What are the responsibilities and job description for the City Policy Coordinator position at Institute for Justice?
The Institute for Justice’s Activism Team seeks a bright and driven person with a passion for cities, entrepreneurship, and municipal policy to join our Cities Work initiative.
Cities Work is dedicated to making it cheaper, faster, and simpler to start and run a small business at the local level by cutting red tape and regulations. We work with entrepreneurs and city officials to reduce barriers to business creation, speed up the startup process, and simplify existing rules and city codes to make it easier to earn an honest living and to empower underserved communities seeking access to entrepreneurship. The City Policy Coordinator will work closely with the Cities Work Team on our efforts to reform laws that create unnecessary barriers for entrepreneurs.
IJ’s multi-faceted Activism team challenges and reforms local and state policies and laws in the areas of economic liberty, property rights, qualified immunity, and access to justice. We change state and local laws, like occupational licensing and local regulations, to make it easier to work and earn an honest living, especially for people of modest means. We fight policies and projects that threaten the rights of property owners to keep what they have worked so hard to own, like eminent domain abuse and civil forfeiture. And we work to hold government officials accountable, by advocating for the end of qualified immunity.
We do this through strategic advocacy in city halls, state legislatures, and communities. We engage decision makers and impacted individuals through outreach, organizing, training, coalition building, public demonstrations, the media, research, policy recommendations, and lobbying.
A successful candidate will have a deep commitment to Cities Work’s mission; be personable, self-motivated, proactive, and eager to learn new skills in a dynamic, fast-paced environment; care about helping people of modest means and from all walks of life; enjoy working with decision makers with diverse perspectives; and be detail-oriented, a critical thinker, and excited about this work. This role is supported by enthusiastic managers, and the position offers unique opportunities for travel, professional development, growth, and long-term advancement. The candidate will join a close-knit team and be expected to work well with others to accomplish our goals.
Primary Responsibilities:
Benefits:
Please submit a resume, writing sample, and cover letter detailing your interest in the position and the Institute for Justice’s mission.
Cities Work is dedicated to making it cheaper, faster, and simpler to start and run a small business at the local level by cutting red tape and regulations. We work with entrepreneurs and city officials to reduce barriers to business creation, speed up the startup process, and simplify existing rules and city codes to make it easier to earn an honest living and to empower underserved communities seeking access to entrepreneurship. The City Policy Coordinator will work closely with the Cities Work Team on our efforts to reform laws that create unnecessary barriers for entrepreneurs.
IJ’s multi-faceted Activism team challenges and reforms local and state policies and laws in the areas of economic liberty, property rights, qualified immunity, and access to justice. We change state and local laws, like occupational licensing and local regulations, to make it easier to work and earn an honest living, especially for people of modest means. We fight policies and projects that threaten the rights of property owners to keep what they have worked so hard to own, like eminent domain abuse and civil forfeiture. And we work to hold government officials accountable, by advocating for the end of qualified immunity.
We do this through strategic advocacy in city halls, state legislatures, and communities. We engage decision makers and impacted individuals through outreach, organizing, training, coalition building, public demonstrations, the media, research, policy recommendations, and lobbying.
A successful candidate will have a deep commitment to Cities Work’s mission; be personable, self-motivated, proactive, and eager to learn new skills in a dynamic, fast-paced environment; care about helping people of modest means and from all walks of life; enjoy working with decision makers with diverse perspectives; and be detail-oriented, a critical thinker, and excited about this work. This role is supported by enthusiastic managers, and the position offers unique opportunities for travel, professional development, growth, and long-term advancement. The candidate will join a close-knit team and be expected to work well with others to accomplish our goals.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Manage day-to-day logistics of the Cities Work initiative, while assisting on long-term project planning to engage in new cities and explore fresh topics.
- Work with the team on advocacy campaigns in cities, meeting and managing relationships with key stakeholders to convince them to champion small business regulatory reform.
- Identify legislative sponsors and help draft proposed ordinances and brief city council policy staff on key Cities Work issue areas.
- Collaborate with city officials within executive agencies to improve regulatory processes on behalf of entrepreneurs.
- Manage research projects that synthesize regulatory best practices from cities across the country, describe and quantify legal pain points for small businesses, and make formal reform recommendations for policymakers.
- Draft and publish internal and external reports, policy papers, op-eds, and other materials on key Cities Work issue areas.
- Facilitate grassroots activism efforts in cities across the country to meet and interview entrepreneurs, lead roundtables, canvass small business corridors, and organize the entrepreneurial ecosystem around regulatory reform.
- Coordinate outreach efforts, manage contacts, and schedule communications with small business owners, policymakers, and other local stakeholders.
- Monitor city and state legislative activity in areas of interest and monitor small business and entrepreneurship reform efforts across the country.
- Assist in further developing the initiative’s online presence and outreach, including social media advertising, branding, and contacting potential leads or contacts for city campaigns.
- Identify new networking, conference, and speaker opportunities, facilitate our participation, and attend.
- Possess exceptional research, writing, and interpersonal skills
- Background and interest in public policy (through curriculum or practice)
- Record of demonstrated initiative and leadership
- Experience, professional or otherwise, with advocacy work and community outreach is a plus, but not necessary.
- Professional or academic experience in management consulting is also a plus.
- Commitment to promoting entrepreneurship and challenging government abuse.
Benefits:
- Hybrid work schedule
- Flexible work hours with our core business hours of 10am to 4pm
- Casual dress code
- Health, Dental, and Vision insurance (IJ covers 100% of individual premiums)
- Free Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, and Life insurance plans
- HSA employer contributions
- 401(k) with employer matches
- Generous PTO including a paid personal day and 12 paid holidays
Please submit a resume, writing sample, and cover letter detailing your interest in the position and the Institute for Justice’s mission.
IJ is an equal opportunity employer.
Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At IJ we value a diverse workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
To learn more about our culture and benefits, visit our Working at IJ page. No phone calls please.
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