Deputy Director, Policy & Research Institute

DEPARTMENT: Policy and Research Institute REPORTS TO: Director, Policy and Research Institute LOCATION: Washington, DC Bread for the World is a Christian advocacy organization urging U.S. decision makers to do all they can to pursue a world without hunger. Our mission is to educate and equip people to advocate for policies and programs that can help end hunger in the U.S. and around the world. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To assist in providing leadership and management (50%) in the Policy and Research Institute (PRI) department and providing organizational leadership, research, analysis, and writing on domestic or international food insecurity in the U.S. and abroad in order to develop Bread's policy positions and advocacy strategies (50%). PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES/ACTIVITIES: Department Leadership and Management (50%): Under parameters set by the Director, plan and implement on-boarding of new PRI staff, including serving as a liaison to new staff. Assist Director in developing and monitoring department progress against annual departmental work plan, budget, responses to the Evaluation Report, and materials for board committees. Attend meetings in place of the Director as requested; occasionally attend meetings with the Director to facilitate rapid responses. In Director's absence, serve as Acting PRI Director, including approving expenditures and timesheets, sign-on letters, and policy documents, and working with other departments to address issues, e.g., working with Finance and Administration to resolve payroll, budget or staff concerns. Identify need for interns and ensure that the internships provide a learning experience. Provide input to Director for staff evaluations, including providing input for performance improvement plans; at the Directors' discretion, may coach employees in implementing performance improvement plans. Serve as a policy expert and Bread brand ambassador/spokesperson in response to media inquiries and interview requests. Provide cross-departmental thought leadership and coordination for Bread's campaign strategies. Complete administrative requirements such as ensuring the accurate and timely entry of activities into the Raisers Edge database, timesheets, performance evaluations, and Visa reports in an accurate and timely manner. Senior Policy Advisor (50%): Leads Bread for the World's analysis and strategy development on U.S. public policies, food systems and federal nutrition and safety net programs, and equitable outcomes, with special attention to specific populations such as women, racial and ethnic minorities and persons living in rural communities. Carries out research, analysis, and writing on issues related to hunger and malnutrition, as well as plans and executes domestic and possible overseas field research travel in order to develop Bread's policy positions and advocacy strategies. Build coalitions and lead coalition task forces as needed. Provide policy and strategic leadership, recommendations and direction on assigned issue areas. Represent Bread, the President, and Director of PRI at applicable coalition meetings. Conceptualize and design original material for a variety of audiences with a broad impact and explain complex issues including advocacy, research, website, and policy documents as needed. Maintain data for issue areas. Regularly update and educate Bread staff and others through oral and written documents and educational materials on short- and long-term policy strategies. Develop policy-related materials used throughout the organization by various departments (i.e., Organizing and Faith Engagement, Government Relations, Strategic Communications, Development, President). Write policy resources and review publications for accuracy and policy consistency. Answer inquiries as needed by other departments. Perform other duties as assigned. SECONDARY RESPONSIBILITIES/ACTIVITIES: Attend departmental and team meetings and other internal meetings. Assists in the development of grant funding proposals and narrative reports and represents Bread for the World in meetings convened by program officers that are relevant to issue areas covered by this position. Serve as department representative on organizations' task forces, as needed. Provide assistance to policy team (international or domestic). SUPERVISION EXERCISED: Supervises Managing Editor, intern(s) and fellow(s) in the PRI department. SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED: Master's Degree in relevant field or equivalent work experience. Eight years of relevant experience and technical expertise. A minimum of three years of staff supervisory and management experience. Strong knowledge of domestic hunger, poverty, and malnutrition issues, programs and policies. Strong understanding of racial and gender inequities exacerbating hunger and poverty rates and ability to research and communicate viable technical solutions to redress these inequities. Ability to work collegially with diverse religious, racial/ethnic, cultural and income groups Understanding of the federal budget and appropriations process, a plus. Strong analytical skills and attention to detail, including ability to conduct research and in-depth analysis of complex factors related to Bread's issues and to make data-driven recommendations and decisions. Strong written and oral communication skills, including ability to identify and engage target audiences and communicates complex ideas or issues tailored to the audience, using appropriate formats and media. Ability to lead teams, develop collaborative relationships internally and externally which require a high degree of diplomacy and judgment in order to address and resolve substantive conflicts or escalate concerns to senior management. Ability to work independently as performance and outcomes are typically subject to broad organizational review and/or management review. Key initiatives are subject to executive review. Demonstrated commitment to inclusion, diversity, and equity. SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE DESIRED: Experience working or living in low-/middle-income countries. Familiarity with the United States legislative process, U.S. government administrative agencies, and/or multilateral development agencies. Familiarity with a Christian faith perspective on advocacy to end hunger. WORK ENVIRONMENT ISSUES: Must be authorized to work in the U.S. Must be responsive to emails and phone calls off-site during evenings, weekends, and holidays to support time-sensitive matters. This position is based in Washington, DC. Some domestic and international travel is required. Bread is a hybrid organization and local staff are in the office 2 days per week. CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS: Bread is committed to advancing racial equity externally and internally, all staff members play a vital role. In the course of our work, each staff person should work to apply a racial equity lens to their work and practices; and participate in racial equity on-going training. Bread is also committed to being an equal opportunity employer. OUR VALUES: We value our faith. Our faith in Christ is the foundation for our hope, story, mission, and values, and compels us to love our neighbors near and far. We value human flourishing. We believe that every human being, created in the image of God, has inherent dignity that affords an opportunity to be in right relationship with God, self, neighbor, and the environment, and to freely access enough nutritious food for good health. We value justice. We seek to establish effective systems, structures, and policies that affirm equality and advance equity among all human beings and protect people who experience hunger and poverty from oppression. We value courage and prophetic voice. In a spirit of wisdom and love, we will be bold in articulating and pursuing our vision of a world without hunger. We value nonpartisanship. We believe that effective and sustainable public policies are made when, in good faith, we employ a civil and politically unbiased approach to develop and implement laws and programs to achieve our mission. We value collaboration. We believe in working alongside and building community with diverse churches, institutions, and individuals, including people experiencing hunger, to achieve our mission. We value impact. We strive for excellence in our work and hold ourselves and our nation's leaders accountable in the pursuit of public policies that render measurable results and meaningful change for those affected by hunger. DISCLAIMER: Background and reference checks will be conducted on all final candidates. The information in this job description indicates the general nature and level of work expected of employees in this classification. It is not designed to contain, nor to be interpreted as, a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and objectives required of employees assigned to this job.