate with online editorial team on three newsletters: SojoMail, Verse & Voice, and The Reconstruct.
  • Collaborate with Editor-in-Chief, Editor of Sojourners magazine, Audience Engagement Manager, Senior Marketing Director, and Advancement Team to develop grant-funded projects and track meaningful metrics.
  • Report and write articles for digital and print publications. 

 Leadership responsibilities:

  • Lead and supervise online editorial team (Senior Associate Opinion Editor, Senior Associate News Editor, and Senior Associate Culture Editor) and provide additional management support to those supervising fellows, cohort members, or contracted reporters.
  • Oversee online columnist and freelancer contracts and payment.
  • Represent online editorial team on Sojourners Management Team. 
  • Assume web-related duties of Editor-in-Chief in their absence.
  • Additional duties as assigned.

Qualifications

  • Applicants based in D.C. or willing to relocate are preferred; if not local, applicants must be willing to travel to the DC office 2-3 times per year.
  • At least 6+ years of online journalism experience; experience in nonprofit journalism a plus.
  • Excellent writing, editing, and verbal communications skills.
  • Experience with web publishing, content management systems, and audience engagement metrics.
  • Proven success at managing both people and projects.
  • Nuanced understanding of Christian faith and diverse movements for racial and social justice.
  • Desire to work in a Christian workplace that strives to continually deepen its commitments to faith and social justice.

To Apply

Please send a cover letter, resume, and three professional reference contacts to jobs@sojo.net or Managing Editor, sojo.net search, Sojourners, 408 C St. NE, Washington, DC 20002. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Sojourners is an equal opportunity employer that continually seeks to diversify its staff and create an inclusive and equitable culture.

Starting annual salary for this position is $70-80,000, based on experience. Excellent benefits package includes fully paid health insurance, 20 days paid vacation, 12 days paid sick leave, 12 paid holidays, 401(k) plan with employer match, and a positive, faith-based work environment.