About The Democratic Party of Wisconsin

WisDems is nationally recognized as one of the country’s highest-performing and most pivotal political organizations. During the upcoming election cycle, WisDems will drive massive programs to hold Republicans accountable, elect progressive candidates up and down the ballot, and work to build volunteer-led coalitions for the long term. WisDems’ work is grounded in inclusion, respect, and empowerment across race, gender, other dimensions of identity, and the rural/suburban/urban divide. Our work continues year-round, collaborating with partners to build a movement that delivers meaningful change for all Wisconsinites. We seek outstanding applicants who share our values and vision to join the team, help win elections, and build a future where everyone can thrive.

Proudly a Bargaining Unit Position with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

The Opportunity: The Candidate Services Manager will work alongside the Campaigns Director to help build, grow, and maintain the Spring and Fall Candidate Services programs and support the needs of candidates up and down the ballot. By providing one-on-one support to candidates across the state and managing the Candidate Services Team, you will help build a bench of Democratic candidates at all levels.

What You’ll Do at WisDems:

• Support local and legislative candidates by working with the Campaigns Director to execute our Spring and Fall support programs.
• Provide support to a portfolio of candidates as their point of contact, which may include data and organizing questions, designing literature and mailers, assisting with social media, setting up websites, staffing occasional events, and general campaign feedback and advice. 
• Find meaningful or creative ways to support down-ballot candidates who are often functioning on tight budgets and have little campaign experience, which may include providing materials that are easily accessible for candidates regardless of primary status.
• Collaborate with the Campaigns Director to identify targeted Spring races and distribute campaigns to staff portfolios.
• Assist with targeted Spring and legislative races as delegated by the Campaigns Director.
• Develop and maintain internal organizational systems to track and manage various programs, portfolios, and performance.
• Plan and execute additional projects to aid candidate recruitment and support as assigned by the Campaigns Director
• Work with the Campaigns Director to plan out future Candidate Services programs.
• Coordinate with other DPW departments and stakeholders to recruit, assist, and amplify candidates across the state.
• Build and maintain relationships with county parties, partner organizations, legislative leaders, candidates, campaign managers, and state legislative caucuses.
• Maintain and expand a database of elected offices across the state.
• Assist with the administration of voter file access for candidates.
• Manage Candidates Services staff in all aspects of their work and support their success by conducting relevant coaching conversations, providing and receiving feedback, and creating an inclusive and engaging team culture.

Core Qualifications: 

• Accountability & Solution-Oriented: You take full ownership of your actions and commitments, holding yourself to a high standard and seeing objectives through to completion. When challenges arise, you approach them with a problem-solving mindset, focusing on solutions rather than pointing fingers.
• Collaboration & Teamwork: You succeed by working as a team, stepping up to support teammates, and sharing knowledge freely. You actively break down silos by connecting across teams, inviting different perspectives, and staying open to new ideas to achieve shared goals.
• Growth & Adaptability: You are dedicated to continuous improvement and challenge yourself to learn and adapt. You proactively seek, offer, and act on feedback with openness and can anticipate potential obstacles to take proactive steps.
• Respect & Inclusion: You build strong relationships by treating everyone with kindness, dignity, and trust. You approach interactions assuming positive intent and have the courage to address difficult topics directly and honestly while showing care for others.
• Transparent Communication: You communicate openly and honestly to build trust and alignment. You are proactive in setting clear expectations, sharing the "why" behind decisions, and providing timely updates to ensure the right people have the information they need.
• Excellent Written & Interpersonal Communication Skills: You demonstrate strong written and verbal communication, with a willingness to adapt communication methods to meet the needs of various candidates, community leaders, and activists.
• Time-Management Skills: You pay attention to details and can prioritize tasks across multiple projects independently.
• Management Skills: You have the ability to manage relationships within your team, bring out the best in your employees, and treat employees equitably across lines of difference; including but not limited to feedback, performance, and engagement.

Hard Requirements: 

• 1-2 cycles of experience working on a campaign and/or directly with a candidate for elected office.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Existing political relationships with DPW, partner orgs, or electeds.
• Graphic design skills. 
• Experience working with VAN (Votebuilder) or similar software.
• Access to reliable transportation and the willingness to travel statewide.

Benefits: Great benefits including; excellent health care ($1/month), dental ($1/month), vision ($1/month), life insurance (free), short term and long-term disability (free), mileage reimbursement, monthly cell phone stipend, paid vacation days, retirement plan with employer match, 3 floating holidays, 9 paid holidays. 

Equity and Inclusion: The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has a vision for a deeply inclusive  and diverse party organization, membership, and electorate. In order to be successful at the  Democratic Party of Wisconsin candidates must have the cultural competence to successfully  work with a diverse array of constituency groups. We especially strongly encourage applicants  with close ties to Black, Indigenous, AAPI, Latinx, Muslim, non-English-speaking, Disability, and LGBTQIA+ communities. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is an Equal Opportunity Employer.