Illinois Coalition & Campaigns Senior Manager

The Illinois Coalition & Campaigns Senior Manager sits at the center of ESIL’s legislative and advocacy work. Reporting to the ESIL State Director and working in close partnership with the Illinois Research & Policy Director, this role is responsible for helping turn ESIL’s strategic priorities into winning campaigns. The Senior Manager helps run the day-to-day execution of legislative efforts that move money and power—inside the Capitol, with coalition partners across the state, and in the public arena when it matters.

This is a role with real responsibility and visibility. The Senior Manager helps operationalize ESIL’s priority campaigns by translating strategy into clear plans, timelines, and targets; coordinating legislative outreach and lobbying efforts; tracking fast-moving political dynamics; and ensuring follow-through across staff, lobbyists, and partners. They are a key point of coordination, helping keep complex workstreams aligned and moving with urgency and discipline.

At the same time, the Senior Manager plays a central role in coalition leadership. They help strengthen ESIL-led coalitions by clarifying roles, securing commitments, and ensuring partners are prepared, mobilized, and moving in sync toward shared legislative goals. They represent ESIL in coalition spaces, legislative hearings, and partner meetings, building trust and alignment while navigating the realities of power, politics, and differing organizational incentives.

This role is well-suited for a seasoned campaigner who understands how policy wins actually happen—through preparation, pressure, timing, and relentless execution. The Senior Manager must be comfortable making smart calls in fast-moving moments, surfacing risks and tradeoffs early, and bringing leaders clear options when decisions are needed. Above all, this role exists to help ESIL win: by turning strategy into action and action into concrete legislative victories.

• Translating campaign strategy into concrete plans: timelines, target lists, milestones, and action steps

• Coordinating legislative outreach with staff, champions, and contract lobbyists

• Tracking bill movement, amendments, hearings, and votes in real time

• Monitoring political dynamics and opposition tactics, and adjusting strategy accordingly

• Supporting high-impact campaign moments such as lobby days, district actions, briefings, and public pressure events—ensuring preparation and follow-through are tight

• Coordinating coalition tables and issue-specific alliances

• Clarifying partner roles, securing commitments, and tracking deliverables

• Preparing agendas, materials, and follow-up to keep partners moving

• Representing ESIL in coalition spaces, legislative hearings, and partner meetings

• Supporting coalition growth by identifying and onboarding new partners and messengers

• Maintaining campaign infrastructure such as workplans, trackers, calendars, and decision logs

• Coordinating across policy, communications, and fundraising to align messaging, timing, and outreach

• Supporting communications execution through action alerts, toolkits, talking points, and storyteller coordination

• Supporting alignment between state and federal ESP priorities in Illinois

• Contributing to advocacy-related donor engagement and campaign updates as needed