Director of Public Policy

Organization Background/Culture

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) is the nation’s oldest and large non-profit advocacy organization for the Hindu American community, representing over 3.5 million Hindu Americans. Established in 2003, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) is the pre-eminent voice for Hindu Americans.

HAF advances the understanding of Hinduism to secure the rights and dignity of Hindu Americans now and for generations to come by providing:

• accurate and engaging educational resources about Hinduism and Hindu Americans


• impactful trainings, advocacy and services that protect and promote religious liberty, free expression, equality and justice


• critical and creative programs empowering Hindu Americans to sustain their culture and identity

Position Summary

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) is seeking an experienced, full-time Director of Public Policy (DPP) to lead the foundation’s Advocacy Department. The ideal candidate will be a strategic thinker, overseeing policy staff and spearheading policy strategy on a wide range of advocacy initiatives and programs, including hate crimes, education, healthcare, social justice, immigration, human rights, and combating extremism. This is a remote position.

Essential Duties

The ideal candidate will be hard-working, dependable, detail-oriented, able to work independently or as part of a team, professional with strong leadership, communication, and writing skills. We are looking for a professional who wants to make a difference and contribute to HAF’s mission in the field of advocacy and public policy. The successful candidate will be able to perform the following duties with or without reasonable accommodations:

• Research, track, and analyze current events as well as key state, local, federal, and international policy and legislation relevant to Hindu Americans


• Develop local, state, and federal policy strategy for HAF, including developing advocacy campaigns, coordinating government outreach, and collaborating with strategic coalitions, as well as lead rapid strategic response in a fast-paced, ever changing policy environment.


• Work closely with the Managing Director (Policy and Programs), Executive Director, and other relevant staff to develop and implement goals for local, state, and federal policy priorities 


• Work closely with the Director of Research, Religion and Data to analyse research and evaluate data to develop policy strategies, incorporate data into deliverables, identify gaps in community needs, and explore opportunities for engagement.


• Work collaboratively with other department leadership, including Legal, Communications, Education, and Marketing


• Manage Advocacy Department direct staff reports, including research fellows and policy analysts.


• Writing both long and short form policy white papers and documents, including but not limited to legislation analysis, policy briefs, fact sheets and talking points documents, toolkits, and reports.


• Cultivate and maintain relationships with relevant state, local and federal offices and agencies, coalition partners, community leaders, strategic contacts and other key stakeholders to advance HAF’s policy priorities 


• Oversee advocacy department programming, including community trainings, briefings for policy stakeholders, webinars and other virtual events. 
  
  

Required Skills and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Law, Political Science, Public Policy, Government, International Relations, Religion, History, Anthropologies, Humanities, Human Rights, South Asian Studies or related field.


• 3-5 years of work experience in advocacy, think tank, a state/local/federal government office, policy research, government relations, law or a related field.


• Recent advanced degree graduates and 1-3 years work experience will be considered


• Strong research and analytical skills to evaluate political landscapes, think strategically, develop policy recommendations, plan advocacy campaigns and lead community policy programming. 


• Strong short and long form writing skills to prepare policy briefs, reports, letters, campaigns, and other policy white papers.


• Ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences and stakeholders to advance the organization’s positions in meetings and other settings


• Ability to build coalitions and relationships with other advocacy organizations, government offices, community leaders, strategic contacts, and other key policy stakeholders.


• Highly organized and detail oriented to juggle multiple projects and priorities simultaneously in a fast-paced environment


• Collaborates well in a close-knit team environment and can complete tasks independently when necessary


• Experience managing cross-departmental projects with teams across time zones, including teams comprised of peers, supervisors, and supervisees


• Comfortable with public speaking and being an external-facing presence.


• Fluency in online platforms such as Google suite, Zoom, etc.
  
  

Preferred But Not Required:

• Master’s/graduate degree in Law, Political Science, Public Policy, International Relations, Human Rights, or related field


• Working knowledge of Hinduism, the Hindu diaspora, South Asia, India or Indic languages preferred but not required.


• Experience with legislation tracking and grassroots advocacy software preferred but not required


• Demonstrated data literacy skills, including understanding of data sources, strong grasp of analytical methods, and ability to communicate data driven insights


• Based in the Eastern Time Zone
  
  

Physical Requirements:

To perform the essential duties of this role, incumbents must be able to perform the following activities with or without accommodations:

• Sit or stand for prolonged periods.


• Operate computer, including viewing a computer monitor, for extended periods.


• Drive a vehicle, whether owned or rented.


• Travel periodically by air or train.

PLEASE NOTE: This job description is not meant to cover or include all the tasks, duties, or responsibilities the employee may be required to perform.  The listed duties, activities, and requirements can change at any time, with or without notice.