Job Description

National Field Organizer 

The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation

There’s work and there’s your life’s work. 

Your life’s work ignites a spark that fuels your passion. Your life’s work grabs you by your soul and won’t let go. You are an impact maker.

People join The Harwood Institute to create real, lasting change. The Institute is part of a long tradition of small, catalytic organizations throughout American history that have worked to strengthen and advance our society to create a more equitable, hopeful future for all. The Institute works to create breakthroughs on how to address societal challenges and strengthen civic culture. 

We’re looking for a driven, strategic go-getter to grow and strengthen Harwood’s network through campaign events, strategic partnership development, and network engagement. This is a critical position at the Institute. 

Harwood’s Campaign for The New Civic Path is gaining nationwide momentum. At the heart of this campaign is the belief that a new civic path—not more divisive politics—is the real way to create change in our country. Campaign events are critical avenues for spreading this message, positioning Rich as a civic champion, strengthening relationships with communities, and creating and capturing shareable content. We seek an individual who will expand our reach and influence by securing, organizing, executing, and leveraging campaign events.

Meanwhile, our national network of innovators who believe in community-led change is growing fast and our work is spreading nationwide. You will engage key partners over time, plan and execute core Institute events, manage and expand our network, and help communities understand how they can leverage The Harwood School to learn our approach to creating community-led change. 

You will work closely with the Institute’s founder Rich Harwood; various team members; local partners; and changemakers across the country. 

You are a strategic thinker, diligent executor, and relationship builder. You are mission-driven, love engaging people, enjoy problem solving, and place a premium on making things happen by proactively planning, organizing, and directing. You want to work with communities across the country to amplify the voice of a national civic leader and an innovative catalytic organization and will thrive working in a fast-paced environment with a small, entrepreneurial team. If this sounds like you, let’s work together.

Responsibilities

• Drive the expansion of Harwood’s Campaign for The New Civic Path through securing impactful events and leveraging existing systems to ensure strong event management, communication, and coordination 
• Strategically position Rich and the Institute through events and related marketing materials
• Support planning and execution for the Institute’s in-person events, including the annual Summit, staff/board retreat, and Public Innovators Labs
• Grow and strengthen Harwood’s network by engaging existing partners, actively seeking out new partners, and engaging both around attending The Harwood School
• Manage Rich Harwood’s travel schedule and calls with partners and new contacts 
• Update The Harwood Institute’s contact database with new partner information 
• Work with team members to position Rich Harwood and the Institute as a trusted civic voice by spreading and amplifying our messages, articles, books, and speaking events

Demonstrated Candidate Characteristics

• Track record of enterprising work, especially in event and/or campaign management and partnerships
• Strong decision maker, relationship builder, strategizer, manager, organizer, and scout
• Creative self-starter who takes initiative and is ready to seize opportunities 
• Clear, direct written and verbal communicator
• Able to juggle and excel with multiple responsibilities and deliverables at once
• Culturally aware and sensitive 
• Keen interest in and a basic understanding of community-led change 
• Comfortable saying no, giving and receiving direct feedback, and working with others to course-correct or make adjustments

Terms

• Full-time position based in Bethesda, MD
• Should be able to travel to the Institute’s second location in Richmond, VA semi-frequently
• Should be able to travel with Rich Harwood and other team members to communities semi-frequently 

To Apply

If you want to be a difference-maker, email your resume and statement of interest to management@theharwoodinstitute.org. We are looking to hire the right individual as soon as possible. 

The Harwood Institute has a strong commitment to building a culturally diverse and inclusive team. We encourage women and minorities to apply. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status.

About The Harwood Institute

Founded in 1988, The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that equips people, organizations, communities, and networks with the tools to bridge divides, build capacity, and tackle shared challenges. The Institute has a proven 35-year track record of actively confronting and tackling complex, systemic issues in communities and creating real hope. Our work is rooted in a philosophy of Civic Faith and the practice of Turning Outward, and our approach has spread to all 50 states across the US and 40 countries around the world. Today, we are working with various communities across the country—including Owensboro, KY; DeSoto County, FL; Alamance County, NC; Union County, OH; Reading, PA; and others. We also work to develop national networks of leaders, public innovators, and funders to embrace our practice of Turning Outward and use their communities—not their conference rooms—as the reference point for their work. 

About Richard C. Harwood 

Richard C. Harwood, President and Founder of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, is an innovator, author, and speaker. For nearly four decades, he has devoted his career to revitalizing the nation’s hardest-hit communities, transforming the world’s largest organizations, and reconnecting institutions like school districts and newsrooms to society. He has been recruited to solve some of the most difficult problems of our time. For example, in Newtown, Connecticut, after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Rich led the process for the community to collectively decide the fate of the school building.

His innovative Turning Outward practice—by which communities can tackle shared problems, create a culture of shared responsibility, and deepen civic faith—has spread to all 50 states and 40 countries worldwide. The Harwood School makes this time-tested, high-impact approach accessible to everyone, everywhere. Rich is also working deeply with iconic communities nationwide to prove Americans have the will and ability to come together, amid our real divides, and build communities that work for all of us. 

An inspiring and sought-after speaker, Rich regularly keynotes major conferences and events. He has appeared in numerous national media outlets and is the bestselling author of nine books, including his recent manifesto The New Civic Path: Restoring Our Belief in One Another and Our Nation . Now, Rich is crisscrossing the country on his Campaign for the New Civic Path to reveal a practical and more hopeful way to transform our communities and the country.

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