Please email resume and a cover letter to jobs@hungerfreeamerica.org, using “Director of Research, Policy & Advocacy” and your first and last name in the subject line.

Background:

Hunger Free America (HFA) is a dynamic, bold, effective, and growing organization – founded in 1983 as the New York City Coalition Against Hunger – that now works nationwide. We both facilitate immediate food assistance through safety net and other programs and help lead the national fight to improve anti-hunger public policies. In 2013, the Nation called the organization one of the country’s “leading direct service and advocacy organizations on hunger and poverty.”

HFA is a national direct service and progressive advocacy nonprofit group building a nonpartisan, grass-roots movement to enact the policies and programs needed to end domestic hunger and ensure that all Americans have sufficient access to nutritious food.

This position will likely be based in our New York City headquarters but could potentially be based in Washington, DC for strong candidates who already live in DC and want to continue living there. The position will oversee all the research, public policy development, and legislative advocacy work of the organization, all of which are central to HFA’s mission.

Duties:

Reporting directly to the HFA CEO, this position will:

• Coordinate all of the organization’s quantitative and qualitative research related to hunger, poverty, and nutrition policy, including: local, state, and national-level studies on the federally-funded SNAP (formerly Food Stamps), WIC, school lunch, school breakfast, and summer meals programs; research on the impact of low wages and minimum wage hikes; studies on the levels, causes of, and solutions to food insecurity; studies on the levels, causes of, and solutions to poverty; and research on and mapping of community food resources.
• Coordinate the research, writing, and editing of all the organization’s research and policy reports, policy memos, action alerts, policy web posts and blogs, and other policy and data-related materials on hunger, poverty, and nutrition issues.
• Coordinating efforts to achieve concrete government anti-hunger and anti-poverty policy victories at the federal, state, and local government levels.
• Directly lobby – and serve as the organization’s chief point of contact –with federal, state, and local elected and appointed officials.
• Working with the CEO and other senior staff and with the HFA Board of Directors to develop the organization’s anti-hunger and anti-poverty policy goals.
• Liaison with other anti-hunger, anti-poverty, and progressive advocacy organizations.
• Complete and submit, on deadline, any required Federal, State, and City lobbying reports.
• Oversee the building and maintaining of advocacy-related contact management databases.
• Involve religious and civic leaders and communities of varied faiths in our advocacy activities.
• Work closely with HFA’s Communications Director to use social and news media to advance the organization’s advocacy agenda.
• Working closely with HFA’s Chief Development Officer to develop public education and fundraising materials about our advocacy and assist with research and advocacy-related grant applications.
• Report to funders, the CEO, and HFA’s Board of Directors on the progress of HFA’s research, advocacy, and policy work.
• Manage staff, researchers, contractors, and interns that work with this department.
• Track staff and consultant time, and departmental spending overall, and by grant.
• Carry out other duties, as assigned.

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate will have at least five year’s significant and effective management experience in community organizing, policy and survey research, legislation analysis, lobbying, politics, and/or government. Must have very strong writing and policy research skills. Expertise with data analysis and/or GIS software a plus.

Comfort working as an equal with diverse groups of people is a must.

Experience working with or for elected officials – either in governmental or campaign positions — is a plus. Spanish fluency is also a plus.

A Master’s Degree or professional degree is preferred, although people with very significant, relevant, work experience in addition to a BA will be considered.

The organization is seeking a self-starter with strong coalition-building, communications, problem solving, and inter-personal skills. It is also looking for someone with a very positive, “can do” attitude, and a demonstrated commitment to fighting poverty and enacting progressive social change.

The ideal candidate should be comfortable working in a flexible environment, and possess demonstrated commitment to fighting poverty and enacting progressive social change. The ability to work in diverse neighborhoods and with diverse people is required. Given that the nature of this work is ever-changing, the ideal candidate should have the ability to multitask in handling long-term goals while addressing the day-to-day nuances of the legislative and social change environment.

The person should also have a proven track record in achieving concrete, practical results beyond mere “moral victories.”

Hunger Free America is an equal opportunity employer and actively seeks diverse staff at every level, including in management. People of all races, sexual orientations, ages, faiths, economic and social backgrounds, genders, physical abilities, and national origins are very strongly encouraged to apply.