Application Guide
How to Apply for Director of Deliberation (National)
at Unify America
🏢 About Unify America
Unify America is unique as a national nonprofit specifically focused on replacing political division with collaborative problem-solving through structured citizen deliberations. Unlike typical advocacy organizations, they work directly with communities to facilitate cross-partisan dialogue and shared decision-making on local issues. Someone might want to work here to be at the forefront of innovative democratic practices that bridge divides rather than reinforce them.
About This Role
As Director of Deliberation (National), you'll design and manage public problem-solving events and civic assemblies across multiple communities, scaling Unify America's methodology nationwide. This role is impactful because you'll directly build local capacity by training community practitioners and creating learning networks that advance the field of deliberative democracy, helping diverse Americans find common ground on pressing issues.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might involve morning virtual meetings with community partners in different time zones to troubleshoot deliberation design challenges, followed by developing training modules for the Democracy League network. Afternoons could include reviewing data from recent civic assemblies to refine facilitation protocols, then collaborating with the tech team to improve hybrid participation tools before ending with mentoring calls to local practitioners implementing their first citizen deliberations.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Unify America Is Looking For
- Has 5+ years hands-on experience designing and facilitating deliberative democracy processes (like citizen assemblies, participatory budgeting, or consensus conferences) with measurable community outcomes
- Demonstrates successful experience training and mentoring community-based practitioners in facilitation techniques, with specific examples of capacity-building programs they've developed
- Shows proven ability to manage complex, multi-phase civic projects across geographically dispersed sites simultaneously, with expertise in both in-person and virtual deliberation technologies
- Possesses deep knowledge of deliberation tools and platforms (like Pol.is, Loomio, or customized Miro boards) and can articulate how technology enhances rather than replaces human facilitation
📝 Tips for Applying to Unify America
Quantify your deliberation experience: Instead of 'organized community events,' specify 'designed 12 citizen assemblies across 3 states reaching 800+ participants with 85% reporting increased understanding of opposing views'
Create a portfolio section showcasing actual deliberation materials you've developed: training curricula, facilitation guides, participant workbooks, or technology integration plans
Research and reference specific Unify America projects in your application, like their 'Democracy League' partnership network or their work in specific communities mentioned in their case studies
Demonstrate cross-partisan experience: Highlight specific instances where you successfully facilitated dialogue between ideologically diverse groups, not just general community engagement
Include a brief (1-2 paragraph) sample deliberation design in your application materials, showing how you'd structure a virtual/hybrid civic assembly on a current local issue
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
['Your philosophy on deliberation: How you balance structured process with authentic dialogue, and your approach to ensuring marginalized voices are included', "Specific examples of scaling deliberation: How you've taken a successful local model and adapted it for multiple communities with different demographics and political contexts", "Technology integration experience: Concrete examples of how you've selected and implemented tools to support hybrid/virtual deliberation while maintaining engagement quality", 'Capacity-building impact: Measurable outcomes from your training/mentoring work, such as increased practitioner confidence scores or community adoption rates of deliberation methods']
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Study Unify America's specific deliberation methodology by reviewing their public resources, case studies, and any available recordings of their events to understand their unique approach
- → Research their 'Democracy League' partners and local civic leaders they work with to understand the ecosystem you'd be operating within
- → Review their annual reports and funding sources to understand their strategic priorities and how this role fits into their organizational growth plans
- → Investigate the specific communities where they've worked recently (mentioned in their materials) to understand the political and demographic contexts you'd be navigating
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Focusing only on general facilitation or community organizing experience without specific examples of structured deliberation processes with decision-making outcomes
- Presenting as politically aligned rather than neutral/convening-focused - this role requires bridging divides, not advocating for particular policy positions
- Describing technology use in generic terms without demonstrating understanding of deliberation-specific platforms and how they differ from standard meeting tools
📅 Application Timeline
This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.
Typical hiring timeline:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!