Faith Work Director

The National LGBTQ Task Force seeks a Faith Work Director to lead our Faith Work programming in collaboration with our Field and Policy teams in our Advocacy and Action Department.

The National LGBTQ Task Force builds power, takes action and creates change to achieve freedom and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer people, and their families. As a progressive racial, economic, and social justice organization, the Task Force works toward a society that values and respects the diversity of human expression and identity and achieves equity for all. The Task Force has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, and Miami. More information at ~~~

Job Title: Faith Work Director

Department: Advocacy and Action Department

Reports to: Director of Advocacy and Action

Location: Preference for candidates in DC, NYC and Miami; highly qualified candidates in other locations also considered.

Travel: Up to 50%

Description:

LGBTQ people live our lives from a tapestry and tradition of radical and profound values of love, chosen family, trust, joy, interdependence, the centrality of sex and sexuality, and even faith. For over 50 years, the Task Force has been organizing from these values – in elections, in State Houses, in the White House and in places of worship.

For far too long faith and religion have been co-opted and used by some as political and cultural tools to demonize and/or denigrate a multitude of people including women, gender diverse people, people of color and other people with multiple-marginalized identities as well as undermine fundamental human rights. As a result, prevailing views have emerged and become embedded in society that being a person of faith, spiritual or religious is incompatible with being an LGBTQ person, that people must choose between their faith or spirituality and their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and that being a person of faith is antithetical to being a supporter of LGBTQ people and policies.

The Task Force Faith Work endeavors to disrupt these harmful narratives, support the repair these harms have caused, celebrate the diversity of faiths, religions and spiritual identities within the LGBTQ community and continue working to create a just and equitable society by mobilizing and waging winning campaigns, building capacity for the movement, disseminating a progressive and intersectional worldview and creating opportunities for personal transformation. We believe that the LGBTQ+ community cannot cede faith to far-right religious extremists and that communities and people of faith should not be relegated to an organizing tool, mistakenly implying that we as queer and trans people are reaching out to engage the other. Our organizing and activism are rooted in a way of being that is beyond the binary.

We believe in the power of reimagining faith and spirituality as a value that causes us to focus inward, within ourselves and our community, to activate champions who are already with us and claim faith and spirituality as values that members our community embrace and already hold dear.

As such, the Faith Work program will:

• Convene existing individual and organizational LGBTQ and allied partners who are doing work as faith and spiritual organizers to create cultural and political homes, campaigns and spaces for a progressive and intersectional worldview.
• Disseminate best practices, successful strategies, and denominational expertise from within faith-based communities to harness existing momentum and build power across movements.
• Build new and revitalize existing networks of experts and advocates at the intersection of faith and LGBTQ liberation.
• Commit to respect for and radical inclusion of all spiritual traditions and perspectives with an emphasis on centering the lived experiences of those most impacted by anti-LGBTQ and/or religiously motivated discrimination and harassment.
• Partner with and train secular organizations on the important tenets, tactics and tenor of faith/spiritual organizing and best practices
• Amplify positive faith-based and secular narratives in media, policy and public spaces that asserts the inherent dignity of queer and trans people.
• Advance a genuinely liberating queer theology through partnerships and programming, amplifying the powerful messages of faith leaders and people of faith to expose the moral crises of racist, misogynistic and anti-LGBTQ discrimination in this country as a tool to connect with and mobilize supporters.
• Expand and deepen our partnerships within broad faith/spiritual communities and secular communities.
• Boost the messages of diverse faith leaders and people of faith from multiple religious/spiritual/faith perspectives with an intentional emphasis on amplifying the work and perspectives of Black and Brown people, Trans and Non-Binary People, people who identify as spiritual but not religious, people from non-Abrahamic traditions, people of Indigenous spiritual traditions, and young people by partnering with faith-based and nonprofit organizations that carry out faith-based work to achieve impact.
• Mobilize constituents and key stakeholders, particularly people of faith and faith leaders from diverse spiritual traditions, to contact policy and decision makers on intersectional issues of importance to help build support for pro-LGBTQ initiatives and defeat anti-LGBTQ initiatives.
• Convene movement stakeholders to create and sustain connections and build the capacity for individuals and organizations to advance messages of the divine dignity and worthiness of LGBTQ people, with an emphasis on building trust, establishing sustaining relationships, and avoiding divisive debates over theological differences.
• Provide resources and support to constituents who affirm the need for justice and equity for Black, Brown and LGBTQ people as a value of their faith, their spiritual/religious values or their secular moral views.
• Provides resources to diverse LGBTQ people so they can find welcoming institutions to serve as their affirming religious or spiritual homes.
• Uplift progressive secular moral views, including partnering with organizations that take a leading role in asserting the correct position that the U.S. Constitution requires the separation of church and state.
• ?Counter opponents' messaging by asserting that religion is not inherently anti-LGBTQ and that people of faith are and should be supporters of LGBTQ people and policies, using all available research and information.

