Summary

The Advocacy Director will lead the Alliance’s work to build a powerful, coalition-driven movement to ensure the Great Lakes are sustained for today and tomorrow. With a focus on state-level and regional policy, the Advocacy Director will lead campaign planning, stakeholder engagement, and decision-maker education efforts to further the Alliance’s water policy goals. This work spans all of the Alliance issue areas across the Great Lakes region, including but not limited to agriculture, water infrastructure, plastics and other pollutants, water supply, and invasive species.

The Advocacy Director has primary responsibility for building the campaign structures and relationships necessary to advance regional and state-level legislative and regulatory policy agendas. The Advocacy Director will work collaboratively with various Alliance staff – including policy experts in water resources and water infrastructure, and communications, media relations, local partnerships and government affairs staff – as partners in campaign strategy development and execution. The Advocacy Director will be a public figure for the organization who speaks with authority and diplomacy. They will cultivate and sustain relationships that further the Alliance’s water policy goals, including with elected and appointed officials, academics, trade associations and businesses, community-based organizations, and NGOs. The Advocacy Director will also train, organize, and create opportunities for the Alliance’s supporters to participate in lawmaker education and other forms of advocacy. The Advocacy Director will provide counsel to the Alliance’s Vice Presidents and the President & CEO on policy opportunities and strategy across the region.

In a typical week, the Advocacy Director might:

• Track the progress of state legislation related to Great Lakes issues and advise the Alliance’s policy experts on any important developments  
• Build and convene with in-state coalitions to explore joint opportunities to advance campaign goals and align messaging
• Receive a briefing from an Alliance policy expert on a new report and discuss its implications for campaign strategy
• Coordinate with the communications staff to send an Action Alert to supporters
• Conduct a webinar for Alliance supporters to prepare for an upcoming lawmaker education event
• Schedule and lead a meeting with a state representative in a key legislative district
• Brainstorm with Alliance policy experts on analyses, fact sheets, or other materials that could support lawmaker education on a topic of interest
• Attend a trade association meeting to network with important campaign stakeholders
• Draft or review a blog post, op-ed, or press release on a notable policy achievement
• Talk to key media on the record to advance the Alliance’s policy goals

Responsibilities

In consultation and coordination with Alliance leadership and other staff Directors, the Advocacy Director will:

   Campaign Leader

• Develop structures and systems that support collaborative internal campaign planning and implementation
• Build and manage campaign plans that engage the Alliance’s research, policy recommendation, relationship and communication resources to advance policy wins
• Ensure that campaigns have clear prioritization and alignment in asks, timing and stakeholder relevance at the federal, state and local levels
• Create and implement systems for tracking and reporting on state bills and regulatory actions related to the Alliance’s policy priorities
• Identify and prioritize campaign strategies and geographic focus based on a regional Great Lakes agenda and our ability to leverage external political, economic and cultural conditions to shift policy
• Connect campaign goals to real-world outcomes that have an impact on the Great Lakes and the lives of people who depend on them
• Recommend and inform opportunities for program expansion and directional adjustments that increase our chances of policy success

Movement Builder

• Seek out and build coalitions of partners that are capable of successfully advancing policy changes, including elected and appointed officials, academics, trade associations and businesses, community-based organizations, and NGOs.
• Foster and strengthen long-term relationships with executive and legislative leaders in key states who can drive policy change
• Develop capacity for Alliance staff, supporters, and local partner organizations to lead on state and regional campaigns
• Generate regular short-term policy, organizing and communication successes as we advance toward our long-term goals
• Lead campaign tactics related to organizational supporter activation, briefing and testimony for decision makers, conference presentations and other external relations activities

Manager

• Develop a plan to build and manage a team of advocacy experts, including state and sub-regional staff who are directly employed or individuals contracted to support the Alliance
• Motivates and mentors staff that work in multiple locations as team members, peers and collaborators
• Establishes and manages to multiyear expense budgets and work plans to implement the strategic plan
• Builds and maintains relationships with program staff at institutional philanthropic supporters and develops proposals and report to advance grant-funded work of program
• Engages in regular reflection on and cultivation of a values-based organizational culture

Work Relationships

The Advocacy Director reports to the Vice President for Programs. Campaign strategy development and implementation is a highly collaborative process at the Alliance, and the Advocacy Director will be responsible for convening policy experts including the Director of Water Resources and Director of Water Infrastructure, and will manage campaign development with the Movement Building team including Directors who lead on communications, media relations, local partnerships, and federal government affairs to align on policy objectives and leverage the team’s diverse skills to advance organizational campaign work. They collaborate as needed with the Finance and Operations Team on project and budget management.

