Senior Advocacy Manager

Job Title: Senior Advocacy Manager

Position Summary:
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (“the Foundation”) is seeking top talent for its Senior Advocacy Manager position. Reporting to the Director of Advocacy, this position plays a central role in advancing the Foundation’s policy priorities to benefit people living with Parkinson’s disease and their families. Partnering with the Public Policy team, this role helps develop and implement advocacy strategies that ensure Parkinson’s-related issues are represented in federal, state, and local policymaking.

This position is part of a regionalized Advocacy Manager structure, with each position responsible for advocates and legislative activity across an assigned region of the country. Each position supports both federal and state policy campaigns, ensuring the Foundation maintains consistent engagement with advocates, government officials, and partners across their territory. This role recruits, trains, and mobilizes advocates; builds regional pipelines; supports state and federal strategies; and sustains grassroots power year-round.

The Foundation is hiring two Senior Advocacy Managers to join the team. These positions are expected to travel to the Foundation’s New York office or to states on an as-needed basis.

Key Responsibilities:

Advocacy Efforts

Implement effective, region-specific strategies and tactics to support the Foundation’s federal and state policy agenda

Mobilize advocates and execute campaign tactics around congressional and state legislative priorities through a comprehensive mix of digital, media, stewardship, and in-person engagement tools

Coordinate creation and distribution of advocacy materials (action alerts, newsletters, fact sheets, social content, talking points, etc.)

Support Policy events—including State Advocacy Days, hearings, press conferences, in-district activities, Parkinson's Policy Forum (Hill fly-in) and in-person or virtual briefings—by recruiting and preparing advocates

Ensure Policy priorities and messaging are integrated into organization-wide events and that the Foundation’s Policy is effectively represented in relevant external events and activations

Recruitment, Training & Engagement

Build and manage recruitment pipelines in target states and congressional districts

Identify, train, and support new, established and lead advocates who sustain ongoing local activity

Manage a regional communication calendar, including targeted calls-to-action, newsletters, and engagement opportunities cross-departmentally.

Coordinate closely with State Policy and Federal Policy staff to integrate grassroots advocacy into legislative strategies

Build and oversee a coordinated advocate engagement program within the assigned region

Relationship Development

Support the development and maintenance of a regionally tailored Grasstops identification, cultivation, and monitoring program in partnership with Development team

Leverage relationships across coalition partners, other Parkinson’s organizations, stakeholders, and advocates to support legislative goals

Data, Systems & Reporting

Maintain accurate advocate and engagement data for assigned regional advocates

Manage the grassroots database as it relates to regional contacts, ensuring alignment with internal CRMs

Assist in continuous assessment of grassroots technology tools

Support development of dashboards and reporting that reflect progress and campaign impact

Team Administration / Operations

Attend weekly staff meetings, internal check-ins, and coalition group meetings.

Support cross-functional coordination and other duties as assigned

Qualifications and Skills:

Relevant experience in federal and state legislative processes

Relevant experience maintaining relationships with advocates and communicating with advocacy audiences

Proficiency using Salesforce, Quorum (or similar public affairs software), Asana (or similar project management platform), Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Microsoft Office

Strong oral and written communications skills, and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies and advocacy abilities and strengths

Attention to detail and ability to manage multiple projects and shift priorities as needed.

Ability to work with advocates and staff of all ideologies and work collaboratively across Foundation departments and among myriads of audiences and stakeholders

Salary and Benefits:
The salary range for this position is $105,000 - $125,000. In addition to salary, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:

15+ options for medical insurance (with the Foundation paying 90 percent of the premiums)

Competitive dental and vision plans

401(k) plan with 6 percent employer contribution

Flexible spending accounts

Employer paid life and disability insurance

18 Vacation Days; 12 Well-Being (Sick) Days; 2 Personal Days; summer Fridays (office closure at 2pm) and a summer holiday week over July 4

Two ways of working: hybrid-flex, or remote work. We trust all employees to work closely with their manager and colleagues to determine when, where and how programs and projects get done.

Employees are also eligible for a discretionary bonus on an annual basis. The Foundation provides staff and leadership cultivation through regular training courses and events.

How to Apply:
Interested candidates should submit a resume and thoughtful cover letter describing through examples, their specific qualifications and interest in the position. If you think that your skills are transferable and can add value to this role, please apply. Applicants who best match the position’s needs will be contacted.

About Us:
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research was founded in 2000 with one clear objective: accelerating meaningful therapeutic advances and, ultimately, a cure for Parkinson’s disease (PD). The Foundation applies extraordinary scientific, business and media assets to this singular focus—thus creating a unique and dynamic organization. Since inception, the Foundation has quickly grown into the largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s disease research, having funded over $2 billion in research projects in both academic and industry labs worldwide.

Visit www.michaeljfox.org for more information.

  Research has shown that people from marginalized communities apply to roles only when they meet 100% of the job requirements. If you think that your skills are transferable and can add value to this role, and you are someone who will contribute to our efforts to build and support a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce, we strongly encourage you to apply.

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