Heartland Fund Rural Democracy Policy & Program Senior Manager

Heartland Fund, part of the Rural Democracy Initiative (RDI), is seeking a Rural Democracy Policy and Program Senior Manager. This position requires a strategic thinker who is committed to building a thriving democracy and rural communities. They will develop and manage a portfolio of grantees, convene rural policy partners and drive key rural policy outcomes, and inform our strategy.

We are looking for a collaborative team player with experience building powerful civic, political, and/or policy infrastructure that advances community solutions, ideally for rural people and places. The successful candidate will be service-oriented, an excellent writer, able to manage competing priorities and deadlines, and balance many strategic considerations.

You will have an opportunity to help us enable equitable investment in rural communities, democracy, and climate solutions. This is a unique and dynamic position with opportunities for growth and impact as the Heartland Fund prepares to launch as an independent entity in 2027.

This is a remote position with a salary range of $85,000 to $100,000 and includes a generous benefits package.

As a funder collaborative, the Heartland Fund scales investment, supports local leaders, and builds long-term partnerships with rural and Native organizations to create thriving places where rural working people can determine our own futures, strengthening the entire nation. Heartland's grantmaking and programmatic investments support rural people working to transform their lives and communities toward shared prosperity, a healthy climate, and stronger democracy.

We invest in building local capacity for issue advocacy, community organizing, economic development and local jobs, climate solutions, civic engagement, and sustainable urban-rural coalitions. We prioritize racial justice in all aspects of our work. In addition to grantmaking, Heartland also supports rural leaders and organizations through convening, research, and communications and storytelling.

Heartland Fund has three programs:

• Rural Democracy builds civic power by investing in rural organizing infrastructure and leadership to ensure rural people have a meaningful say in the decisions that shape their lives.
• Resource Rural (RR) mobilizes resources enabling rural communities to unlock public and private investment to create positive economic change in their communities.
• Rural Climate Partnership (RCP) supports hometowns across America to accelerate climate solutions and build healthy local economies.

This position is with Heartland Fund’s 501(c)(3) Rural Democracy program that, alongside the 501(c)(4) Rural Victory Fund, comprises the Rural Democracy Initiative. RDI invests in civic engagement infrastructure in small towns and rural areas. Building power in these communities is essential to establishing an enduring pro-democracy, multiracial majority, and implementing the policies required for rural and small city communities to have vibrant, thriving futures.

Our coalition of rural innovators and aligned funders is working in more than 25 states across diverse regions. We support rural people working to transform rural America - and therefore the entire country - for decades to come.

Small town, small city and rural voters maintain disproportionate power to shape national policy and politics. Historically, a strong coalition of rural farmers and urban laborers advanced progress in this country, but in recent decades the leadership and funding infrastructure for progress has largely withdrawn from non-metro areas. At the same time, anti-democratic interests have invested heavily in rural voters. They’ve built organizing, policy, and communications machines to spread…