Job Opportunities:
Basic Rights Montgomery Campaign Manager

Basic Rights Montgomery, the campaign to defeat the initiative repeal of a transgender non-discrimination law in Montgomery County, Maryland, seeks a campaign manager to oversee all aspects of the ballot measure campaign.

Job Overview


The initiative marks the first time ever that a transgender-specific issue will be on the ballot in the U.S. Montgomery County is one of the more liberal jurisdictions in the nation, but defeating this measure will require hard work. A well-organized opposition has launched an active campaign to play to voters' fears and stereotypes of transgender people. A winning campaign must be able to overcome these stereotypes and communicate persuasively with Montgomery County voters on a large scale.

Job Duties


The campaign manager will be responsible for managing all aspects of the campaign, including:

Fundraising


  • Developing the fundraising plan.
  • Recruiting and training finance committees to raise a significant portion of the campaign budget.
  • Mounting a county-wide house party program to raise money, identify supporters, and recruit volunteers.
  • Creating systems for donor tracking and follow-up.
  • Building lists of donor prospects through individual meetings with a variety of campaign and community stakeholders.
  • Hiring appropriate staff to support the implementation of the fundraising plan.

Message development and dissemination


  • Working with various message consultants to develop effective polling and focus groups.
  • Creating effective campaign talking points and training all staff, steering committee members, and campaign stakeholders on message discipline.
  • Targeting base and swing voter universes for appropriate campaign communications.
  • Hiring and managing direct mail and paid media consultants.
  • Creating mini-campaigns to gain and publicize high-level campaign endorsements.

Campaign Structure Creation


  • Writing the overall campaign plan and budget.
  • Training campaign super volunteers to help implement the plan.
  • Producing regular campaign financing reports to the Maryland Secretary of State and other parties where needed.

Field


  • Developing an early field plan to launch door-to-door and phone voter canvassing before field staff are hired.
  • Recruiting and training early volunteers to campaign with to engage in voter i.d. and persuasion conversations with voters at the door and over the phone.
  • Hire appropriate field staff to implement the latter phases of the field plan.

Qualifications


Qualified candidates will have experience managing electoral campaigns; initiative or referenda campaign experience is preferable. Demonstrated capacity to train finance committees and other volunteers to raise money is a strong plus, as much of the campaign budget will be raised by local leaders. Candidates should also be highly-motivated self-starters that are able to motivate a diverse team to work long hours under high-pressure situations. Serious applicants must have an understanding of and familiarity with transgender people and gender identity issues, and be able to speak to the challenges transgender people face around discrimination.

The campaign manager will report to the Chair of Basic Rights Montgomery and the team of leaders from allied LGBT organizations that are providing support to the campaign.

To apply, please send cover letter, résumé and references to info@basicrightsmontgomery.org, with "Campaign Manager Search" in the subject line.

Background


Basic Rights Montgomery is a broad-based coalition of community leaders and organizations formed in response to the efforts to repeal Montgomery County's recently passed transgender anti-discrimination law. The law bans discrimination on the basis of gender identity in housing, employment, public accommodations, and taxi and cable service. The measure, passed unanimously by the Montgomery County Council late last year, was to have taken effect on February 21, but was put on hold when signature gatherers potentially reached the number needed to place a repeal on November's ballot.

Montgomery County is one of the most diverse counties in the country and is a bright example of how Marylanders of different races, religions, ages, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation and gender identity can get along and work together to create a welcoming community where every person has a fair shake for basic rights like putting a roof over their head and finding a job that supports them and their family. Over 100 jurisdictions around the country have anti-discrimination laws that include transgender people, including the nearby cities of Baltimore, Md. and Washington, D.C.