Vice President of Policy and Advocacy

General Summary:

The Vice President of Policy and Advocacy will oversee Texans Care for Children’s policy development and advocacy campaigns across multiple issue areas (early learning, child protection, mental health, and maternal and child health) to build momentum for policy solutions that improve the lives of Texas children and families.

The VP of Policy and Advocacy will assume direct leadership of the Policy Team, supervise each policy issue area Director, and foster a collaborative, supportive, and outcomes-driven team culture. The VP of Policy and Advocacy will serve as a member of the leadership team and will be a thought partner to the CEO, helping shape the organization’s strategic plan and future vision. This position is full-time and based in Austin, Texas.

About Texans Care for Children:

Texans Care for Children is a statewide, 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan, multi-issue children’s advocacy organization based in Austin, Texas. We develop policy solutions, produce research, and engage Texas community leaders to educate policymakers, the media, and the public about what works to improve the well-being of Texas children and families.

Texans Care for Children is an equal opportunity employer. We actively seek to build an organization that reflects the diversity of the population we serve.

About This Opportunity:

The VP of Policy and Advocacy position represents an intentional transition in organizational leadership. They will assume day-to-day leadership of the policy team while the CEO focuses on the organization’s broader strategic direction. The incoming VP will need to develop fluency across multiple issue areas, quickly earn the trust of an experienced team, and serve as a genuine thought partner to senior leadership.

The right candidate understands that effective advocacy in Texas requires more than policy expertise. It requires sound political judgment and the ability to protect the organization’s credibility across a politically diverse landscape. Texans Care for Children’s value in the policy space is grounded in its rigor, nonpartisanship, and trustworthiness, and the VP of Policy and Advocacy will be expected to advance that reputation. They will also need to navigate a dynamic legislative environment with agility, understanding the organization’s unique contribution within a crowded policy space.

This is fundamentally a people leadership role. The VP of Policy and Advocacy manages through trust, leads with empathy, and sets clear expectations while holding the team to a high standard. They communicate directly and honestly, navigate conflict with confidence, and create the conditions for staff to do their best work. They bring strong project management discipline and the ability to work independently while remaining deeply collaborative across departments.

Responsibilities:

Policy Development and Advocacy Strategy:

• Lead the development of the organization’s comprehensive, equitable legislative agenda and advocacy efforts, including managing the development and overall execution of policy team work plans, legislative strategies, and administrative advocacy for a policy team of 6-8 team members.
• Provide strategic oversight of advocacy campaigns to ensure they leverage research, coalition building, story collection, media outreach, community engagement, and policymaker education.
• Manage policy team consultants and contractors focused on policy development, budget, and legislative strategy.
• Promote the organization’s policy agenda through presentations, media interviews, policymaker education, and other opportunities.
• Monitor state and federal policy issues and assess potential impacts to Texas children and families.

Management and Coaching:

• Manage the performance of issue-area Directors to ensure work plans are actionable and measurable, with clear timelines and benchmarks.
• Lead the recruitment, onboarding, and integration of new policy team members.
• Provide coaching and regular feedback to issue area Directors to ensure high-quality work across the policy team.
• Develop and manage a budget for policy team activities in coordination with Directors.
• Ensure compliance with organizational and departmental policies and processes.
• Track team milestones and progress across multiple issue areas simultaneously, reporting regularly to the CEO.

Organizational Leadership:

• Lead cross-departmental strategy, in partnership with the CEO, by leveraging communications, research, community engagement, and operations departments to maximize organizational impact.
• Partner with the Research and Community Engagement team to ensure the organization collaboratively executes high-quality policy research products and community engagement efforts in service of policy goals.
• Partner with the Development Team and CEO to further funder relations, including sharing policy goals, impact, strategies, and activities for proposals, grant reports, and fundraising events as needed.
• Partner with the Communications Team to ensure advocacy campaigns incorporate strategic messaging and communications tools that build policymaker and community support for Texans Care for Children’s policy agenda.
• Partner with the CEO and COO on Board of Directors-related activities, including reporting to the Policy Committee, and participating in other meetings as appropriate.
• Partner with the CEO and COO on HR related matters such as employee retention, recruitment, onboarding, performance assessment, and professional development.
• Oversee organizational compliance with ethics and lobbying rules and regulations.

Requirements

• Master’s degree with a focus on public policy, public health, social work, education, law, or other relevant fields.
• Minimum of twelve years of experience in public policy and related fields, with fifteen or more years preferred, including substantial experience building and managing high-performing teams.
• Subject matter expertise on policies and programs related to maternal and child health, child protection, mental health, and/or early learning.
• Strong understanding of the Texas policy landscape and the political environment at the state and federal levels.
• Experience developing and executing advocacy campaigns to advance state policy goals.
• Excellent organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects with initiative.
• Demonstrated ability to leverage research and community input to develop policy recommendations, build coalition support, and develop state policy recommendations.
• Experience advocating alongside people of various viewpoints and backgrounds.
• Commitment to the mission of Texans Care for Children, including a passion for using public policy to improve the well-being of Texas children and families.

Benefits

Salary from $140,000+, commensurate with experience. Additionally, Texans Care for Children offers excellent benefits to full-time employees, including:

• Hybrid, flexible work environment, designated a “Best Place to Work for Working Parents.”
• Employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for employees and children.
• Employer retirement matching contributions (up to 3%).
• Stipend programs for home phone and internet, student loan repayment, and/or self-care.
• Competitive PTO Policies including office-wide holidays (22 days per year), flexible holidays (5 days per year), vacation (18 days per year), and sick leave (12 days per year).