Senior Strategist, Federal Advocacy, Advocacy & Partnerships

About the team:
Vera’s Advocacy & Partnerships department is responsible for coordinating the vision, strategy, and staff development across Vera’s initiatives to pass legislation, change policy, and create change at scale. We work to ensure that the goals of our advocacy campaigns align with the people and communities most impacted by criminal justice and immigration policies, and we collaborate with movement and advocacy partners to produce the knowledge and ideas needed to change policies and legislation at the right time.
Vera’s Advocacy & Partnerships department serves the following core functions:
Providing state and local government and movement strategy guidance to Vera’s national and place-based initiatives, with a focus on lobbying, campaigns, and coalition work;
Federal policy expertise to lead Vera’s advocacy strategies in Washington, D.C.;
Vera Insights, a rapid-response data and evidence team responsible for developing and producing data and knowledge to key partners and audiences; and
Coordination with Vera Action, Vera’s sister 501(c)(4) organization.
About the role:
The Senior Strategist, Federal Advocacy is a key member of Vera’s Advocacy & Partnerships department and serves as a strategist and advocate focused on advancing Vera’s federal policy priorities and defending against federal actions that threaten them. The Senior Strategist develops and executes federal advocacy strategies to advance legislation, federal budget and appropriations priorities, administrative policies, and other federal policy changes aligned with Vera’s goals.
The Senior Strategist monitors and analyzes the federal political and policy environment, identifies opportunities to advance Vera’s priorities, develops strategies to influence federal decision-makers, and builds relationships with congressional offices, federal agencies, national advocacy organizations, and other key stakeholders. This role will work closely with movement and coalition partners to build power and advance shared federal policy goals.
At a moment when federal policymakers are pushing a return to failed “tough-on-crime” policies, Vera’s role is to bring the data, evidence, and solutions about what works into federal policy debates, particularly with government and grasstops stakeholders. Vera's February 2026 platform, A New Federal Paradigm for Safety, Accountability, and Justice, reflects the kind of popular, evidence-based federal solutions Vera champions, organized around six planks: strong, accountable policing; ending the overdose crisis; supporting strong mental health and deescalating crisis; tackling gun violence; safe streets and good quality of life; and a fairer, more accountable justice system. On immigration, Vera works to hold federal immigration enforcement accountable, expand access to deportation defense and universal legal representation for people facing deportation, and push back against the expansion of DHS’s power.
The Senior Strategist will serve as a lead strategist on assigned federal policy priorities, helping determine when and how Vera should engage in federal legislative, appropriations, regulatory, and administrative processes. The role requires strong political judgment, an understanding of federal policymaking, excellent communication skills, and the ability to move complex advocacy campaigns forward in a dynamic environment.
1. Develop and execute federal advocacy strategies and campaigns
Work with the Director of Federal Advocacy and other members of the Advocacy & Partnerships department to develop and execute federal advocacy strategies for Vera’s core issues and policy priorities, including legislation and policy change related to safety, accountability, and justice.
Manage assigned federal advocacy campaigns from strategy development through implementation, including coordinating tactics, timelines, partners, and deliverables.
Develop and execute bipartisan congressional strategies by identifying key decision-makers, committees, legislative opportunities, and champions, while building and maintaining relationships with congressional offices and federal policymakers to advance Vera’s policy priorities.
Lead or support the development, drafting, tracking, and advancement of federal legislation, including identifying legislative opportunities, shaping bill language, developing legislative strategies, and supporting efforts to secure congressional support.