Encore.org is a national nonprofit building a movement to tap the skills and experience of those in midlife and beyond to improve communities and the world. Originally called Civic Ventures, Encore.org was founded in 1998 by social entrepreneur Marc Freedman and grew out of a desire to transform the aging of America—one of the most significant demographic shifts of the 21st century—into a powerful, positive source of individual and social renewal. Our ultimate goal is to create a better future for young people and future generations.

Encore.org’s Generation to Generation (Gen2Gen) Campaign

Generation to Generation is a five-year campaign, powered by Encore.org, to mobilize a million adults 50+ to dedicate their time, talent and experience to help young people thrive, and to unite all generations to create a better future.

While the United States is among the world’s richest countries, millions of children in this country live in poverty and lack the resources and support they need to live fulfilling, successful lives. Reversing this trend must become a national priority—and a key resource for this effort is hidden in plain sight: The millions of Americans moving into their 50s and beyond who want to leave a positive legacy for future generations. Encore’s latest research indicates that 29 percent of adults 50+ are very/extremely interested in participating in the campaign, translating to a receptive target audience in excess of 30 million people.

These two groups—children in need of supportive adult relationships and adults with the time and inclination to fill those roles—fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The campaign will bring them together through three complementary strategies:

1. We’ll tell a new story about the power of uniting the generations, using traditional and social media, partnerships, research, stories and more.
2. We’ll build a diverse, action-oriented community of people of all ages committed to creating a society where older generations standing up for kids becomes the norm.
3. We’ll spur innovation and spread best practices for involving people over 50 in the lives of children and youth.

Generation to Generation will engage a million people of all ages and backgrounds to improve the prospects of kids by 2022.  Anchored by the unique contributions of older generations, Gen2Gen is working to decrease social isolation and generational segregation.

The Gen2Gen Mobilization Director position reports to the Vice President/Campaign Director, and is a full-time, exempt position. The Mobilization Director will be responsible for designing and implementing a field and digital strategy to engage a million people, adults age 50+ and people of all ages and backgrounds, to take meaningful action to help children thrive, and will supervise a team executing on this strategy.

Meaningful actions for campaign participants might include:

• Participating in online social activations, such as signing a pledge/petitions, sharing their story, posting or sharing relevant content, or other light online engagements;
• Mobilizing others to join the campaign and activating them to increase their support or participation;
• Engaging in self-directed mentoring of a young person, or do-it-yourself campaign-related activities;
• Writing and submitting letters to the editor or Op-Eds to media outlets on issues relevant to the campaign;
• Advocating with elected officials in support of pro-child legislation;
• Taking volunteer or paid roles with youth-serving organizations;
• Hosting in-person events, meetings, or gatherings in their community to bridge generational divides or to take collective action for youth.

Key Responsibilities

1. Lead overall mobilization strategy and execution towards goal of engaging one million people over a 5-year period. Partner with the Campaign Director and other campaign leads to guide and ensure coordination with campaign-wide strategy and activities. Responsible for all metrics and progress affiliated with the digital and field mobilization efforts of the campaign. Manage departmental spending within annual budget.
2. Reach target mobilization goal on an annual basis, by creating and continually refining strategy to grow the number of campaign members taking meaningful action, deepen their engagement with the campaign over time, and support overall campaign goals of changing public awareness and creating shared identity. Supervise a Digital Engagement Manager and a team of field-based Community Builders to lead campaign execution. The Mobilization Director will design and launch scalable calls-to-action (i.e., pledges, petitions, event-driven engagement, champion engagement, community organizing, DIY, etc.).
3. Develop a diverse, vibrant and action-oriented online and field-based community, working in partnership with the Communications Director, Digital Engagement Manager and Community Builders. Develop and implement a robust social media and digital organizing strategy, including leveraging current events and media attention. Ensure campaign communications, videos, infographics, website and champion strategy are aligned with mobilization goals. Work closely with Community Builders to create meaningful ways for champions to engage digitally and in real life.
4. Leverage campaign partnerships to provide compelling opportunities for campaign participants to engage, and ways to reach new and diverse audiences. Responsible for the campaign experience of partner organizations. Manage a team executing on partnership activation, strategy for partner engagement, tools and resources, data tracking, and overall partner experience in the campaign.
5. Advance continuous program improvement, working in partnership with the Director of Learning and Evaluation and Operations Director. Design and run experiments to test mobilization tactics, monitor metrics, and share data-driven results.

