Legislative Coordinator

Background: Amnesty International is a human rights movement drawing support from some 300,000 members nationwide. Our numbers give Amnesty excellent potential to influence human rights legislation in Washington, provided Amnesty’s legislative action is coordinated.

Job Description: The State Legislative Coordinator (LC) is an unpaid volunteer leadership position within Amnesty International’s volunteer activist structure. LCs work in conjunction with Amnesty’s professional legislative advocates in Washington, Area Coordinators, Student Area Coordinators, regional staff, and statewide membership to achieve legislative goals in the United States. With Amnesty’s ongoing training and resources the LC is expected to:

Know the Issues: Keep current with Amnesty International’s national legislative priority issues through e-mail, the internet*, and via conference calls (about four calls per year);

Outreach to Groups: Educate and train state Amnesty activists and leaders by conducting at least one area training a year, or by addressing individual group meetings. These trainings should result in at least three meetings a year between activists and their Members of Congress. The Legislative Coordinator should help other Amnesty activists develop working relationships with elected officials. Also, the Legislative Coordinator should seek to work in coalition with other organizations on Amnesty’s priority issues when appropriate;

Coordinate Efforts: Set-up, maintain, and use e-mail bursts and phone trees. Track legislative activity of all Amnesty groups in the state and encourage groups to inform the Government Relations Office when the group is able to schedule a meeting with their elected official. Maintain regular contact with other volunteer leaders by contacting each Area Coordinator and Student Area Coordinator once per month;

Keep Your Own Skills Sharp: To keep your own skills fresh, develop a working relationship with a Member of Congress (including at least 2 meetings per year and one letter to the editor) and, attend the yearly Legislative Institute (Washington, DC) and at least one other Amnesty conference each year.

Routine Amnesty travel is subsidized. Internet access, while integral to the role of LC, is not subsidized (*Internet access can be obtained through most local libraries, and free e-mail is available). While hours vary, the job requires a commitment of approximately three hours per week.