2025 FOFC Policy Specialist

Are you passionate about building sustainable, equitable food and farm systems? Do you love working collaboratively? The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is seeking a Policy Specialist to staff our Coalition’s farming opportunities and fair competition policy portfolio, including serving as policy lead on our farm safety net campaign, and other issues as identified. This role will build on your skills and experience in policy research and development, direct advocacy, and grassroots engagement to advance a more equitable and resilient food and farm system. If you are just as excited to dive into the wonky details of USDA’s crop insurance policies as you are to advocate on Capitol Hill, this is the role for you. Each Policy Specialist on our team focuses on a variety of issues and interacts with Coalition members through issue-specific policy committees; in this role, you will build critical relationships, act strategically to advance reforms to public policies, and be well versed in relevant issues. In addition, each Policy Specialist collaborates with the rest of the policy team on shared campaigns and helps to further our racial equity efforts. This position in particular plays an important collaborative role in our cross-cutting work on beginning and other historically underserved producers, immigration, and farm and food labor.

This is a full-time, exempt, bargaining unit position that offers benefits as outlined in the employee handbook and reports to NSAC’s Policy Director. For this DC-based role, we strongly prefer that candidates be able to work on a regular basis from our Capitol Hill office in Washington, DC; NSAC operates with a flexible work policy allowing for hybrid/remote work when possible. We will consider strong candidates based elsewhere with willingness to travel regularly to Washington.

THE ORGANIZATION

NSAC is an alliance of grassroots organizations that advocates for federal policy reform to advance the sustainability of agriculture, food systems, natural resources, and rural communities. For over 35 years, NSAC’s stellar track record of policy accomplishments has been guided by a vision of a future where farmers, workers, and communities sustain a thriving food and farm system that nourishes people, stewards our environment, and builds strong economies. Racial justice – an understanding and acknowledgment of historical and ongoing racial inequities and a commitment to actions challenging those inequities – is a core NSAC tenet we seek to embed in our structure, analysis, policy development, and advocacy.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

The Policy Specialist, in conjunction with the NSAC policy team and NSAC member organizations, leads policy and strategy for select issue areas; represents NSAC and its positions to policymakers; and is lead staff for the Farming Opportunities and Fair Competition (FOFC) Committee, including serving as primary point of contact on cross-cutting issues like immigration and labor. The Policy Specialist collaborates with all members of the NSAC team and applies an equity lens to all work in support of NSAC’s commitment to advance racial equity both within internal organization and coalition processes and through external campaigns and policy goals. 

Within a collaborative, team-oriented environment, the Policy Specialist exercises independent judgment over and initiative in the day-to-day carrying out of specific job responsibilities, while coordinating closely with the Policy Director and Deputy Policy Director in support of NSAC's overall strategic cohesion. 

Policy Priority Advocacy and Implementation - 35% 

• Advocate to Congressional and administrative decision-makers, including deciding on strategic approaches and conducting meetings to build relationships with relevant decision-makers and their staff. 

• Support NSAC’s annual budget and appropriations work by maintaining relationships with relevant USDA program staff and understanding the budget implications for the programs within your portfolio. 

• Work with the Grassroots Team to plan and execute grassroots action campaigns, strategies, and tactics on the policy priorities within your portfolio.

• Develop and maintain effective partnerships with other national organizations interested in our issues and ensure adequate NSAC representation on our key working coalitions. 

Policy and Strategy Development - 25%

• Assemble and support the drafting of policy materials, including legislative text, report language, testimony, rulemaking comment letters, and program analysis.

• Track and analyze federal legislation and agency actions related to the issues in your portfolio, including program RFAs, awards, usage, budget, and impacts.

• Research and stay abreast of developments in sustainable agriculture and food systems in general, as well as public policy perspectives, options, threats, and opportunities, especially with respect to priority policy issues within your portfolio.

• Collaborate with other members of the policy team to share intelligence and coordinate on meetings and other actions, particularly in your role as staff point on key cross-cutting issues.

Issue Committee Management - 15%

• Help coalition members who participate in the FOFC Committee develop and implement specific policy priority campaigns, plan for and learn about emerging issues, and stay abreast of sign-on and backburner issues.