Supervisory Responsibilities

The Advocacy Director is a newly created position and does not currently supervise staff; however, team growth is expected over the next two years with state and sub-regional staff who are directly employed or individuals contracted to support the Alliance.

Physical Demands/Work Environment

This position is remote and will be located within the Great Lakes region, with a preference for a part of the region impacted by current work, and for proximity to a major airport. Overnight travel within the Great Lakes region is required, with an average of once per month. A driver’s license and comfort with solo travel by car is required. If the candidate is in the Chicago area, the Alliance’s downtown headquarters office is available for in-office work.

Knowledge/Skills

• Deep expertise and experience in building and executing successful coalition-driven public campaigns to advance environmental policy goals, with a preference for direct experience in the Great Lakes and/or water space.
• A track record showing successes that address the expressed needs of communities impacted by pollution, water loss, resource degradation and other stressors.
• Trusted relationships and credibility with influential leaders of relevant Great Lakes region stakeholders, including elected and appointed officials, academics, trade associations and businesses, community-based organizations, and NGOs, particularly in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and/or Wisconsin.
• Experience successfully managing campaign teams that include peers and external partners, often working multiple issues in parallel that may compete for resources and attention.
• Solid understanding of state fiscal/budgeting, legislative, and regulatory processes and opportunities to influence decision-making.
• Staff management, mentoring and supervisory experience.
• Experience addressing the needs of major philanthropic foundations.
• Ability to create and communicate information using compelling public speaking and visual tools.
• Commitment to building and managing inclusive internal and external teams that cut across diversities of race, gender, culture, socioeconomic class, political affiliation, and geography.
• Commitment to Alliance values of community, relationships, courage, integrity, and optimism and principles of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice.
• Collaborative, collegial, humble, with a good sense of humor and ability to adapt to diverse work styles; adept at working in teams and independently in both virtual and in-person settings.
• Familiar with Microsoft Office Suite and project management software.
• Undergraduate degree (advanced degree preferred) and 10+ years of experience in public campaign spaces such as policy advocacy, politics, media or marketing.
• The selected candidate must be able to pass a background check.

Job Parameters

• This position is full-time and consistent with Alliance employment policy. The Alliance has defined salary ranges that are evaluated annually, and it is customary for candidates to join at the lower half of the range to leave room for learning and development in the role. It is uncommon for starting salaries to fall above the mid-point. However, because we are specifically seeking a candidate with significantly more experience than the typical baseline for a Director role, we are prepared to offer a higher starting salary than the entry point of the range. The salary range for this position starts at $120,000 and we negotiate salaries with final candidates based on their experience in similar roles and expertise related to the qualifications.

• Excellent benefits, including medical, dental, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, FSA, 11 paid holidays plus the business days between 12/26 and 12/30 (staff who must work on any paid holidays may take those holidays at another time subject to the employee handbook), 3 weeks’ annual vacation to start + PTO, and Fidelity 401(k) with employer match of up to 6% of salary, eligible after 30 days.

• This position can be performed remotely from anywhere within the Great Lakes region, with a preference for a part of the region impacted by current work, and for proximity to a major airport.

Application Process

Please e-mail a cover letter, resume, references, and writing or work sample that demonstrates relevant qualifications to hr@greatlakes.org. Include the job title in the subject line.

Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis starting on October 15, 2025, and until the position is filled. Materials should be compatible with Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat. Applicants will receive confirmation of receipt of their materials, further guidance, and updates about the hiring process by e-mail, with interviews provided for finalists. No phone inquiries, please.

About the Alliance for the Great Lakes

Our vision is a thriving Great Lakes and healthy water that all life can rely on, today and far into the future.

The mission of the Alliance for the Great Lakes is to protect, conserve, and restore the Great Lakes, ensuring healthy water in the lakes and in our communities for all generations of people and wildlife.

To achieve our vision and mission, everyone in our organization will live our values of Community, Relationships, Courage, Integrity and Optimism, and weave the principles of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion into all our work.

 For more information about the Alliance’s programs and work, please visit us online at www.greatlakes.org.

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News - Alliance for the Great Lakes

News - Alliance for the Great Lakes

https://greatlakes.org/2025/10/advocacy-director/

Michelle Farley