Career Center

IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR: Director of Advocacy

CLASSIFICATION: Non-Exempt, hourly

SALARY: $50,000

HYBRID: In office Tuesday - Thursday; remote/work from home Monday and Friday.

BASIC FUNCTION: The policy and advocacy coordinator functions as a crucial member of the advocacy team and is responsible for supporting all advocacy efforts at NACAC by assisting the director of advocacy and other public policy staff with the administrative duties of the department. The Advocacy team provides government relations and advocacy direction for the association. Administrative duties will generally fall into one of the following broad areas of responsibility: advocacy logistical support, member communication, legislative tracking, and general administrative support.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assist with scheduling meetings with external stakeholders including Members of Congress, federal agencies, association members, and coalition partners.
• Support the travel and logistics for advocacy team.
• Assist with preparations of events including compiling, copying, and stuffing folders; sending speaker invitations and follow-ups; and other administrative duties for NACAC advocacy efforts.
• Process requests for information from association members regarding advocacy information.
• Analyze and summarize federal bills that amend the Higher Education Act and Elementary and Secondary Education Act to determine relevance to NACAC's college access agenda, student protection agenda and related issues.
• Collect, analyze, and prepare data and other information to inform policy discussions and priorities.
• Represent the association at meetings of other associations and coalitions related to public policy, as needed.
• Implement communications to federal and state legislatures, including letters and broadcast emails.
• Assist departmental staff by drafting and/or maintaining policy updates and other issue papers.
• Use Bloomberg Government to monitor key votes, current legislation, and updates on Congressional members and their social media for relevant issues.
• Draft and manage action alerts on federal and state issues.
• Manage NACAC’s advocacy Twitter account.
• Draft news articles for bulletin and other NACAC communication tools.
• Blog about policy issues and events.

STRATEGIC DIRECTION:

NACAC is in the process of reinventing itself during a time of disruption for both the college admission profession and higher education associations. New , mission, and values statements, as well as a new organizational structure, will ensure the organization becomes a cutting-edge influencer, leading and supporting the transformation of the college admission profession.

NACAC commits to:

• Leading important initiatives resulting in a more diverse and inclusive student population
• Boldly influencing higher education policy
• Serving as a clearinghouse for readily accessible knowledge sharing, transformative professional development opportunities, and cutting-edge research
• Creating a membership that is reflective of the changing demographics among students
• To ensure the organization’s success, NACAC is committed to being innovative, nimble, and meeting the moment—working at the speed of light to stay ahead of the curve and to lead meaningful and impactful change.

Recently, NACAC staff members participated in strategic visioning sessions to reaffirm, as well as reimagine, its organizational values and guiding principles. The newly developed vision statement and values direct the CEO, the senior leadership group, and staff in their work together as they seek organizational and cultural transformation to better serve NACAC’s membership and external stakeholders, in service of the college admission counseling profession.

Staff Mission Statement:

We are the stewards of, and trusted source for, our diverse membership and the students they champion.

Staff Values:

• Collaboration
• Inclusivity
• Integrity
• Compassion
• Respect
• Innovation

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Strong attention to detail
• Ability to juggle multiple priorities
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office
• Exceptional customer service skills
• Passion for equitable college access
• Strong social media skills
• Strong written communication skills
• Experience on the Hill or state legislature desired (internships count).
• Experience advocating for change at institution, state, and/or federal level desired.

Education/Experience: Bachelor’s Degree (BA, BS, etc.) required. Experience organizing or supporting advocacy efforts desired. Experience working within an education setting (K12 or higher education) desired.

COMPETENCIES:

To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies:

• Interpersonal Skills: Maintains confidentiality; remains open to others’ ideas; exhibits willingness to try new ways of doing things.
• Oral Communication: Speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations; listens and gets clarification.
• Written Communication: Writes clearly and informatively; edits work for spelling and has excellent grammar and proofreading skills; presents numerical data effectively and can read and interpret written information.
• Planning/organizing: Prioritizes and plans work activities; uses time efficiently and develops realistic action plans; meets deadlines and adheres to specific timelines; tracks multiple processes to meet goals for timeliness.
• Quality control: Demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness and looks for ways to improve and promote quality of own work; promotes and upholds office policies and procedures.
• Adaptability: Adapts to changes in the work environment; handles several projects concurrently; is able to deal with frequent change, delays or unexpected events.
• Problem solving: Identifies and resolves problems in a timely manner; gathers and analyzes information skillfully.
• Judgment: Displays willingness to make timely decisions; exhibits high-level, sound and accurate judgment.
• Safety and security: Actively promotes and personally observes safety and security procedures; uses equipment and materials properly.
• Teamwork: Contributes to building a positive team spirit; puts success of team above own interests; supports everyone's efforts to succeed; provides excellent internal and external customer service.
• Diversity: Shows respect and sensitivity for cultural differences; promotes a harassment-free environment.
• Ethics: Treats people with respect and dignity; works with integrity and ethically upholds NACAC’s mission and values.

About National Association for College Admission Counseling

NACAC is the largest association in the world supporting professionals who serve students as they make choices about pursuing postsecondary education. The association works to expand access to higher education through policy, advocacy, convening, education, and training. It has a membership of more than 23,000, comprised of postsecondary admission professionals, high school counselors, independent educational consultants, and others based throughout the United States and globally. NACAC is fortunate to partner with 23 state and regionally based affiliate organizations that share a common mission to serve and support the needs of admission and counseling professionals. In addition, the organization cultivates special interest groups (SIGs). These “micro communities” nurture the growing diversity of interests across the association.

Connections working at National Association for College Admission Counseling