Executive Director

The Fairness Project; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, vision, and dental coverage

Job summary

The Virginia House Democratic Caucus (VHDC) seeks an experienced Executive Director in Richmond, VA to lead strategy, staffing, budgeting, and fundraising for a plan to protect and expand our majority in 2027 and beyond. The role requires strong leadership, negotiation, and policy collaboration with caucus leadership, staff, and partners.

The position offers permanent, full-time work with travel of about 10-25% and a salary range of $130,000 to $150,000, plus health benefits.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 campaign cycles with 3 in leadership roles.
• Experience managing staff, consultants and stakeholders.
• Strong interpersonal skills with partners, staff, and candidates.
• Ability to prioritize work and meet deadlines, often requiring long hours.
• Familiarity with Virginia General Assembly is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve as chief strategist and tactical executive for the caucus.
• Manage staff structure, day-to-day leadership and recruitment.
• Develop and manage annual caucus budget and finances; sign contracts.
• Co-lead fundraising through Commonwealth Victory Fund and caucus activities.
• Support policy development, legislative initiatives and stakeholder engagement.
• Organize caucus meetings and internal communications.
• Build relations with partners, donors and allied campaigns.
• Oversee campaign strategy and internal tracking of progress to goals.

Skills

Campaign leadership

Staff management

Fundraising

Communications

Analytical skills

Problem solving

Tools

VAN

NGP databases

Google Sheets

Excel

Job description

Summary

The Virginia House Democratic Caucus (VHDC) is the official entity dedicated to protecting and expanding the Democratic membership in the Virginia House of Delegates. The VHDC is seeking an experienced, self-starting, driven, and resourceful Executive Director who can help us execute an ambitious plan to win targeted races to protect and expand our Democraticmajority in 2027 and beyond.

Core Responsibilities

Leadership and Management

• Serve as chief strategist and tactical executive, implementing solutions and processes effectively and expediently.
• Manage and oversee work of all staff, including establishing staffing structure; providing day-to-day management of senior staff; and recruiting, interviewing, and hiring all staff.
• Develop and implement the annual Caucus budget and finance plan, along with the Caucus Leadership and Caucus staff. Manage the organization's finances, track income and expenditures, maintain records and accounts, and sign and negotiate contracts.
• Co-lead the activities of the Commonwealth Victory Fund, the joint fundraising arm of the VHDC and the Virginia State Senate Democratic Caucus.
• Serve as Caucus spokesperson as appropriate.
• Additional responsibilities as assigned.

Legislative and Member Services

• Build a reliable and responsive support structure for Caucus members during and outside of the legislative session.
• Manage Caucus staff in developing deliverables to help meet the policy and legislative, communications, and fundraising goals of Caucus members.
• Along with Caucus Leadership and Caucus staff, support development of Caucus policy positions and legislative initiatives, ensure tracking of legislation, as well as work with stakeholders to achieve the policy and legislative priorities of the Caucus.
• Assist with organizing Caucus meetings and internal Caucus communications.

Campaign Strategy and Execution

• Create and execute a strategic statewide campaign plan to run Democratic candidates across the Commonwealth to keep and expand our majority.
• Provide support and guidance to help each campaign build a custom-tailored, winning plan. Establish and maintain an internal system to track members’ and candidates’ progress to goal on campaigns.
• Ensure all campaign staff have access to resources such as briefings and trainings provided by VHDC partners and stakeholders.
• Manage Caucus staff to implement fundraising plan in order to meet Caucus goals, including hosting events, executing online fundraising programs, and other strategies.
• Work closely with consultants, partners, and campaigns to provide reliable, up-to-date, and data-based information to Caucus leadership in order to inform resource allocation decisions.
• Work closely to build, negotiate terms of, and support the 2027 Coordinated campaign with other relevant stakeholders.

Partnerships and Communications

• Work closely with the Caucus leadership team to build and maintain relationships in-state and around the country with partners, allies, and donors.
• Manage internal and external communications with other Democratic entities such as the state party, Senate Democratic Caucus, Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, other entities, etc.
• Develop and present communications and messaging in partnership with the Caucus leadership team, state party, and other stakeholders

Location, Tenure, and Salary

• Applications are being considered on a rolling basis with the goal of a November 2026 start date.
• This is a permanent, full-time position based in Richmond, Virginia, and will require some travel (approximately 10%-25%).
• The salary range is $130,000 - $150,000.
• VHDC offers a full health care benefits package, including vision and dental coverage.
• The incumbent reports to the Democratic Speaker of the House and takes direction from the Speaker, Caucus Leader, and Caucus Chair.

Minimum Qualifications

Leadership and Management

• A minimum of 5 cycles of campaign experience, with at least 3 cycles in a leadership role such as Executive/Deputy Executive Director, Campaign Manager, Finance Director, etc.
• Experience managing an ecosystem of staff, consultants, and stakeholders with varying and sometimes competing priorities.
• Strong interpersonal skills that create positive relationships with members, staff, partners, consultants, and candidates.
• Skilled at managing multiple principals as well as managing a team of direct reports.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize work and follow through on projects and deadlines, with a willingness to work extensive hours, including nights and weekends (as needed).
• Familiarity with the Virginia General Assembly is preferred.
• Deep alignment with and passion for VHDC’s vision and mission.

Budgeting and Fundraising

• Familiarity with Virginia campaign finance and coordination laws.
• Experience managing large-scale budgets of at least $10M.
• Experience serving as a fundraising principal with comfort asking for and securing significant donations.

Communication and Analytical Experience

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Effective problem-solver with sound judgment and discretion; able to quickly assess and triage crises.
• Strong technology and analytics skills, including extensive experience with VAN and NGP databases as well as Google/Excel Sheets.