Job Description: Outreach and Field Director
Location: Washington, DC or San Francisco, CA
Timeline: ASAP

Goal: The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) seeks to hire an Outreach & Field Director, effective immediately, to lead the organization’s grassroots mobilization efforts, serve as main point of contact for members and the public, and lead communications to NIAC’s membership and support base.

Description: The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) is gearing up for a high stakes year ahead. This year marks an essential turning point in U.S-Iran relations, and NIAC will be expanding its staff team to ensure maximum impact. Through Congressional campaigns, online advocacy, and more, we will push to ensure Congress supports a peaceful nuclear deal between the U.S and Iran, advocate for increased human rights in Iran, and work to lift those sanctions that impact ordinary Iranians. To lead the community outreach and grassroots/field elements of this critical work, we are seeking a full-time Outreach and Field Director. These efforts will directly complement NIAC’s Policy, Development, and Press/Media initiatives.

We’re looking for someone who has top-notch people skills, first-class written and oral communication skills (preferably in both English and Persian), strong attention to detail, social media savvy, and a diligent work ethic. The ideal candidate is a high-energy, innovative self-starter who can lead and manage diverse teams of volunteers into congressional actions, community events, and more. S/he can imagine and execute creative, bold, and impactful strategies to get NIAC’s message out through events, actions, and online outreach alike, and s/he believes deeply in the importance of NIAC’s mission: strengthening Iranian Americans’ voice in order to make an impact on the issues that most impact us and our families. We seek a candidate who is a team player, can simplify complex messaging to community members and the broader public alike, can juggle several concurrent initiatives, and is willing to try out new ideas.

Responsibilities:

Grassroots & Grasstops – Helps maximize the political representation of the Iranian-American community by identifying and cultivating grassroots and grasstops leaders. Guides and trains NIAC members in advance of Congressional in-district meetings. Leads grassroots legislative advocacy strategies, in direct collaboration with policy team. Organizes and conducts legislative action workshops in cities nationwide, on national / regional conference calls, and at the annual Leadership Conference.

Captain & Volunteer Program – Recruits, selects, and manages NIAC Congressional Captains and volunteers nationwide. Runs monthly Captain calls, helps Captains execute events, and ensures Captains are adequately informed about NIAC events and activities. Manages volunteer engagement, both through captain program and other local initiatives that advance NIAC’s goals and mission.

Membership – Leads organizational efforts to recruit and engage new members and supporters through special events, campaigns and other incentives. Supports Development Director’s efforts to identify and cultivate new and existing donors.

Local Events – Organizes meet-n-greets at private homes and venues in cities nationwide; annual day of community service; local film screenings and book signings; and more. Oversees event logistical and technical coordination by the Program Administrator, and manages event communication and marketing strategy.

Fall Leadership Conference – Plans, organizes, and executes NIAC’s annual fall Leadership Conference in Washington, DC in close coordination with the Programs Administrator and Outreach Associate.

Communications/Media – Manages NIAC’s community-facing branding and communications strategy, and providing direction and guidance to the Communications Associate. Must have strong writing skills and mastery of social media, email/website, and print communication. Conducts quantitative cross-organizational communications analysis, providing regular metrics regarding how Outreach, Policy, Development, and Research teams can continue to improve outreach and messaging impact to NIAC’s membership. Writes member-focused content for website and other content as assigned. Promotes the distribution of NIAC messages through Persian media.

Required skills:

Exceptional speaking and writing skills; can visualize as well as convey a message into relevant, accessible, and interesting content
Impeccable attention to detail, in copy editing, event planning, and team management
Team-oriented, personable, good with people
Strong self-starter, entrepreneurial; willing to present new ideas to the team without hand-holding
Good marketing sense; can come up with messages, slogans, and tactics that draw attention to policy points
Calm in a crisis, with great instincts; can handle pressure and a lot going on at once; during high stakes moments, is cool as a cucumber and knows what needs to be done
Strong judgment on what kinds of tactics and campaigns will attract attention and appeal to both NIAC’s membership and a broader online audience; can tell the difference between a catchy, out-of-the-box gimmick from something that’s just crazy
Willing to do what it takes to get a high quality, polished project done; low ego, high focus on quality, open to honest feedback and collaboration
Hard worker, can do flexible hours and manage his/her time independently; understands that changing the nature of U.S-Iran relations and strengthening Iranian Americans’ voice doesn’t always happen between 9 and 5

Strongly preferred (but not required) skills:

B.A from a reputable university
3+ years of work experience in a corporate, non-profit, or political organization
Experience volunteering or working for a political organization / campaign, and/or experience and training with grassroots organizing

Salary: Salary is competitive and benefits include health & dental insurance, 15 days of vacation (+ all major holidays).

How to apply

To Apply: Send an email to Outreach Director Yasmin Radjy (yradjy@niacouncil.org) with the subject line “Outreach & Field Director.” Include the following in your application:

Attach your resume and cover letter as Word or PDF documents; in your cover letter, please note your salary requirements
Attach a short writing sample as a Word or PDF document

Provide 2 references with phone and email

Please reach out to Yasmin Radjy (yradjy@niacouncil.org) directly with any questions you might have. Thanks!