Organization Overview
The LEAD NC Institute (501c3) and LEAD NC Forward (501c4) exist to seek out, encourage and cultivate a new generation of community and civic leaders for North Carolina. We focus on leadership development for North Carolinians who strongly support the following ideals:
● All of North Carolina’s children deserve access to a quality and equitable public education that is adequately funded, as guaranteed by the state Constitution.
● Both private enterprise and government are essential for creating opportunity and growth, and our economy should work for everyone, not just those at the top.
● In order to provide energy that is critical to North Carolina's economic growth and well-being, we must develop cleaner, more renewable forms of energy while protecting our natural resources and ensuring a healthy and safe environment for current and future generations.
● North Carolina citizens have the right to accessible and fair elections free of unnecessary obstacles and intimidation.
● Women have the right to decide if and when they will have a child, and everyone has the right to parent the children they already have in safe environments and healthy communities.
● The unique mission and purpose of government is to promote the public interest and help create a high quality of life and community well-being.
We are committed to creating a nonpartisan leadership development model that works to address structural and racial inequities. This commitment includes not only our responsibility to recruit and train a cohort of leaders that reflects the changing demographics of North Carolina, but also to develop a greater understanding among civic leaders of inequalities based on race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and citizenship.
Position Overview
The Program Associate will be an integral part of the LEAD NC team, reporting to the Executive Director. The Program Associate will provide administrative, event planning, logistical,and organizational support for the organization, as well as undertake special projects and various other duties as needed and assigned.
Primary Responsibilities
● Assist with scheduling and supporting meetings, trainings, workshops and events, including managing registrations, preparing materials, coordinating with speakers and guests, staffing events, booking venues and managing an event budget.
● Provide organizational support with data management, helping to manage google drive and CRM.
● Ensure LEAD’s processes run smoothly and are aligned with partner expectations by thinking through details when partners are involved and making sure to address any pain points.
● Provide communications support, including support for social media, email newsletters, marketing campaigns, and some content development.
● Oversee website maintenance.
● Assist with donor research and keep track of grant application and reporting deadlines. Assist with grant writing on an as needed basis.
● Other duties as needed and assigned. This is a field sweeper position– one where you may be called upon one day to coordinate a meeting with partner organizations and the next you may be asked to work a sign in table or help write a grant.
Approach
● Thoughtful, strategic leadership combined with the energy to do the day-to-day work of program delivery;
● Commitment to progressive, inclusive leadership, including valuing work with diverse coalitions and communities;
● Highly relational, with a strong belief in the importance of relationship-building for success, both internally and externally;
● Tenacious and flexible, with a “getting to a yes” attitude and a propensity for working through roadblocks and achieving your goals
● Openness to an environment of innovation, collaboration, and giving and receiving feedback for continuous learning, evolution, and improvement – committed to building your own skills as well as building the skills and capacity of your colleagues
● Deep and demonstrated commitment to racial, social, economic and gender justice.
Experience and Skills
● Proven experience providing administrative support, with a preferred 2-3 years of combined experience.
● Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communications skills
● Excellent organizational skills, including experience with handling logistics for meetings and events and ability to juggle multiple deadlines and priorities.
● Ability to work independently and manage multiple assignments at once, and take ownership over assignments to see them through to completion.
● Experience with using Canva, Google Suite, and EveryAction (or ActionBuilder), or willingness to learn them quickly.
● Willingness to work non-standard hours, including weekends, and travel within North Carolina when required
● Preference for someone who has worked or volunteered in the political realm in NC. Experience working on a campaign is a plus.