CHIEF MOVEMENT BUILDING & MEMBER ENGAGEMENT OFFICER - AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA in Remote, New York at Axis Talent Partners

Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) is the global organization’s presence in the United States. We engage people in the U.S. to fight injustice all around the world, while we also work to protect people’s human rights here in the U.S. Amnesty International USA has more than a million members and activists in all 50 states, who are part of a larger global movement of 10 million people in 150 countries. We are a democratically governed, grassroots membership organization, which means that our members vote on key policy issues and elect our Board of Directors. Some of our members are experts on specific human rights issues, parts of the world, or advocacy areas, and they serve as volunteer leaders. Others are volunteer leaders of local or student groups in towns, universities, states, or regions of the country. Amnesty International USA’s elected Board members, staff, and members work together to lead the organization.

The Chief Movement Building & Member Engagement Officer (CMBMEO) will join AIUSA’s Executive Team (E-team) at a defining moment for both the organization and the broader human rights movement. This role carries an urgent mandate and a rare opportunity: to accelerate and expand how AIUSA grows, engages, and mobilizes its grassroots activist base, building on the knowledge, commitment, and infrastructure the department has developed over many years, and unlocking greater scale, reach, and impact at a time when people-powered action has never been more essential.

As the head of AIUSA’s Movement Building & Member Engagement (MBME) department, the CMBMEO will lead three core units — Events, Mobilization, and Grassroots Leadership & Engagement — alongside a Senior Advisor, and serve as the organization’s chief architect of member experience, grassroots organizing strategy, and activist development. Partnering closely with the Executive Director, E-team peers, and MBME department leaders, the CMBMEO will ensure alignment across the department, build the infrastructure and culture necessary for long-term movement growth, and position AIUSA to activate its people power at meaningful scale.

People power is a key part of AIUSA's identity and theory of change. The CMBMEO will be charged with bridging MBME with the organization’s development, strategy and impact, data, and operations functions to ensure that member engagement and movement building are integrated into all aspects of organizational strategy. The CMBMEO will serve as a key representative of overall member goals, aspirations, feedback, and activation — internally with the E-team and board, and externally with coalitions, partners, and the broader movement.

Our ideal candidate brings deep grassroots organizing expertise, grounded in both proven and innovative approaches, online and offline, and knows from experience that building and mobilizing a movement is a shared, organization-wide effort and thrives in close, cross-functional collaboration.

Executive Leadership & Organizational Vision

• In partnership with members, staff, and the E-team, develop and socialize a compelling, long-term vision for member engagement and movement building, aligned to AIUSA’s strategic framework and the current political moment

• Translate vision into concrete operational plans with clear unit-level goals, accountable timelines, and regular progress review

• Lead effectively through sustained complexity and change, strengthening the department’s capacity for both long-term strategic work and rapid response

• Set a measurable north star for AIUSA’s people power and the MBME department — growth targets, activation benchmarks, retention goals — and establish collaborative systems to track shared organizational goals for membership

• Serve as a connective hub across the organization, building strong partnerships with development, strategy and impact, and operations

• As a member of the E-team, collaborate with peers and the Executive Director to steward organizational vision and impact, engage in organization-wide decision-making, risk management, and Board engagement, and advance AIUSA’s antiracist and values-driven culture

• Strengthen and align department-wide tools, systems, and member communications infrastructure, building on existing practices and innovating where necessary to enhance coordination and impact

• Act as a two-way conduit for communication, representing departmental perspectives to the E-team and conveying organizational, Board, and membership priorities to MBME staff in ways that build understanding and alignment

Key qualifications:

• Executive-level experience in a complex, mission-driven organization; demonstrated comfort operating at the intersection of strategy, people, and organizational politics

• Demonstrated ability to develop and socialize a bold vision for people power and movement building — credible to experienced organizers, legible within a broader organizational strategy — and translate it into concrete, actionable plans

• Clear track record of closing the gap between strategic vision and execution: setting goals, building accountability structures, tracking progress, and adjusting course based on evidence

• Strong cross-departmental partnership instincts; experience functioning as a connective leader across organizational boundaries

• Systems thinker with the ability to manage multiple workstreams and time horizons simultaneously without losing sight of long-term mission

• Comfort making decisive, values-driven calls in ambiguous or politically complex environments

• Demonstrated ability to embed inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) into strategy, operations, and culture

• Develop and drive a bold, long-term strategy for growing and diversifying AIUSA’s grassroots activist base, with clear, measurable goals for membership growth, member group development, and activist retention

• Promote and provide strategic leadership on scaling up a range of activism to demonstrate the power of the people at local, state, national and international levels in ways that are meaningful across a range of issues, such as freedom of expression, refugee and migrant rights, civilian harm in conflict, and more

• Grow member groups across the country by building data-informed scalable, sustainable pathways from first engagement to sustained local activism

• In partnership with the MBME team, architect and steward a comprehensive activist engagement strategy — spanning digital acquisition, multiple on-ramps for participation, and pathways to sustained in-person activism — with intentional focus on recruiting and retaining younger and more diverse members

• Build and sustain coalition and partnership relationships in service of AIUSA’s movement-building goals

Key qualifications:

• Deep, demonstrated commitment to grassroots organizing and people power especially in the United States, including direct experience with a range of activism tactics, from engaging elected representatives to community organizing to direct action, and a clear-eyed understanding of people power's role in this political moment.

