Policy Operations Manager

About Arts Alliance Illinois

As the statewide advocacy and lobbying organization for arts and culture Arts Alliance Illinois supports the creative community by championing policies securing funding and building connections that help artists educators cultural organizations and creative workers thrive.
Our work spans legislative advocacy grassroots mobilization statewide programs technical assistance research and the Help Desk all in service of a more equitable sustainable and innovative creative sector.

Position Summary

The Policy Operations Manager reports to the Senior Director of Government Affairs and provides high-quality administrative operational and legislative support that strengthens Arts Alliance Illinois policy and advocacy efforts.

This role keeps the Government Affairs department running smoothly by managing schedules legislative tracking meeting follow-up district and Capitol logistics and day-to-day coordination with lawmakers staff coalition partners and internal teams.

The ideal candidate is highly organized politically savvy and comfortable juggling details in a fast-moving policy environment. They enjoy strengthening systems following through on commitments and helping turn strategy into action. This position offers meaningful exposure to statewide policy work the legislative process and arts and culture advocacy.

This position is 90% remote with a requirement to attend occasional meetings at the Chicago office annual staff retreats and other Arts Alliance events around the state. Because of the nature of our work all employees must be Illinois residents during their employment with AAI.

Hiring Process

Our interview process includes the following steps with selected candidates moving to each successive step:

• Initial application
• Zoom panel interview with select Arts Alliance staff.
• Traditional interview with the Senior Director of Government Affairs.
• Candidates may be asked to complete an assessment. If so they will be compensated for their time and effort.

Key Responsibilities

Legislative & Administrative Operations (65%)

• Manage the Government Affairs legislative calendar including scheduling meetings with elected officials legislative staff agency partners and coalition leaders.
• Support tracking of bill movement committee hearings deadlines and relevant policy developments; prepare summaries and daily/weekly updates for internal use.
• Draft and prepare meeting materials legislator packets talking points briefing memos and follow-up correspondence.
• Maintain organized shared folders notes and legislative databases ensuring accurate and timely record-keeping.
• Support the preparation and submission of witness slips testimony drafts letters of support/concern and other required documents.
• Provide administrative and operational support for policy work connected to Arts Alliance Illinois major advocacy coalitionsincluding arts education creative workers public funding and dedicated revenueby coordinating meetings preparing materials documenting discussions and tracking timelines and follow-up tasks.

Campaign & Advocacy Support (20%)

• Coordinate logistics communication and schedules for Capitol Day district meetings legislative roundtables and other advocacy events.
• Assist in coordinating action alerts outreach lists and rapid-response mobilization materials in partnership with the Communications Manager and Director of Community Organizing.
• Support the implementation of advocacy campaigns by executing follow-up tasks tracking progress and ensuring communication loops are closed.
• Maintain contact logs and ensure consistent follow-through with key stakeholders.

Cross-Department Coordination (15%)

• Work closely with the Director of Community Organizing to align field engagement with legislative priorities and ensure readiness for hearings and mobilizations.
• Partner with the Communications Manager to ensure timely and accurate messaging about legislative actions updates and calls to action.
• Collaborate with the Creative Worker Research and Programs teams to integrate constituent stories partner insights and data into legislative briefings and messaging.
• Provide regular administrative and reporting support for funder updates grant compliance and internal planning.

Required Skills & Experience

• 35 years of professional experience in legislative policy advocacy nonprofit or government-adjacent environments or in roles with comparable administrative operational or coordination responsibilities in complex fast-paced organizations.
• Strong organizational skills with demonstrated excellence in scheduling logistics document prep and follow-through.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced remote/hybrid environment.
• Experience drafting memos summaries talking points or correspondence for internal or external audiences.
• Familiarity with the legislative process policymaking timelines and the roles of legislators and staff.
• Cultural competence and a commitment to equity in working with diverse communities across Illinois.
• Proficiency with Google Workspace Slack and CRM/database tools.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• 35 years experience in the Illinois General Assembly a government agency political campaign nonprofit advocacy organization or similar policy environment.
• Experience supporting or staffing committee hearings legislative briefings or lobby days.
• Experience coordinating coalition efforts or multi-stakeholder convenings.
• Strong writing and copyediting skills especially under tight deadlines.
• Experience with arts/culture education economic development or workforce policy.

Key Competencies

• Keeps systems organized deadlines visible and follow-up consistent.
• Understands legislative environments and navigates them professionally.
• Produces clear timely materials and maintains responsive communication.
• Works seamlessly with Government Affairs Organizing Communications Programs and external partners.
• Stays focused and calm as timelines shift or external factors change.
• Accepts provides and applies feedback from internal team members and external partners with a growth mindset.
• Manages sensitive conversations documents and relationships with care.

This is a full-time exempt position with a salary range of $66500 $71000 commensurate with experience.

Arts Alliance Illinois offers a comprehensive benefits package that supports a healthy and sustainable worklife balance.

What Its Like to Work at Arts Alliance Illinois

Advocacy work is fast-paced and remote work can be draining. That work is much harder if organizational culture is not a good order to ensure this is the right position for you here are some things to know about us before you apply:

• We believe access to arts & culture makes communities stronger and healthier and therefore advocating for the arts is a common interest shared by all residents of Illinois regardless of background or political affiliation.
• We believe public funding for the arts is a good thing.
• We believe the biggest contribution a person can make to stop the spread of COVID is getting vaccinated whenever theres no medical or religious exemption.
• We encourage professional development rest and transparency about your capacity.
• We are a small organization where sometimes we need to help our co-workers during heavy workloads.
• We work hard but we also support taking time away during the day to nap run an errand or do whatever you need to make remote environments work for you.
• We discourage working nights/weekends but understand that staff have different rhythms when they are most productive. Occasionally we need to adapt to urgent politically-imposed deadlines but we do our best to balance it with time off.
• We cultivate a professional yet collegial work environment where sharing personal anecdotes playlists jokes etc is welcome.
• We encourage staff members to assume good intentions from colleagues during moments of conflict or confusion but also are intentional about creating space for harm to be acknowledged and repaired.
• We acknowledge individuals and organizations can perpetuate environments where discrimination goes unchecked. To ensure we have a shared language to address these challenges staff members attend an Introduction to Systemic Racism training.
• We celebrate diversity and dont seek to assimilate anyone into a broader work culture. We make space for people from different cultural social political and religious backgrounds to share and influence the work we do by being their true selves.

Finally we realize we will always have work to do to improve our office culture and are looking for team members who will enjoy engaging in that process.

Application Close: Feb 27 2026

Contact our hiring team: .

Required Experience:

Manager