About You:

You’re passionate about the aims of the campaign. You’re a tech-savvy community organizer and have led large-scale engagement initiatives, both digitally and in the field. You’re eager to help people tap into their sense of passion and purpose and channel it into action.  You have an innate ability to recruit, activate and retain diverse campaign participants from all walks of life.

Key Qualifications:

• At least ten years’ experience leading and integrating both digital and field-based campaigns and working with diverse communities (e.g., digital organizing, on-the-ground organizing, media, marketing campaigns, political advocacy, etc.) that mobilize people and make change in the world.
• Demonstrable strong strategic thinking and campaign planning skills, with a proven ability to develop and deploy diverse tactics that move people to action.
• Strong speaking and writing skills for a variety of audiences.
• Knowledge of best practices in mobilization and online engagement strategies, from creative content to influencer/champion engagement to paid media.
• Experience developing and using metrics to measure the success of a campaign and improve/refine it over time.
• Strong interpersonal and problem-solving skills with a high-energy, outgoing personality; demonstrated negotiation, mediation and listening skills; strong judgement and decision-making skills, a good sense of humor; and experience building strong professional relationships with diverse colleagues working in locations across the country.
• At least five years’ experience supervising staff, with the ability to build, develop and motivate a team to reach challenging goals, and provide situational leadership that responds to a variety of work styles and experience.
• Strong project-management skills, with a strong attention to detail toward aggressive timelines.
• Working knowledge of (or ability to quickly learn) Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Online Organizing Web Platforms (e.g. Action Network, Nationbuilder, Engaging Networks), community building platforms (Mightybell, Lithium, iCohere), Wordpress, Webex, Salesforce, and familiarity with online collaboration tools (e.g., Google Docs, Google Hangout, Box).
• Willingness to travel domestically approximately once per month.

Preferred:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent and ten years of professional experience.
• Prior experience in one or more of the fields in which the campaign will operate (e.g., early childhood, K-12 education, youth development, aging, etc.).

How to Apply

Please send your resume in Word or PDF format, along with a cover letter describing your interest, qualifications and salary expectations.

Cover letters should include a clear response to these two questions:

• What excites you about the campaign?
• What excites you about the role of Mobilization Director, and what specific expertise and experiences will you draw on to do the job?

Please note: Cover letters will be judged as writing samples; no application will be considered without a cover letter. Please send your resume and letter as one document to [email protected]. Name your attachment with the format: “LastNameGen2GenMobilDir2017Application” (for instance, “MadisonGen2GenMobilDir2017Application”). Applications that do not follow this format may not be reviewed.

It is Encore.org’s policy to employ, compensate and advance personnel without regard to race, creed, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, height and weight, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, partnership status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, military status, arrest record and any other characteristic protected by law. We are an Employer of National Service: AmeriCorps, Peace Corps and other national service alumni are encouraged to apply and to tell us how your service experience has shaped your career.

We are seeking to develop a multigenerational and diverse team. Qualified people of all ages and backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Open until filled

A Note on Encore.org’s Culture

Our staff members are part of a social movement that challenges old norms and seeks to establish a new definition of success in later life. We are a small, geographically distributed team, committed to making a significant impact. We attract people who think about how small investments can yield big results in the service of Encore.org’s mission.

We work hard, and we value our colleagues and the causes we dedicate time to outside of working hours. We understand the importance of commitments—family and otherwise—beyond Encore.org. Vacation time is meant to be used.

As an organization focused on deploying human talent in innovative ways, we try to walk the talk. We strive to have an intergenerational team. We also encourage and sometimes require flexible work; results matter more than face time. Many Encore.org positions require some or a great deal of travel; all require the use and mastery of a growing array of virtual tools.

Perhaps most important, Encore.org is in a period of transition and growth. We work in a dynamic environment that values mutual respect, rapid response to changing conditions or new opportunities, flexibility and intelligence, as well as a sense of humor and humility. Those who thrive tend to be creative, entrepreneurial types who are dedicated to our mission and who know how to execute ambitious plans in a lean environment.