ABOUT THE INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL INNOVATION
The Institute for Political Innovation is a cross-partisan, not-for-profit organization founded by former CEO Katherine M. Gehl that contributes theory, scholarship, and strategy to catalyze model, modern political change in America. The mission of IPI is animated by Politics Industry Theory, the groundbreaking body of work pioneered by our founder, Katherine Gehl. Politics Industry Theory looks at America’s political system through an industry-competition lens in order to better understand its structure and problems, and, most importantly, to identity the most powerful and achievable solutions to those problems.
Katherine’s work to better define the politics industry has sparked new strategies and organizations coast to coast who are working to convert theory into action. IPI represents the next and necessary step: capturing the growing demand for political innovation that Katherine created, and putting it to work. Looking forward, IPI is leading the effort to seed and support state-based campaigns for Final-Five Voting, and is broadening the discussion and scholarship around political innovation, from the implementation and evaluation of electoral innovation, to changing the rules and practices of lawmaking in Congress.
Alaska was the first state in the country to pass and use a Final Five Voting-style system, and FFV also passed via ballot initiative in Nov. 2022 in Nevada. The critical work is gaining momentum across the country, evidenced by a recent headline in The Hill headline “Final Five Voting may be having its moment.”IPI is a leading national organization raising awareness of and action on the transformational new election system.
POSITION SUMMARY
IPI’s Chief of Staff will serve as the right-hand partner to its Founder, Katherine Gehl, so she can effectively fulfill her commitments and operate at the highest level. This role spans both the strategic and the tactical, working very closely with the Founder and internal and external stakeholders to ensure accountability, execution, and delivery of strategic priorities. The Chief of Staff will serve as the organizational “glue” to propel initiatives forward and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. This role must work well independently with a tenacity for identifying efficiencies, better ways to organize, and a keen attention to results with a non-partisan mindset.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
The Chief of Staff’s responsibilities will encompass three primary areas:
Ensure Founder’s highest and best use of time
- Ensure "quality control" of information and communication to reduce reactivity
- Provide consistent and relevant briefing information to the principal prior to key meetings and events
- Ensure time is properly rationalized and spent in the appropriate areas of focus by establishing and following protocols that promote strategic space (i.e., thinking time)
- Provide hands-on support for individual tasks as they arise
Deliver results on behalf of the Founder
- Attend key meetings and events with the Founder and ensure timely completion of action items
- Support the creation of crisp, accurate, and visually appealing materials that communicate IPI’s strategy or value proposition to an internal or external audience
- Kickstart and lead cross-functional projects with a focus on end-to-end project management, most often where there is no clear owner
- Plan ahead by anticipating and identifying project obstacles and next steps
- Track and facilitate Founder’s communications and social media when applicable
Facilitate strong cross-functional and stakeholder integration
- Partner with the Founder in maintaining a strong tone and culture of IPI
- Work closely with, and take direction from the Managing Director on planning and executing institutional priorities and projects
- Maintain communication between internal and external stakeholders, serving as liaison when needed; coordinate stakeholder feedback to measure impact of goals
- Provide organization updates and measures on strategic goals; ensure ongoing alignment to IPI's overall mission
- Identify opportunities for cross-functional information transfer, process standardization, and communication alignment
KEY QUALIFICATIONS
- 3+ years of prior relevant work experience with proven high-performance results
- Excellent oral, written communication, and presentation skills and proven ability to communicate across organizational levels and roles with keen attention to detail
- Ability to understand and anticipate the needs of an individual and act on them without direction
- Exceptional organization and prioritization skills; operates with a sense of urgency
- Strong emotional intelligence with the ability to work closely and effectively with a diverse group of people
- Data-driven with a bias towards taking action to improve key metrics
- Concise, persuasive, and authentic communicator both verbally and in written communication
- Excellence in execution: solid experience implementing strategic visions at a tactical level
- Strong project management experience; ability to manage multiple initiatives and projects simultaneously
SALARY
$90,000 - $125,000
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
We know that innovation thrives on teams where diverse points of view come together to solve hard problems. As such, we explicitly seek people that bring diverse life experiences, diverse educational backgrounds, diverse cultures, and diverse work experiences. Please be prepared to share with us how your perspective will bring something unique and valuable to our team.
