Director, Federal Policy

Job Description:

Who We Are:

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization working to ensure a fair, inclusive financial marketplace that creates opportunities for all. Through research, legal analysis, policy development, and state and national advocacy engagement, CRL fights for economic equity for underserved communities—particularly Black and brown communities and low-to-middle income families. CRL’s staff, allies, and funders reflect a collective commitment to eliminating systemic injustice in America’s financial services.

CRL provides a strong voice on both the state and national levels for these families to expand family wealth and financial stability through sustainable homeownership, affordable higher education, and support for small businesses, and protect their financial stability by preventing abusive products that trap families in debt and strip away their income, by ending payday lending and other predatory high-cost lending, exorbitant bank fees, and abusive debt collection practices. CRL is an affiliate of Self-Help, a community development lender founded in 1980.

We are seeking a Director of Federal Policy for our Washington, DC team!

Position Summary:

The Director of Federal Policy directs and coordinates CRL federal legislative and regulatory policy activities in coordination with CRL senior leadership to advance CRL policy goals. This is a highly collaborative role which is very involved in developing and coordinating strategy with several other teams within CRL and engaged in frequent communication with those teams as federal developments occur.

What You’ll Do:

OUTREACH

• Represent CRL at external functions, such as at receptions and conferences (this is likely to include events beyond typical office hours).

• Work in coordination with the other organizations and coalitions that are involved in CRL issues.

• Build relationships with coalition partners and industry partners, attend coalition meetings and/or identify the appropriate staff member to attend such meetings.

• Serve as a spokesperson on a variety of topics in the media and on the Hill.

STAFF MANAGEMENT

• Supervise federal policy staff.  Set individual employee goals and provide routine feedback and evaluation of progress toward these goals.  Conduct annual performance appraisals and administer salary adjustments. Develop and implement professional development with team members.

• Model inclusive behavior, continuously build cultural humility, and support staff interested in deepening their DE&I knowledge—including requesting and raising awareness of learning resources.  

• Provide strategy leadership and insight into federal opportunities and threats for each issue and help prioritize workplans.

• Provide feedback with others on issue plans, and their revision and implementation; assist with monitoring of plans and their demands on federal policy and raising issues of resource and scheduling conflicts.

• Ensure that Federal Policy team provides appropriate levels of coverage to workgroup issues, assigning issues to team members to provide appropriate level of support to issues. This includes working with the President and EVPs to ensure highest level of coverage globally from the CRL federal team or identify where resources are needed/more resources could be offered.

FEDERAL POLICY DEVELOPMENT

• Lead CRL’s strategy efforts to advance its legislative and regulatory agendas at the federal level, working with teams to advance CRL’s goals. 

• Monitor and analyze proposed federal legislation and regulations to support CRL’s policy positions to prevent unfair lending practices. 

• Lead technical assistance in drafting federal legislation or regulatory proposals.

• Oversee Capitol Hill and federal regulatory activities in coordination with the issue team leaders and other functional team leaders.

• Review and advise on coalition sign on letters. 

• Convene regular meetings of federal policy team members to update, coordinate and prioritize Hill and federal regulatory policy activities.

• Participate with senior leadership in broad strategy discussions with a focus on how federal policy strategy fits into the overall CRL strategy and resource availability or constraints on the federal team.

• Track federal policy team activities and report on them for purposes of board and funder reports, other inter-organization communication, and for evaluating the effectiveness of current initiatives, and identify where improvements may be needed.

• Participate in or lead issue work groups and craft policy approaches, including research and writing on legal issues and major policy reports, comment letters, regulatory proposals, and testimony, speeches or articles. 

• Support CRL litigation work, including amicus briefs, and develop and maintain relationships with outside partners on litigation matters.

OTHER

• Responsible for compliance of Congressional and IRS lobbying reporting including working with accounting and policy counsels to ensure that proper internal and external costs are properly included, and a complete list of bills and issues are included, as well.

• Advance CRL and Self-Help’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion goals in internal and external work, including through supplier diversity.

• Perform other duties as may be deemed necessary.

What You'll Need:

• Bachelor’s degree or comparable equivalent experience.

• A juris doctorate (JD) degree and/or a master’s degree in Public Policy or related fields and/or experience with consumer financial laws is a plus but is not required.

• 8+ years of experience at increasingly senior levels, ideally in a similar position with demonstrated ability to plan, organize, and direct a comprehensive, innovative, and strategic policy program.

• Experience in civil rights, housing/mortgage lending, predatory lending, consumer law, or banking law, desired, but not required.

• Experience and skill at building relationships with external partners and cultivating collaboration, desired, but not required. 

• Demonstrated commitment to public interest law, families of modest means, communities of color, and experience in racial justice analysis and understanding of how federal/state/local policies contributed to and sustained racial wealth disparities.

• Passion for CRL’s mission; interest and commitment to social justice work.

Compensation Range: $117,000-$153,738 (DC CAP)

Self-Help is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Company Disclaimer: 

Self-Help is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all persons, regardless of race, religion, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression (including transgender status), age, sexual orientation, military and veteran status, class or family status.