Candidate Recruitment Manager

Candidate Recruitment Manager

Overview

The Candidate Recruitment Manager will primarily help lead JD’s efforts  to recruit the next generation of progressive leaders in Congress. Secondarily, this role will also support our campaigns. The Candidate Recruitment Manager will work cycle round to ensure JD is recruiting transformational leaders with strong paths to victory for current and upcoming election cycles. This includes leading on district targeting, outreach and our JD nomination and endorsement process.. The ideal candidate has high emotional intelligence and communication skills, is able to build trusting relationships with a wide array of individuals, the instinct to lean into productive conflict, and a well-rounded background across campaign departments.

The Candidate Recruitment Manager reports to Alexandra Rojas, the Senior Advisor.

This position will begin in January 2027, the application deadline is November 23rd 2026.

Responsibilities

Recruitment and Endorsement (80%)

• Manage our candidate nomination and vetting process, modifying and updating it each cycle to be as powerful as possible
• Manage district research, targeting and polling to ensure we are focusing our recruitment it the most strategic districts.
• Own our district outreach planning and manage all staff to participate in the candidate recruitment process as appropriate
• Conduct district outreach, having in-depth conversations with community leaders to power map communities and identify potential nominees.
• Directly manage incoming nominations.
• Ensure all candidate recruitment efforts are systematized and well tracked internally.
• Manage relevant external partners, consultants and volunteers to get the most out of their work towards candidate recruitment
• Work in collaboration with the Campaigns Director to plan and debrief the Candidate Recruitment process.
• Hold national and local political relationships and leverage them to find transformational candidates for JD

Winning Campaigns (20%) 

• Support on challenger races in high impact ways like managing and monitoring budgets, key plans and coaching staff.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of political campaign, electoral organizing, or progressive movement experience, including at least 1 electoral cycle in a campaign, political, or field role.
• Demonstrated track record of community-level relationship building and coalition work. Able to listen deeply, map out local political landscapes, and identify community leaders.
• Comfort working with voter data, district-level demographic data, and synthesizing basic research or poll summaries for decision-makers.

• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to build and maintain strong relationships, communicate effectively, and move through tension/disagreements productively.
• Comfort leaning into direct, sensitive conversations. Able to ask probing questions during candidate vetting, navigate delicate political dynamics, and deliver candid evaluations to leadership.
• Highly organized project manager who excels at maintaining pipeline tracking, coordinating schedules, and ensuring no potential nominee falls through the cracks.
• Ability to turn complex/abstract goals into monthly, weekly, and daily priorities, and to hold yourself accountable to achieving them
• Ability to operate well in a high-pressure environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working on challenger or progressive primary campaigns.
• Familiarity with candidate endorsement processes, questionnaire tracking, or vetting workflows within an advocacy organization, caucus, or PAC.
• Existing contacts or familiarity with progressive movement groups, labor locals, or community organizing networks.

Location

We are a fully remote organization. Anywhere in the US is fine. 

Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the U.S.

Salary & Benefits

• $85,500 annual salary
• This is a fully remote position, with some travel
• Unlimited vacation with a 2 week minimum, all federal holidays off, and the organization is closed the final week of the year
• Unlimited sick days
• Fully paid Health, Vision, Dental (including dependents)
• 401K and 4% employer match
• Raise every two years

JD is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, disability, marital status, or veteran status. Candidates from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.