US Activism Manager - Ben & Jerry’s

Job Title:  U.S. Activism Manager   

Department:  Social Mission             

Ben & Jerry’s:

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., started in 1978 in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont, USA, founded by childhood friends and dedicated activists Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. In 2000 Ben & Jerry’s became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilever with the remainder of an independent Board of Directors to provide leadership focused on preserving and expanding Ben & Jerry's social mission, brand integrity, and product quality.

Ben & Jerry’s has an inspiring ambition to use its position as beloved ice cream company to advance progressive social change. This translates into a fast-paced environment married with an uncompromising grassroots and activist spirit. That is how we remain a true progressive values led organization with a connected 3-part mission that are reflected in our KPI’s:

Social mission: We initiate innovative ways to improve the quality of life locally, nationally and internationally specifically on Climate Justice and Social Justice, Racial Justice, and Economic JusticeProduct mission: We make and distribute the finest quality natural ice cream and euphoric concoctionsEconomic mission: We operate our Company for sustainable, Profitable financial growth

SUMMARY:

The primary role of the U.S. Activism Manager is to lead the strategy development and execution of the company’s U.S. based issue advocacy / activism campaigns that align with Ben & Jerry’s progressive values under the direction of the Head of Global Activism Strategy. The U.S. Activism Manager is a critical part of bringing Ben & Jerry’s impactful activism campaigns to life and requires close coordination across functions internally while also managing a diverse set of external stakeholders and campaign partners. The current focus of activism work are on issues of racial justice and equity broadly and specifically around issues within the criminal legal system. 

Given Ben & Jerry’s unique position within Unilever, the ability to build excellent relationships within both Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s will be essential. Having the right energy and attitude to connect both parts of our organization will be critical for success.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• You’ll work with a cross functional team of U.S. based Ben & Jerry’s staff to develop and execute progressive, innovative, and strategic winning campaigns that support progressive social change.  The campaign issues and partners should move fans and citizens alike from awareness and education to engagement and direct action.  Strategy development, partner selection, and execution of issue advocacy campaigns across multiple channels that align with the company’s Board approved priority issue areas. 

• Support the development of strategies that translate Ben & Jerry’s social mission priorities into compelling and relevant local, regional, and national campaigns.  Identify local, regional, and national level issue on-ramps that that make our activism campaigns timely, relevant, and impactful.

• Cultivate and manage a diverse set of internal and external stakeholders and partners, including civil society / NGO’s, other allies in inside and outside the company, that are partners in creating and executing winning campaigns.

• Support U.S. marketing team in creating compelling content that effectively engages fans and citizens on our advocacy campaigns and inspires them to take action.

• With the U.S. being the most mature Ben & Jerry’s market, U.S. campaigns are often setting the standards and best practices that become models for our overseas markets. This role will capture, document and disseminate best practices, tools, and models that can scale globally. Manage communications platforms for collaboration between the U.S. and global advocacy teams.

• Provide vision and leadership within the Global Social Mission Advocacy Team to ensure Ben & Jerry’s remains the most progressive, innovative and impactful activist company.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum degree or equivalent practical experiences in Political Science, Sociology, Community Organizing or related fields relevant to this work; Marketing, Communications, or a Business degree a plus. 

• An understanding of, belief in and passion for Ben & Jerry’s Mission and Progressive Values. 

• 5+ years of previous activism campaign experience and a proven track of campaign strategy development.

• A strong knowledge of public policy and the political process.  

• Experience working on issues of racial justice and familiarity with the landscape of groups and organizations focused across those issues is a plus.

• A belief in the power of grass-roots campaigning and commitment to movement-building as a theory of change.  

• Experience and understanding of how to use a diverse set of tools and channels, including digital and social media, to inspire people to action in support of progressive social change.

• Experience working across multi-cultural and diverse communities.

• Strong interpersonal, leadership, communication and diplomacy skills.

• Excellent public speaking and presentation skills, and media experience.  

• Attention to detail, planning and preparation.

• Ability to influence internal and external partners in order to establish a collaborative stakeholder alignment across a complex globally matrixed organization. 

• Will work independently, with limited oversight, while defining the role.

• Will design and build programs with potential for implementation across a global enterprise.

Our People Profile 

To support out 3-part mission, Ben & Jerry’s also has an outspoken people-mission. We look for people with these characteristics to strengthen our team:

• Purpose-driven: passion and drive to make a real impact with our social mission agenda

• Empathy: curious to collaborate with a variety of personalities and styles and to build excellent relationships with internal & external stakeholders

• Mastery: continuously learn and develop to remain an expert in your functional area

• Autonomy: dare to make choices and take ownership

• Activism: interested in bringing about political or social change

• Equity: recognizing power dynamics and how biases play out in interactions throughout society; this awareness and these skills are necessary so that throughout our business we engage respectfully and make decisions fairly

Pay: The pay range for this position is $83,200 to $124,700. Unilever takes into consideration a wide range of factors that are utilized in making compensation decisions including, but not limited to, skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, qualifications and education, and other business and organizational needs. Bonus: This position is bonus eligible. Long-Term Incentive (LTI): This position is LTI eligible. Benefits: Unilever employees are eligible to participate in our benefits plan. Should the employee choose to participate, they can choose from a range of benefits to include, but is not limited to, health insurance (including prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage), retirement savings benefits, life insurance and disability benefits, parental leave, sick leave, paid vacation and holidays, as well as access to numerous voluntary benefits. Any coverages for health insurance and retirement benefits will be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans and associated governing plan documents.

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Unilever is an organization committed to diversity and inclusion to drive our business results and create a better future every day for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.  For more information, please seeEqual Employment Opportunity Posters

Employment is subject to verification of pre-screening tests, which may include drug screening, background check, credit check and DMV check.

If you are an individual with a disability in need of assistance at any time during our recruitment process, please contact us at NA.Accommodations@unilever.com. Please note: This email is reserved for individuals with disabilities in need of assistance and is not a means of inquiry about positions or application statuses.