Director of Organizing
MASSCreative
Advocate for Creativity
Job Description
MASSCreative, a statewide advocacy and organizing effort for the Massachusetts Creative Sector, seeks a strategic and collaborative senior leadership team member for the Director of Organizing position. Reporting to the Executive Director and key member of senior leadership, the Director of Organizing is responsible for MASSCreative’s advocacy campaigns, coalition organizing, and training programs. This role builds power among artists, cultural workers, and organizations across Massachusetts by cultivating relationships, designing effective organizing strategies, and advancing community-led advocacy to influence civic priorities, public policy, and funding decisions.
This role requires a nuanced understanding of how to pair grassroots organizing with legislative strategy in Massachusetts. The Director would work closely with policy staff and elected officials to advance change.
The next Director of Organizing is especially critical at a moment of shifting public investment, civic engagement challenges, and growing recognition of the creative sector’s role in democracy and economic recovery.
MASSCreative is a 501(c)(3) organization and is affiliated with the MASSCreative Action Network, a 501(c)(4). Staff may support both organizations, with responsibilities and time allocated in accordance with applicable nonprofit regulations.
Key Responsibilities
Movement Building & Community Engagement
Primary Focus: Strategically expand and engage a diverse base of supporters and stakeholders who represent the cultural landscape of Massachusetts.
- Collaborate with the Director of External Relations to develop campaign tools and resources that support organizing and advocacy efforts across the sector.
- Contribute to the organization and execution of the annual Creative Advocacy Summit.
- Contribute to the organization and execution of the annual Creative Sector Week and day at the State House.
Leadership Development & Program Management
Primary Focus: Cultivate and maintain relationships with MASSCreative member organizations, individual artists, cultural workers, community leaders, and potential advocates through events, trainings, and coordinated outreach efforts.
- Oversee and grow a statewide network of regional advocacy leaders, including:
- Designing regular trainings and peer-learning opportunities
- Supporting region-specific organizing plans
- Building alignment with statewide legislative priorities
- Manage part-time campaign managers and interns to ensure their growth and success in collaboration with the organization’s leadership.
Campaign Leadership
Primary Focus: Lead annual advocacy and organizing campaigns aligned to achieve MASSCreative’s policy goals and MASSCreative Action Network’s legislative agenda, including education, coalition coordination, and constituent engagement, using inside–outside strategies that reflect legislative realities and empower local advocates.
Primary Focus: Lead annual advocacy and organizing campaigns aligned to achieve MASSCreative’s policy goals and MASSCreative Action Network’s legislative agenda, including education, coalition coordination, and constituent engagement, using inside–outside strategies that reflect legislative realities and empower local advocates.
- Partner with organizational leadership and external lobbyists to align grassroots strategies with legislative timelines, committee processes, and decision-maker dynamics.
- Mobilize grassroots supporters to take action through educational events, public testimony, issue-based advocacy, digital engagement, and coalition-building efforts, in compliance with applicable nonprofit regulations.
Voter Education Campaign Management
Primary Focus: Lead MASSCreative’s Create the Vote program by developing and implementing nonpartisan voter engagement and education strategies during election cycles to elevate arts and culture as key civic issues.
Primary Focus: Lead MASSCreative’s Create the Vote program by developing and implementing nonpartisan voter engagement and education strategies during election cycles to elevate arts and culture as key civic issues.
- Support local coalitions with strategy plans and campaign resources to lead local nonpartisan Create the Vote campaigns.
Policy & Legislative Monitoring
Primary Focus: Translate legislative analysis into clear organizing goals, messages, and calls to action for grassroots audiences.
Primary Focus: Translate legislative analysis into clear organizing goals, messages, and calls to action for grassroots audiences.
- Track, research, and analyze local and state legislation, regulations, and policy developments relevant to the arts, culture, and humanities.
- Act as MASSCreative’s representative in cross-sector advocacy collaborations and coalitions to achieve policy wins that also benefit the creative sector.
What Success Looks Like
- Growth and depth of leadership in a diverse and active statewide network of artists and cultural advocates engaged and effective in advancing legislative campaigns
- Clear, coordinated organizing strategies that are aligned with MASSCreative’s policy priorities, and show promise for advancing change.
- Successful region-specific organizing campaigns that support the growth of a regional network and are aligned with statewide legislative advocacy priorities.
- Building and maintaining trusted relationships with coalition partners and community leaders across Massachusetts
Qualifications
- 5+ years of experience in grassroots organizing, issue advocacy, or campaign leadership, with a demonstrated track record of success in building and leading campaigns, partnerships, and coalitions.
- Strong knowledge of social justice frameworks, power-building strategies, and state-level government.
- Demonstrated experience advancing policy change through coordinated inside–outside strategies, particularly in a state legislative or budget context.
- Proven experience designing and managing community power-building trainings or other organizing efforts.
- Experience supervising staff, leading teams or managing volunteers.
- Effective communicator with the ability to connect across a wide range of stakeholders, including artists, community groups, elected officials, and institutional partners.
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced, collaborative, and mission-driven environment.
- Familiarity and experience with Massachusetts’ cultural and political landscape is a plus.
- Experience collaborating with artists, cultural workers, or creative-sector organizations is a plus.
- Multilingual or fluency in languages other than English is highly desirable
About MASSCreative
Established in 2012, MASSCreative works to build a more vibrant, connected, and equitable Massachusetts by advocating for a well-supported creative sector. Art, culture, and creativity are essential to healthy communities, civic engagement, and economic prosperity. We are a small team of effective and passionate individuals, supported by a statewide board of directors, who work at the intersection of public policy, advocacy, and community power-building for the creative sector.
Compensation & Benefits
- Salary range: $75,000–$84,000, commensurate with experience.
- Generous PTO, health and dental insurance reimbursement, and professional development opportunities.
- Flexible hybrid work schedule.
Work Requirements
- Access to a vehicle to travel across the Commonwealth
How to Apply
Submit a resume and cover letter with the subject line: “Director of Organizing – Your Last Name to info@mass-creative.org
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
MASSCreative is an equal opportunity employer.