Leadership role
Director of Advocacy
Directs an organization's advocacy work, such as public policy campaigns and government relations.
Reporting and scope
Typically reports to the Executive Director / CEO, a Chief Policy Officer or a VP of Advocacy / Policy. Authority covers the advocacy agenda and campaigns, within policy positions approved by the board.
Core responsibilities
- Drafts the policy agenda and recommends positions for board approval
- Plans and runs advocacy campaigns, coalitions and grassroots mobilization
- Mobilizes members, volunteers and clients to contact decision makers
- Tracks lobbying time and spending so the organization stays within its limits and reports lobbying correctly on the Form 990
- Prepares testimony, comment letters and policy briefs
- Works with communications on media and public campaigns tied to policy goals
How it differs
Director of Government Affairs concentrates on direct relationships with officials and legislative tracking, while Director of Advocacy usually leads broader public and grassroots campaigns. VP of Advocacy / Policy and Chief Policy Officer are the executive tiers above.
By organization size
In small organizations the role is often one person doing policy research, coalition work and lobbying together. Larger organizations split it into policy, government affairs and grassroots teams, and may run a separate 501(c)(4) affiliate for advocacy.
Filings from the last five years mapped to this role commonly report titles such as: Director of Advocacy; Director of Government Relations; Advocacy Director; Director of Public Policy; Public Policy Director; Dir of Advocacy