State Director of Public Affairs

State Director of Public Affairs

Hiring Manager: Jared Cain, Senior Vice President of External Affairs

Location: Massachusetts

Role Tier: 5 – Head

About Us

We are a national movement of nearly 40,000 teachers working together to build a high‑quality, diverse teaching profession with the resources and conditions to help every student thrive. Founded by public school teachers, Educators for Excellence focuses on research, development of educator‑informed solutions, building teacher power, and advocating for policy change at district, state, and national levels.

What We Do

Our work is grounded in the belief that the teaching profession is one of the most vital forces shaping our shared future and that educators must be at the center of shaping public‑education policies and systems. We develop teacher leadership and advocate for policies that promote a high‑quality, diverse workforce.

• Building strong and sustainable career pathways.
• Creating coherent systems of instructional support.
• Funding public schools fully and equitably.

The Opportunity

Educators for Excellence is seeking a State Director of Public Affairs to serve as the senior political and strategic lead for our policy campaigns in Massachusetts.

As part of E4E’s national leadership team, you will set political strategy, policy positioning, and manage relationships necessary to advance our national issue agenda at the state and local level. You will be the public‑facing leader of E4E’s operations in Massachusetts, engaging policymakers, officials, coalition partners, program staff, and media.

This high‑impact, externally‑focused leadership role partners closely with the national team to ensure campaigns are grounded in teacher leaders’ perspectives and a strong political strategy for policy wins.

You will oversee a local fellowship of teacher leaders who inform, drive, and act on campaign priorities, and coordinate centralized campaign operations and support across communications, digital, organizing, and policy functions.

Responsibilities

Set Political Strategy and Campaign Vision and Direction

• Analyze the state and/or local political landscape to identify opportunities, assess constraints, and advise on viable pathways for teacher‑led policy change aligned with E4E’s national agenda.
• Define the strategy and contextualized theory of change for state‑level or local issue advocacy campaigns in partnership with the National Director of State Campaigns.
• Right‑size campaigns based on political conditions, organizational capacity, and coalition alignment.
• Lead assessment and recommendations on legislative pathways, timing, and decision‑making that lead to success.

Anchor Campaigns in Educator Voice

• Partner with the National Director of State Campaigns to develop strong teacher‑leader fellowships that shape and drive issue advocacy campaigns in Massachusetts.
• Ensure educator voice and priorities shape issue advocacy strategy and vision.
• Support and develop issue advocacy skills and competencies in fellowships, ensuring a strong bench of campaign surrogates.

Serve as the External Spokesperson of E4E in Massachusetts

• Represent E4E publicly with policymakers, state officials, media, local elected officials, and other stakeholders.
• Build and maintain deep relationships with legislators, administration officials, coalition partners, and opinion leaders.
• Shape and deliver messages that reflect political realities while advancing E4E goals.
• Position E4E as a credible, leading voice in shaping education policy across the state.

Build and Lead Strategic Coalitions and Government Affairs

• Build, lead, and sustain strategic coalitions aligned to campaign priorities and E4E’s agenda.
• Develop and manage strong relationships with elected officials and stakeholders who influence policy decisions.
• Navigate complex political dynamics and opposition to maintain coalition alignment, build political capital, and advance viable pathways to success.
• Manage external lobbyists and government‑affairs partners, ensuring strategic alignment with campaign goals.

Drive Political Communications and Positioning

• Inform messaging strategy in collaboration with campaign communications staff to ensure alignment with teacher leaders and opposition context.
• Partner with SVP Campaigns and Public Affairs to maintain strategic, disciplined messaging.
• Drive E4E’s public narrative and positioning in Massachusetts, especially during high‑stakes moments—through earned, owned, and paid media collaboration.

Contribute to Fundraising Strategy and Support Funder Relationships

• Help represent local work with funders, foundations, and donors aligned with E4E’s policy priorities.
• Provide strategy insights to the national development team that support donor relationships and new prospects.
• Advise on alignment between fundraising strategies, donor management, and campaign priorities.
• Ensure timely execution of grant deliverables and clear communications for internal and external fundraising efforts.

