Policy Director/Legislative Counsel

Across the nation, Compassion & Choices works to create a society that affirms life and accepts the inevitability We envision a society where everyone receives state-of-the-art care at the end of life, and a full range of choices for dying in comfort, dignity and control. We engage our mission through three main pillars of service: end-of-life consultation, educational programs, and legislative/legal advocacy.

This position is primarily responsible for developing, drafting and maintaining legislative policy in collaboration with program staff. This position, consistent with the mission and objectives of Compassion & Choices, will advance person-directed care and work to align a person’s values and priorities with the treatment they receive at the end of life.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities : Core duties and responsibilities include the following (other duties may be assigned):

Analyze legal problems and policy issues and devise, draft and present legislatively appropriate responses consistent with the organization’s policy positions and advocacy strategy, including drafting model legislation, amendments to legislation, and administrative rules.
Conduct policy research and draft or review a range of materials including testimony, briefings, statements, alerts to ensure they are evidence based, accurate and represent C&C’s positions.
Monitor policies and studies related to end of life care and choice to identify opportunities for Compassion & Choices to influence the health policy and media landscape.
Develop policy rebuttals to opposition materials.
Understand state government, legislative policies and procedures, and administrative rule making.
Manage legislative tracking software and coordinate coverage to monitor legislative activities.
Represent and speak on behalf of Compassion & Choices at legislative hearings, professional healthcare organizations, task forces, councils and committees as needed.
Communicate complex ideas and concepts both verbally and in writing in a clear, concise and persuasive manner.
Work with internal and external stakeholders to advocate for a common goal with experience serving as a bridge between principled advocacy and the political reality of moving legislation forward.
Work independently in a collaborative environment and under sometimes extreme time pressures, including working long hours as priorities require.
Work effectively with legislators, their staff, agency personnel, lobbyists and the public. Relationships should be sustained at a nonpartisan, professional level.
Monitor industry and government activity with potential impact on organizational goals.
Conduct research and policy analysis to determine threats and opportunities in pending initiatives, and develop policy, legislative and project proposals.
Research, write and review policy positions and fact sheets on end of life issues.
Build C&C’s capacity to quickly and effectively respond to legislative needs throughout the country.
Promote national policy internally and externally. Draft materials such as toolkits, brochures, talking points, press releases,op-eds.
Support of all C&C efforts as requested; including, but not limited to, activities such as identifying prospects, briefingdonors, alerting staff of fundraising opportunities, reaching out to donors, participating in phone-athons, etc.
Timely and accurate completion of related reports (such as company credit card statement, performance reviews, time cards, etc.).
Demonstrates commitment to and active support of C&C’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion program.
Other duties as required.
Supervisory Responsibilities: Directly supervises legislative interns and executive volunteers.

Values: Must be energized by the idea of working at an organization with the following values:

Compassionate in our conviction that dying patients should be free of unwanted treatment, suffering or outside interference.
Respectful of the autonomy of individuals to decide what end-of-life options are best for them and their family.
Courageous in our willingness to confront the toughest end-of-life health challenges, disrupt the broken status quo and protect an individual’s right to self-determination.
Credible in all our education, advocacy and partnerships — our efforts are grounded in objective research and demonstrable facts.
Resilient in our capacity to respond to opportunities and threats in the movement so that we can achieve our vision as quickly as possible.
Competencies: To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate these competencies:

Critical Thinking - Ability to actively and skillfully analyze information and convert that analysis into effective and efficient solutions; Develops ideas to achieve organizational goals; Exhibits sound and accurate judgment; Supports and explains reasoning for decisions; Includes appropriate people in decision making process.
Adaptability - Adapts to changes in the work environment. Manages competing demands. Changes approach or method to best fit the situation. Able to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events.
Dependability - Follows instructions, responds to management direction. Takes responsibility for own actions. Keeps commitments. Commits to long hours of work when necessary to reach goals. Completes tasks on time or notifies appropriate person with an alternate plan.
Initiative - Volunteers readily. Undertakes self-development activities. Seeks increased responsibilities. Takes independent actions and calculated risks. Looks for and takes advantage of opportunities. Asks for and offers help when needed.
Interpersonal Skills - Works well with others. Ability to communicate effectively with a diverse audience. Focuses on solving conflict, not blaming. Remains open to others' ideas and tries new things. Accepts feedback from others. Gives appropriate recognition to others. Maintains confidentiality.
Professionalism - Approaches others in a tactful manner. Reacts well under pressure. Treats others with respect and consideration regardless of their status or position. Accepts responsibility for own actions. Follows through on commitments.
Oral Communication - Speaks persuasively in positive or negative situations. Listens and gets clarification. Responds well to questions. Demonstrates group presentation skills. Participates in meetings.
Problem Solving - Identifies and resolves problems promptly. Gathers and analyzes information skillfully. Develops alternative solutions. Works well in group problem solving situations. Uses reason even when dealing with emotional topics.
Written Communication - Writes informatively. Edits work for spelling and grammar. Varies writing style to meet needs. Presents numerical data effectively. Able to read and interpret written information.
Analytical - Synthesizes complex or diverse information. Collects and researches data. Uses intuition and experience to complement data. Designs workflows and procedures.