The Affiliate Support and Advocacy Department of the ACLU’s National Office in New York City Seeks Advocacy and Policy Counsel
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (ACLU), founded in 1920, is a nationwide, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with more than 500,000 members dedicated to the principles of liberty and equality embodied in the U.S. Constitution. The Affiliate Support and Advocacy Department of the ACLU’s National Office in New York City seeks a full-time Advocacy and Policy Counsel.
Through its affiliates, members, and national staff, the ACLU has a presence in every state across the country. Each affiliate works with its state’s legislature and policymakers to further the protection and advancement of civil liberties.
Reporting to the Director of Advocacy and Policy, the Advocacy and Policy Counsel will focus on supporting nationwide state-based advocacy to advance state legislative and public policy priorities. The Advocacy and Policy Counsel will be part of an integrated team, including litigators, advocacy staff, communications specialists, and federal lobbyists, and work closely with ACLU affiliates. The Advocacy and Policy Counsel’s work will primarily be with the ACLU’s Center for Justice’s Initiative to End Overincarceration, which seeks an end to excessively harsh crime policies that result in mass incarceration and stand in the way of a just and equal society. State legislative and public policy advocacy will focus on the reform of state pre-trial practices, drug laws, sentencing schemes, and parole and probation policies.
The Advocacy and Policy Counsel is a non-litigating attorney position for a lawyer with exceptional analytical and writing abilities. The Advocacy and Policy Counsel will devise and execute nationwide state-based advocacy strategies, assess emerging policy trends, and mobilize affiliates across the country. Work will include drafting state legislation and legislative amendments, preparing state legislative advocacy materials, researching legal issues related to state legislation, and assisting in identifying litigation opportunities.
For information regarding responsibilities, qualifications, compensation and how to apply, please visit the ACLU website.