For nearly 100 years, the ACLU has been our nation’s guardian of liberty, working in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States.  Whether it’s ending mass incarceration, achieving full equality for the LGBT community, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people from government abuse and overreach. With more than a million members, activists, and supporters, the ACLU is a nationwide organization that fights tirelessly in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C., for the principle that every individual’s rights must be protected equally under the law, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, national origin, record of arrest or conviction.

OVERVIEW

The Washington Legislative Office (WLO) seeks applicants for a full-time Legislative Assistant. The Legislative Assistant will work directly with the ACLU WLO Deputy Director and Legislative Counsels on pending federal legislation, regulatory matters, research, and policy proposals. The Legislative Assistant will provide support to the organization’s federal legislative and executive branch advocacy effort.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITES

• Provide administrative support to the Deputy Director and Legislative Counsels in their performance of daily tasks and projects, as well as their strategic plans.
• Review and analyze current and proposed federal legislation, regulations, and policies for advocates.
• Serve as a representative of the Deputy Director and Legislative Counsels in external and internal meetings, including responding to questions from external sources regarding pending federal issues.
• Gather, summarize and archive federal legislative, regulatory, and policy developments relevant to advocates’ issue areas.
• Track legislation, regulations, and other policy developments by attending Congressional hearings and using specialized congressional databases, as well as monitoring media, social media, and government websites.
• Assemble and organize informational packets, binders, and other necessary documents.
• Draft, proofread, and format documents, including policy memos, talking points, correspondence to Congress and federal agencies, and other research documents as requested on federal legislative, regulatory, and policy issues.
• Collaborate with the Deputy Director and Legislative Counsels to ensure the success of events and advocacy initiatives sponsored by the advocacy team.
• Train and supervise/oversee the work of interns.
• Demonstrate a commitment to diversity within the office using a personal approach that values all individuals and respects differences in regards to race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ability and socio-economic circumstance, and record of arrest or conviction.
• Commitment to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and/or conflicts.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 2 years of work experience supporting and liaising with federal advocates, legislators or policy makers.
• Comfortable assuming both administrative and substantive responsibilities.
• Working knowledge of the legislative process.
• Strong organizational skills with superb attention to detail; Ability to synthesize information and follow-up/follow through.
• Ability to multitask, take direction, and meet strict deadlines.
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a team.
• Exceptional writing and verbal skills; strong interpersonal skills.
• Knowledge of basic federal legislative, regulatory, and policy process and research tools, such as LEXIS/NEXUS, Westlaw, CQ, Bloomberg, Gallery Watch, and/or Knowlegis.  Knowledge of Bluebook forms for legal citations a plus.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office software and Internet research tools.
• Commitment to the mission and goals of the ACLU.

COMPENSATION

The ACLU offers a generous and comprehensive compensation and benefits package, commensurate with experience and within parameters of the ACLU compensation scale.

HOW TO APPLY

Please send a cover letter (with salary requirements), resume, writing sample, and the names and contact information for three references to: hrjobsWLO@aclu.org.  Reference [WLOU-62/ACLU-W] in the subject line. Please note that this is not the general ACLU applicant email address. This email address is specific to the Washington Legislative Office posting. In order to ensure your application is received, please make certain it is sent to the correct e-mail address. You can expect to receive an automatic response that acknowledges the submission of application materials.

Please indicate in your cover letter where you learned of this career opportunity.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

This job description provides a general but not comprehensive list of the essential responsibilities and qualifications required. It does not represent a contract of employment. The ACLU reserves the right to change the description and/or posting at any time without advance notice.

The ACLU is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. The ACLU encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status and record of arrest or conviction.  

The ACLU undertakes affirmative action strategies in its recruitment and employment efforts to assure that persons with disabilities have full opportunities for employment in all positions.

We encourage applicants with disabilities who may need accommodations in the application process to contact: HRJobsINCLReq@aclu.org. Correspondence sent to this address that is not related to requests for accommodations will not be reviewed. Applicants should follow the instructions above regarding how to apply.

The ACLU comprises two separate corporate entities, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation. Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation are national organizations with the same overall mission, and share office space and employees. The ACLU has two separate corporate entities in order to do a broad range of work to protect civil liberties. This job posting refers collectively to the two organizations under the name “ACLU.”

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