Public Policy Advocate

At the North Carolina Budget & Tax Center, we envision a state where every person can reach their full potential and achieve well-being through the support of trustworthy, anti-racist institutions and systems that we all participate in building.

The NC Budget & Tax Center is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that works to document fiscal and economic conditions in communities to support the work of people, organizations, and government to advance solutions to poverty and pursue racial equity.

The Public Policy Advocate Role

The Public Policy Advocate builds strategic partnerships with advocacy organizations, coalitions and community based organizations and policymaker understanding and will for a state budget and policies that reduce poverty, advance well-being, and establish an anti-racist social contract.

The Public Policy Advocate will manage and schedule legislative meetings, support advocacy trainings and events, and conduct various types of activities to support policy campaigns at the state and local level in collaboration with organizational partners and individuals.

The Public Policy Advocate will work on a variety of projects, depending on the emerging needs of the organization. This is a permanent position, and likely areas of work in the near-term include:

• Supporting the development and implementation of policy campaigns focused on keeping the income tax, advancing tax credits for workers and families, and removing barriers to access anti-poverty programs for people so that they are effectively and equitably supported to achieve greater financial security;
• Collaborating with local communities seeking to advance local budget campaigns on a range of issues from housing to childcare to job quality; and
• Deepening the commitment of policymakers at the state and local level to a proactive vision for state and local policy informed by people directly impacted.

The Policy Advocate is supervised by the Legislative Advocacy & Campaigns Manager, who sets the strategic direction and prioritization for the work.

Core Job Responsibilities:

• Build policymaker and partner will for economic policy that advances solutions to poverty and racial equity, including building equitable revenue and adequate investment in public programs and services that extend access to opportunity to all.
• Support the development and implementation of policy campaigns focused on BTC policy priorities and own special campaigns with significant responsibility for coordinating, building, and maintaining partnerships, planning and internal communication to align internal and external stakeholders to shared
• Build and deepen partnerships that advance the goal of connecting those directly impacted by poverty and historically excluded, with the policy process and widen understanding of fiscal and budgetary issues and engagement with the budget process among direct service and policy organizations.
• Support the production of educational materials that analyze legislative proposals and make legislative advocacy accessible to organizational and community partners all over North Carolina.
• Collaborate with colleagues to respond to requests and advance shared goals around state fiscal policy, general state budget priorities, and taxation, when and as
• Actively participate in team activities including those related to planning and program execution, staff development, partner support or other topics as they arise and as and advancing racial equity at the organization.

To be considered for this role, candidates will have demonstrated skills in analysis of policy proposals and advocacy focused on lawmakers with effective collaboration with partners and mobilization of the public. This can include:

• A master’s degree and at least one year of relevant work or volunteer experience
• A bachelor’s degree and at least two years of relevant work or volunteer experience
• At least three years of work or volunteer experience in a policy or advocate role

Please let us know if you additionally have familiarity with the North Carolina legislative and budget process and knowledge of the landscape of organizations working on economic, social and racial justice in our state.

To Be Successful In This Role, You Are:

• Passionate about making North Carolina a place where public policy advances the well-being of all people and communities, as well as trustworthy, anti-racist institutions.
• Interested in the policy areas that our organization works on, including state taxes and public policies that support people with low and moderate incomes.
• Flexible and can adjust your plans to meet emerging needs.
• Committed to authentic and equitable collaboration with co-workers and external partners.

Key Skills: We recognize that candidates may not be equally strong in all skill areas and may have additional qualifications that aren’t listed here. If you are excited about this position, we encourage you to apply and to tell us in your cover letter why you think you’re a great candidate. 

• You have demonstrated skills in public policy campaign development and implementation, including a track record of partnership building and advocacy at the local or state level.
• You have relevant issue area policy expertise anddemonstrated attention to policy detail, and understanding of legislative procedure and rules.
• You have command of effective project management and balancing multiple tasks and prioritizing work that has the greatest impact for the goal.
• You are very organized and pay close attention to detail. You have experience prioritizing tasks to meet competing deadlines.
• You are an excellent written and verbal communicator and can distill complex policy analysis into meaningful and actionable findings.