Ethan for Kansas: Political Director

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SALARY

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JOB DESCRIPTION

Ethan Corson, a lifelong Kansan and current State Senator, is running for Governor of Kansas. Ethan is endorsed by Governor Laura Kelly, and this is one of the most competitive gubernatorial races in the country. You can learn more about Ethan here.

The Political Director will report to the Campaign Manager and will work closely with senior campaign leadership and the candidate to build and execute the campaign’s political program, including endorsements, stakeholder engagement, coalition development, and surrogate strategy. The ideal candidate will have multiple cycles of political organizing or stakeholder-facing experience, strong relationship-building and follow-through, and the ability to drive complex work streams across a fast-moving campaign.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute the campaign’s political plan, including endorsements, coalition programs, and stakeholder outreach

• Build and manage relationships with key political stakeholders across Kansas

• Lead the endorsement process end-to-end: targeting, outreach, meetings, tracking, securing, and rollout coordination with communications and digital

• Oversee coalition development and engagement

• Recruit, train, and deploy surrogates; coordinate surrogate participation in events, earned media opportunities, and organizing moments

• Staff the candidate for political meetings, stakeholder events, and coalition engagements

• Coordinate with the field, finance, and communications teams to ensure political relationships support turnout, fundraising, and message amplification

• Track political goals and deliverables with clear systems

• Manage additional political staff and/or consultants as the campaign grows, as needed

Qualifications:

• At least two to three cycles of political experience (campaigns, government, advocacy, labor, party organizations, or comparable stakeholder-facing work)

• Demonstrated ability to build trust quickly and maintain strong relationships across diverse constituencies

• Experience executing an endorsement process, coalition program, and/or stakeholder engagement plan

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to draft concise briefing memos, meeting prep, and follow-up notes

• Highly organized with strong attention to detail; able to manage multiple moving pieces and hit deadlines without things slipping

• Comfortable staffing the candidate in meetings or events

• Willingness to work irregular hours, including nights and weekends, as the campaign schedule demands

• Kansas ties or experience is a plus, but not necessary