• Proven track record of growing and diversifying a member, activist, or constituent base at meaningful scale; ability to speak concretely to what worked, what didn’t, and why

• Sector background in civil rights, human rights, social justice, labor, climate, or civic engagement — where people power, volunteer leadership, and rights-based frameworks are central

• Fluency in digital organizing and the current landscape of how people mobilize across platforms and channels; comfort with activist databases and data-informed decision-making

• Familiarity with the full arc of member and activist development, from first contact to self-directed leadership

Member Engagement & Governance

• Oversee and support coherence and strength of AIUSA’s member structures — local groups, student groups, task forces, and thematic expert volunteers — ensuring they are well-supported, clearly defined in their roles, and connected across the country

• Oversee and strengthen AIUSA’s member communication platforms and channels allowing for effective staff-member and member-member information and knowledge sharing, rapid response activism, and community building

• Provide strategic leadership on the member/staff shared leadership model: building consensus on what ownership and authority members hold, what authority rests with staff, and how those roles interact productively to advance Amnesty’s human rights mission

• Build coherent, equitable programming for member leader development, including structured pathways from student to adult activism and intentional support for leaders from underrepresented communities

• Provide strategic leadership for key member events and oversee AIUSA’s events portfolio — including the Annual General Meeting (AGM), regional conferences, and member-facing programming — ensuring events are strategically integrated with broader engagement goals

• Partner with the development team to ensure digitally acquired contacts are activated into meaningful engagement, offering a range of online and offline pathways that invite people to participate in ways that match their interests and readiness, and support their progression from initial connection to deeper, sustained involvement over time

Key qualifications:

• Experience leading within or alongside a chapter-based, federated, or deep-volunteer membership organization (e.g., Sierra Club, NAACP, ACLU, professional associations, or comparable structures)

• Sophisticated understanding of the staff-volunteer dynamic; track record of establishing productive boundaries and norms without undermining member ownership or agency

• Comfort navigating and stewarding a complex, member-driven governance environment, with an appreciation for democratic processes such as member-led resolutions, and the ability to engage diverse perspectives with patience, clarity, and strategic perspective

• Experience developing and sustaining member leader pipelines, including programs for volunteer recruitment, training, accountability, and advancement

• Demonstrated ability to engage and retain members across a wide range of ages, backgrounds, and levels of prior involvement

People & Team Leadership

• Lead, inspire, and develop the MBME department, bringing coherence, cross collaboration, and momentum to three units and approximately 25 staff, building on the team’s existing strengths and deep institutional knowledge

• Build a culture of trust, accountability, and innovation: create conditions in which staff feel confident to generate new ideas, set clear goals, and hold themselves and one another accountable to results

• Lead through the human dimensions of change with directness and empathy, supporting staff growth and modeling the leadership the department needs to move forward

• Develop department and unit-level goals and accountable timelines that translate organizational strategy into clear, executable work plans

• Promote cross-issue, cross-member structure and leader, intergenerational, and intercultural collaboration, and navigate and actively manage any racial and generational dynamics within and between the staff and member base with cultural competency and equity-centered leadership

• Serve as a two-way conduit between MBME and the E-team, representing departmental perspectives in executive spaces and conveying organizational priorities to staff in ways that build alignment

Key qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience leading people-centered organizational change, including building trust, bringing teams and volunteer communities along through transition, and introducing new ways of working while bringing along the people who matter most

• Proven ability to develop, motivate, and hold accountable senior staff with long tenures, deep subject-matter expertise, and strong institutional standing

• High emotional intelligence, resilience, and capacity to navigate complexity, ambiguity, and interpersonal tension without losing clarity or direction

• Cultural competency and demonstrated ability to lead in a multicultural, multiracial, multigenerational environment with equity and intentionality

• BA/BS or equivalent years of experience

• Minimum 15 years of sustained, hands-on movement-building experience, with a career grounded in grassroots organizing, member or volunteer program management, and organizational leadership

• Minimum 5 years of executive leadership and direct people management experience

• Experience in a large, complex nonprofit or membership organization ; familiarity with federated, chapter-based, or volunteer-driven models strongly preferred

• Experience managing in geographically dispersed, hybrid/remote organizations preferred

• Candidates should be based in US Central or Eastern Time Zones, with a strong preference for those in the Atlanta, Chicago, Washington DC/Maryland/Virginia or the New York City Metro area.

• Ability to travel frequently is required, primarily domestically and sometimes over weekends, for:

• Staff and team retreats

• Quarterly Board meetings

• Partner convenings

• Annual regional activism conferences taking place in AIUSA’S five regions: West, Midwest, South, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast (attendance not expected at all)

• AIUSA's Annual General Meeting (aligns with one Quarterly board meeting)

• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends required — e.g., Board meetings, member calls, Annual General Meetings etc.

• $254,000-$266,000 annual salary range

• An overview of AIUSA's benefits can be found here: https://www.amnestyusa.org/careers/#two