Hiring: Advocacy and Policy Manager

UPDATE: 2/16/22 – This position has been filled.

Bike Cleveland is in search of an Advocacy & Policy Manager to assist with our advocacy and community organizing work. You can download the full job posting here.

Deadline: Open until filled. Posted on January 10th, 2022
Status: Full-time, exempt salary
Reports to: Executive Director
Location: 3000 Bridge Ave, Cleveland, OH 44113

About Us
Bike Cleveland is a growing team of active transportation professionals working collaboratively to create a region that is sustainable, connected, healthy, and vibrant by promoting bicycling and advocating for safe and equitable transportation for all. We believe that to build a community in which active transportation is barrier free we must:

  • Embrace creative solutions that increase biking, walking, and the use of public transit to improve health, vibrancy, and quality of life for all Greater Cleveland residents.
  • Ensure All residents and visitors have safe access to a low-stress bike, walk and public transit network that connect people with where they need and want to go.
  • Educate people about the important role transportation choice and recreation options play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving air quality and the health of Greater Clevelanders, while also promoting active lifestyles and vibrant communities.
  • Listen to and actively engage all people in shaping our work and the region’s transportation infrastructure to ensure we are building a system that meets the needs of diverse users.
  • Be fiscally, ethically, professionally, and environmentally responsible with our resources.
  • Harness the power of the community and civic leaders to effect change through open communication, collaboration, building trust, and diverse engaged public participation.

We highly encourage you to learn about our organizations mission, vision, values and commitment to equity, as well as our strategic plan: https://www.bikecleveland.org/about/mission/

Bike Cleveland aligns its advocacy and education programs with social equity and community improvement and strives to embrace the power of a strong engaged membership to achieve its mission. Internally, our culture is collaborative and supportive encouraging risk-taking, excellence, and constant learning. You will work hard, have fun, and make a lasting impact on the community by lending your expertise to a variety of innovative projects.

Position Description
The Advocacy and Policy Manager position is best for someone who is highly organized, thinks strategically, and can distill complicated information into digestible materials for public consumption. It’s also a great fit if you like to be in charge of your own projects, can manage many logistics at once, enjoy collaboration with partners and with community members, can connect the importance of engaging all people in our advocacy work to carrying out our mission, and can creatively solve problems. The ideal candidate has a strong sense of social equity, is passionate about promoting social mobility through transportation choices, and knows how to breathe deeply when managing stressful situations. This position will require working nights and weekends.

Position Duties
Strategy (40%)

  • Develop and lead implementation of short and long term strategic advocacy plans for improved mobility across Greater Cleveland by integrating policy, communications, organizing, and development strategies.
  • Conduct policy research on priority issues relevant to Bike Cleveland, and its local chapters, and serve as an in-house expert.
  • Establish and advance relationships with elected officials, key leaders and policymakers, and related governmental bodies at the state, local, and federal levels to support advocacy efforts.
  • Identify, track, and analyze various administrative, infrastructure, and legislative proposals at the local, regional and state levels.
  • Research and draft various materials including issue specific tool-kits and fact-sheets.
  • Monitor policy and infrastructure projects on an on-going basis to inform advocacy objectives.

Organizing and Coalition Building (40%)

  • Mobilize our membership, diverse advocates, and community partners to increase connectivity of our bike network and advance policies that help reach our advocacy goals.
  • Coordinate efforts across staff and internal committees and grow Bike Cleveland’s base of support for priority issues through strategic public education and advocacy tactics.
  • Grow Bike Cleveland’s role in coalition advocacy through building relationships and demonstrating policy/infrastructure expertise.
  • Represent Bike Cleveland at stakeholder meetings, legislative hearings, community forums, and other public events.
  • Speak publicly at state and local forums, conferences, meetings, and to the media.
  • Inspire people to participate in and advocate for making Cleveland a safer place to ride a bike.

Administrative/Other Duties (20%)

  • Answer the phone, emails, attend meetings.
  • Works on special projects as needed.
  • Ability to work a varied, flexible schedule including several evenings and weekends.
  • Staff volunteer/board committees

Experience and Qualifications
The ideal candidate has:

  • At least one year experience in community organizing, public policy, urban planning, or related field.
  • Understands basics of the relationship between policy, built environment, and public health
  • Ability to work independently while managing multiple priorities.
  • Ability to think strategically and be able to manage several projects at one time.
  • High energy, great people skills, and an ability to have fun with work.
  • Attention to detail and ability to follow through with tasks.
  • Excellent written, presentation and verbal communications skills.
  • Ability to network, build trust, and build working relationships with diverse groups.
  • Proficient computer skills including social networking sites, word processing, website management and database software.
  • A strong desire to make Greater Cleveland more bike-friendly.
  • Ability to work both remotely and in an office setting.

We would really like you to have these extra qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
  • Experience working with Salesforce database software.
  • Experience working on advocacy campaigns and an understanding of basics of the political process.
  • Knowledge of Greater Cleveland and a comfort working in neighborhoods with low socio-economic conditions.
  • Connections to organizations, businesses and communities in Cleveland, especially those who are not yet as engaged in bicycling activities.
  • Knowledge of the economic, health, safety, social, and environmental benefits of bicycling and basic knowledge of how to improve bicycling.

Salary and benefits
Depending on experience and skills the benefits package is between $45,000-$53,000 including health care, retirement contribution and paid vacation.

How to Apply
For us to better understand why you are the best fit for this position, you need provide us with the following items sent to jobs@bikecleveland.org:

  • Cover letter explaining your interest in the job as well as your qualifications
  • Resume
  • 3-5 References
  • No hard copies or phone calls please. 

Commitment to Equity and Equal Opportunity

Bike Cleveland’s work is for people biking and walking in the Greater Cleveland area, with a focus on ensuring that our work addresses the needs of Greater Clevelanders who have historically been marginalized by transportation system decisions. Historical and systemic transportation policies and practices have created inequitable conditions and marginalized many in our community. Bike Cleveland is committed to challenging these historic transportation policies, its own history and practices, as well as that of our members and affiliates.

Bike Cleveland has a commitment to support diversity and equal opportunity in its services, administration, employment, and programs. In recruiting for our organization, we welcome the life experiences that are shaped in part by race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, education, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, genetics, disability, age, languages spoken, or veteran’s status.

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