Job Details

We create opportunities for independence for people with disabilities through research, education, and consultation.

Programs and Political Director / Deputy Director, Center for Independent Living, Inc., Berkeley, CA

The Programs and Political Director is responsible for the vision, development, implementation, and impact of the Center for Independent Living (CIL)'s programs and political organizing.

About Center for Independent Living, Inc.

The Center for Independent Living (CIL), founded in Berkeley as the nation's first independent living center, is a pioneer of the disability rights and independent living movement. Our radical legacy is rooted in peer-led advocacy, cross-disability solidarity, and the belief that all people with disabilities have the right to live with dignity, choice, and freedom. Today, CIL provides advocacy and direct services that increase awareness, collaboration, and opportunity among people with disabilities and the broader community. Our programs equip people with skills, knowledge, and resources to challenge ableism, eliminate barriers, and pursue lives they value.

Description

The Program & Political Director/Deputy Director is a core member of CIL's Executive Leadership Team and the Executive Director's strategic partner. This role ensures the vision, design, delivery, and impact of CIL's programs while advancing community-driven advocacy and political leadership.

The Deputy Director will oversee program managers and staff, ensuring excellence in service delivery, innovation in program design, and accountability through data and evaluation. They will lead CIL's political engagement and advocacy strategy, building coalitions, shaping campaigns, and ensuring that CIL's advocacy is powered by, and accountable to, disabled communities.

This position is both movement-builder and program leader: a bridge between CIL's radical legacy and the systems and structures needed to sustain impact into the future.

Key Responsibilities

• Leadership & Supervision: Supervise, mentor, and support Program Managers and staff with regular check-ins, evaluations, and leadership development. Foster team effectiveness through program manager meetings, planning processes, and collaborative problem-solving. Model equitable and peer-based leadership, guiding managers in supporting staff, addressing challenges, and building thriving programs.
• Strategic Collaboration & Organizational Alignment: Partner with the Executive Director and Leadership Team to set CIL's vision, values, and strategies across program, advocacy, and operations. Serve as a bridge between leadership and staff, ensuring communication, alignment, and accountability. Collaborate with the Board of Directors on programmatic and advocacy priorities. Partner on budgeting, fundraising, and grant development to ensure sustainability and growth of programs.
• Program Development & Innovation: Lead the design and implementation of programs that integrate direct service, peer support, and advocacy. Innovate new program models rooted in community needs, disability justice, and consumer leadership. Ensure programs are inclusive, cross-disability, intersectional, and responsive to evolving community contexts.
• Advocacy & Political Leadership: Lead CIL's political engagement, advocacy campaigns, and coalition partnerships. Ensure disabled voices are centered in all advocacy efforts, from local organizing to state and federal policy. Translate program data and consumer experience into advocacy campaigns that drive systemic change.
• Impact, Grants & Data: Oversee program compliance, contracts, and reporting, ensuring timely deliverables and funder accountability. Partner with the Data Administrator to strengthen data collection, evaluation, and community impact dashboards. Reimagine evaluation by developing outcome measures that reflect empowerment, independence, and justice—not just compliance.
• Justice-Centered Leadership & Culture: Embody and champion Disability Justice principles, anti-racism, anti-ableism, and intersectional liberation. Foster an accessible, inclusive workplace where staff with lived experience can grow into leadership roles. Ensure staff and consumers have meaningful roles in shaping CIL's direction.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in direct services, advocacy, or community organizing within disability movements or allied justice movements.
• Supervisory/leadership experience with diverse staff, including people with different access needs and lived experiences.
• Strong skills in program management, compliance, and budget oversight.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and conflict resolution skills.
• Knowledge of the Independent Living Movement and Disability Rights history.
• Commitment to Disability Justice and ability to operationalize it across programs and culture.
• Preferred: Lived experience of disability.
• Coalition or campaign leadership experience across disability and allied justice movements (housing, racial justice, labor, healthcare, etc.).
• Experience integrating data and storytelling into advocacy or program design.
• Public speaking, media, or policy advocacy experience.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's or Master's degree, OR at least 5 years' leadership experience in a disability, advocacy, or direct service organization.

Physical Demands

• Ability to remain in a stationary position 50% of the time
• Ability to work part-time in-person and travel to other agencies and organizations
• Reasonable accommodations will be made available to individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions on request.

How to Apply

Please submit a resume and a cover letter describing your interest in this position, and how your lived or professional experiences connect to CIL's mission and values.

A NOTE TO POTENTIAL CANDIDATES

Studies have shown that BIPOC and other people from marginalized groups are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet all the qualifications described in the job description. If you believe that you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization, and to considering a broad array of candidates, including those with diverse work experiences and backgrounds. Please use your cover letter to tell us about your interest in this position, and what you hope to bring to this role.

All job offers are contingent on passing a pre-employment background check.

If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the Hiring team at hiring (@) thecil.org.

CIL Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity), national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation or status as a protected veteran. Persons with disabilities, veterans, women, and minorities are encouraged to apply.

CIL is an E-Verify participating employer.

This website is supported, in part, by grant numbers 90ILTA0002 and 90ISTA0002 from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Administration for Community Living policy. ILRU is a program of TIRR Memorial Hermann, a nationally recognized medical rehabilitation facility for persons with disabilities.