Minimum Requirements

• 10+ years of professional experience, including at least 5 years in education policy.
• Proven track record designing and leading issue advocacy campaigns, ideally at the state level or in a large urban local government.
• Deep experience operating in fast‑paced, complex, highly political environments.
• Additional electoral campaign experience preferred.

Transportation and Work Schedule

• Work primarily from office or home office; ~20% travel required.
• Time divided between office meetings and independent task execution.
• Willingness to work occasional weekends and evenings for programmatic events.
• Willingness to travel nationally to meet staff.

Core Values

• Responsiveness: We keep each other in the loop to keep work moving forward.
• Inclusiveness: We make space at the table for all so everyone feels they belong.
• High Quality Work: We ensure all deliverables meet our standard of excellence.
• Ownership: We take part in finding solutions for the problems we identify.
• Equity: We look for opportunities to redistribute power in response to inequity.
• Evaluation and Reflection: We celebrate success and show growth in ourselves and our work.

Positional Skills

• Setting Vision & Direction: Establishes a clear vision, sets measurable goals, and develops teams to maintain alignment.
• Leading Change: Identifies shifts, involves stakeholders, promotes buy‑in, and adjusts as needed.
• Setting & Managing Expectations: Clarifies outcomes and delegates with productive cadence.
• Influencing & Motivating: Inspires committed action and operates effectively amid opposition.
• Making Decisions & Demonstrating Judgment: Makes strategic decisions, mitigates risk, and exercises discernment.
• Cultivating Relationships & Collaborating: Builds rapport, shares expertise, and engages stakeholders quickly.
• Thrives in a matrixed campaign environment without direct people management.

Functional Knowledge

• Experience in legislative, state, or local issue advocacy campaigns; intergovernmental affairs; or within the Legislature.
• Excellent ability to translate policy expertise into campaign messaging tailored across audiences.
• Strong background in communications and public speaking, especially in issue advocacy.
• Additional experience in electoral campaigns.
• Comfortable as public leader and face of E4E in Massachusetts with media engagement.
• Well‑established relationships with policymakers, advocates, opinion leaders, and stakeholders in the state.
• Experience managing and/or working with lobbyists.
• Deep network in state and local politics.
• Familiarity with teachers’ unions and education policy dynamics.
• Experience navigating state‑level politics, ideally with legislature, executive branch, or local elected officials.
• Strong understanding of how policy wins are achieved from introduction to passage.
• Dialed into local political conditions and dynamics, and hyper aware of issue framing.

Benefits

Educators for Excellence offers benefits to support self‑care, wellness, and financial stability, including paid time off, health insurance plans, competitive salaries that include pre‑tax benefits, and cell phone reimbursements.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Educators for Excellence is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on any protected characteristic. E4E has zero tolerance for discrimination, racism, xenophobia, or misogyny in any form. We strive to create a workplace where everyone feels a strong sense of belonging.

Compensation Policy

We do not engage in salary negotiations; our first offer is always our best offer.

Salary Bands (by Geographic Area)

• $153,000 – $218,000 for High Urban locations (NYC and San Francisco)
• $138,000 – $196,000 for Mid‑High Urban locations (LA and Boston)
• $132,000 – $188,000 for all other locations

COVID‑19 Vaccination Policy

All new employees must comply with E4E’s mandatory COVID‑19 vaccination policy. Employees must be fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the requisite number of doses. An exemption can be requested for medical reasons or a sincerely held religious belief. E4E follows state requirements that may change over time.

Accommodations

We are committed to an inclusive interview experience and to providing reasonable accommodations. To request an accommodation, email

EEOC Questionnaire

The EEOC questionnaire focuses on recruiting staff who share the backgrounds of the communities we serve. All applicants are encouraged to complete it as part of the application process. It helps ensure a diverse candidate pool. Applicants will not be asked for race or identifying information during the hiring process.

Application

The position is Full Time and currently Open.

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