Job Opportunity: Director of State Policies, Marijuana Policy Project, Washington, DC

The Marijuana Policy Project, a fast-paced, well-respected lobbying organization, is seeking a seasoned professional to fill the position of Director of State Policies in MPP's headquarters in Washington, DC. The Director of State Policies manages MPP's grassroots and direct lobbying efforts in all state legislatures.

Candidates should have strong political instincts and solid political or government relations experience and should be results-oriented, an outstanding and hands-on manager, and able to persuasively promote MPP's policy goals. Candidates should also have the vision and the energy to proactively plan and execute aggressive lobbying and grassroots activism campaigns in a number of states simultaneously -- often in the face of adversity and ennui on the part of government officials. Expertise in analyzing and drafting legislation is a bonus but not required.

The overarching goal of the position is to pass state-level medical marijuana legislation and/or legislation to reform marijuana laws with an ultimate goal of taxing and regulating adult marijuana use in a manner similar to alcohol, while preventing bad bills from being enacted.

Specifically, the Director of State Policies' responsibilities include advising the Executive Director on legislative strategy (including tactics for moving bills forward and fighting bad bills such as committee and floor strategy), targeted mailings to voters in key legislative districts, generating phone calls from voters to their elected officials, commissioning public opinion polls, and states MPP should focus its resources on year-to-year; managing professional lobbyists (on retainer) in a handful of state capitals; hiring (and, if necessary, firing) lobbyists; advising MPP's Assistant Director of State Policies and two Legislative Analysts on their communications with MPP's lobbyists; engaging in direct strategy discussions with the lobbyists; and overseeing and effectively managing an Assistant Director of State Policies, two Legislative Analysts, one California Organizer, and one Legislative Assistant.

The staffers under the Director of State Policies' are responsible for monitoring marijuana-related bills in all 50 states and the District of Columbia; conducting legislative research and analysis; working with state legislators to maximize the number of good bills introduced; training witnesses for committee hearings; building coalitions of opinion leaders and prestigious organizations in a handful of key states; working with activists in keys states to generate media coverage and grassroots pressure; occasionally submitting written testimony for committee hearings on marijuana-related bills; writing and sending legislative alerts to MPP's e-mail subscribers in a given state; and maintaining MPP's 51 state Web pages with updated legislative information.

The Director of State Policies oversees these staffers' work, provides guidance and training, and manages and evaluates performance. He or she reports to MPP's Executive Director.

In addition to a competitive salary, the position includes full health insurance and an optional retirement package.

To apply, please see MPP's application guidelines and follow the instructions there. Interviews are being conducted on a rolling basis, so interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.