Qualifications:

• Proven collaborative leadership abilities, a strategic thinker and decision-maker, and commitment to the Task Force's mission and Faith Work Purpose.
• Religious/Spiritual grounding and ability to navigate a diverse religious and spiritual landscape, providing accessible arguments for equity and democracy.
• A positive reputation, proven record of impact and commitment to racial, gender, economic, and social justice; a history of service to people, organizers, advocates and stakeholders from varied races, ethnicities, socioeconomics, gender identities, and sexual orientations.
• Experience working at the intersections of faith, LGBTQ, and other progressive justice issues in non-affirming spaces.
• Strong, confident, and credible advocate and spokesperson for pro-LGBTQ, intersectional, multi-faith religious work.
• Trustworthy and proven relationship-builder, with significant experience as a convenor with cross-movement-building experience and political sophistication to help move forward policy and social change from a broad faith lens.
• Able to inspire spiritual engagement of people in the racial justice, LGBTQ advocacy communities and progressive movements. Sensitivity to and personal familiarity with issues facing LGBTQ religious/spiritual people including people who are atheist, agnostic, humanist, monotheist, pagan, and polytheist.
• Proven organizing ethos and experience as an effective community or electoral organizer.
• Motivated to and capable of fundraising; history of or capable of conceiving partnerships, programs, and projects that attract funding as well as building and sustaining relationships in conjunction with the Development Director and Department.
• Experience with managing a team and coalition partners.
• Must have excellent interpersonal skills and be an effective communicator with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Honest, compassionate, and approachable. Has an ethic of continuous learning, as well as teaching. Sense of humor.
• Must be able to prioritize multiple demanding projects simultaneously.
• Requires excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communications skills and proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• The ability and experience to bring a trauma-informed and somatic approach is a plus.
• The ability to communicate in Spanish effectively is a plus.
• The ability to communicate in American Sign Language (ASL) effectively is a plus.
• Demonstrated media experience is a plus.
• Experience with Asana or other project management tools is a plus.

COMPENSATION:

The Task Force is an organization that values its employees and embodies those values through our benefits package and a competitive salary.

We are proud to be a Care First organization that offers excellent benefits, including health, dental, and vision insurance, FSA, annual and sick leave, and 403(b) plan. We also offer short-term disability, long-term disability, life insurance, technology stipend, health, and wellness benefits, and more. This position is not a part of our collective bargaining unit

HOW TO APPLY:

Please submit a cover letter and resume addressing your qualifications, experience relevant to these responsibilities and describing your interest in being a member of the Task Force staff. We also ask that you submit two writing samples for this position. If possible, please submit the names, affiliations, and contact information for three references. Applications will be accepted ~~~/

No phone calls, please. The Task Force is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, personal appearance, family responsibility, political affiliation or any other status protected by applicable law. Women, Indigenous, transgender people, veterans, and people of color are encouraged to apply

Compensation details: 80000-90000 Yearly Salary

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