• Actively apply a racial equity lens to NSAC’s policy work, including during the biennial priority setting process, in collaboration with Racial Justice Committee liaisons, FOFC committee co-chairs, and the NSAC policy team, to ensure understanding and due consideration of the equity impacts and outcomes associated with the policy priority issues in your portfolio.

• Work with FOFC committee co-chairs and liaisons to cultivate an inclusive and respectful community that welcomes participation by all members, encourages authentic connection, endeavors to achieve consensus decisions, and emphasizes alignment with NSAC’s community agreements and values.

Communications and Publications - 15%

• Speak on behalf of and represent NSAC at meetings, conferences, and other events when strategic and as capacity allows.

• Develop and maintain relationships with media and offer comments as appropriate to further NSAC’s advocacy.

• Contribute regular blog posts that strategically advance NSAC’s advocacy by establishing fact-based narratives, elevating issues in media, and sharing essential information with stakeholders.

• Help develop NSAC policy position papers, white papers, platforms, and related policy publications.

Organizational Support - 10%

• Provide input to grant proposals and grant reports and evaluations.

• Participate in recurring full team or policy team meetings, and other ad hoc meetings as needed.

• Participate in racial affinity caucusing (staff and coalition) and help plan biannual coalition meetings.

 SALARY AND BENEFITS

NSAC offers a competitive non-profit salary, dependent on qualifications and experience. The range for this position is $76,600 - $95,500.

This position offers excellent benefits (as per the employee handbook), including generous vacation and other time-off policy, health, dental, and long-term disability insurance, matching employer contributions in a retirement plan, and financial support for professional and personal development.

NSAC makes hiring decisions without regard to gender, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is an Equal Opportunity Employer and participates in E-Verify. NSAC welcomes applications from groups that have been historically under-represented, including but not limited to people of color, people from working class backgrounds, women, LGBTQ people, or those who are members of other marginalized communities.

This is not an entry level role; a successful candidate likely has 5+ years of relevant work experience in fields such as legislative, administrative/regulatory, lobbying, legal, or other significant agricultural policy experience, with the opportunity for growth and development in other areas. We encourage interested candidates to apply if they meet at least 75% of the qualifications.  

• An understanding of and passion for sustainable agriculture and food systems

• A bachelor’s degree with 5+ years relevant work experience; or a master’s degree or equivalent in agricultural economics, food systems, agroecology, agronomy, geography, law or public policy, or related field with 3+ years of relevant work experience

• Knowledge of key federal programs and regulatory frameworks, including at least some of the following: federal farm safety net programs (e.g. commodity payments, disaster assistance, crop insurance), farmland access and ownership (e.g. farm credit), agriculture competition and consolidation (e.g. packers and stockyards)

• Experience engaging in the policy process at the federal, state, or local level

• Demonstrated understanding of how racial equity intersects with agriculture and food systems and the ability and enthusiasm to apply this understanding to policy development, ground-truthing, and decision-making

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including public speaking skills and ability to translate complex federal regulations and policies for a lay audience

• Exceptional initiative and interpersonal skills, including the ability to work independently and collaboratively, listen well, build trust, give and receive feedback, and model healthy conflict resolution

• Strong project management skills; capable of planning, prioritizing, and troubleshooting efforts in an ongoing manner and working on variable, sometimes fast-paced project timelines

• Ability to work effectively with, value differences of, and incorporate the experiences and policy impacts on diverse groups of individuals, including race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability, and socioeconomic circumstances

• Enthusiasm for and experience in cultivating lasting relationships and accountable partnerships with a diverse body of stakeholders and decision makers

• Willingness to travel domestically several times a year
  

Additional Experience or Skills that Will Help You Excel

• Experience working in a Congressional office or with a federal agency

• Experience working on a farm or other food enterprise, or within an agricultural community, including farm or food system workers

• Advanced degree or training in agronomy, economics, law, public policy, or another related field

• Experience with multi-organization grassroots coalitions, facilitation, and consensus building

• Experience with field-based or other research and data collection systems

• Background with grassroots advocacy campaigns (e.g. field organizing, lobby days, etc)

• Fluency in a language other than English

The deadline to submit application is Monday, June 9th, 2025.