Data & Analytics Director

Position Summary

Position Overview

As Data & Analytics Director, you’ll play a core leadership role in one of the fastest-growing, highest-impact grassroots organizations in politics. You will design and lead the implementation of a new data and analytics infrastructure to identify and engage millions of veteran voters in key battlegrounds for civil rights, the transition to clean energy, and national electoral outcomes. You’ll work alongside a dedicated, innovative, and talented team of organizers who have built an engaged and activated membership base.

This position will act as the inaugural statistician and analytical researcher for Common Defense, solving the highest-priority questions facing the organization, while also overseeing the continued refinement of our data infrastructure. Our ideal candidate is a fast-mover and knows how to turn data into action. They love digging into tough questions and coming up with answers that drive real change. Meticulous and committed to rigor, our person is relentless about getting the information needed to achieve the mission.

The Data & Analytics Director is responsible for implementation and management of advanced database systems, developing, testing, and refining predictive models, and creating an integrated data infrastructure that supports the organizing, digital and political campaigns of Common Defense. This role will also ensure that Common Defense adheres to best practices for data management, maintaining integrity and security as we scale our analytics capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

Data Strategy & Infrastructure Development

• Establish a robust strategic vision to guide the organization’s investment in and use of data; evaluate and revise strategy as needed over time.
• Build and oversee an integrated data ecosystem, ensuring all platforms and sources are connected and aligned with organizational goals.
• Oversee our organizing CRM (which we are currently migrating from EveryAction to ActionNetwork)
• Identify, acquire, and integrate new data sources to strengthen Common Defense’s outreach, analysis, and strategic initiatives.

Data Management & Governance

• Develop and enforce data governance standards to ensure best practices in data security, integrity, and compliance.
• Oversee the management, cleaning, and structuring of databases to maintain high data quality.
• Ensure accurate tracking and reporting of Common Defense’s member data, voter data, and program impact metrics.
• Support internal teams with standardized reporting frameworks and dashboards.

Advanced Analytics & Modeling

• Develop and lead in-depth analyses of Common Defense member data, voter file data, survey responses, and other relevant datasets to extract actionable insights and inform strategic decisions.
• Build and validate predictive models to enhance membership growth and voter contact programs.
• Conduct regression analyses, A/B testing, and other statistical methods to measure program effectiveness.
• Develop geospatial analyses and mapping (GIS) to support outreach and campaign targeting.
• Build dashboards and visualizations to make data insights accessible and actionable for various teams.

Cross-Team Collaboration & Stakeholder Support

• Work closely with the organizing, digital, and national campaigns teams to create an integrated pipeline of confirmed veteran, military family, and non-veteran IDs into Common Defense’s membership database.
• Consult with stakeholders across the organization to understand and address their unique data, analytics, and reporting dashboard needs.
• Assist other senior Common Defense staff in commissioning and analyzing polling data.
• Represent Common Defense at external meetings, professional conferences, and coalitions to advocate for best practices in data-driven organizing.

Technology & Vendor Management

• Work with senior leadership to develop the budget for data and analytics, identifying and planning for new technology investments.
• Manage relationships with external data vendors and consultants, assessing data quality and ensuring seamless integration into Common Defense’s ecosystem.
• Oversee the technical infrastructure for automating data flows (ETL pipelines) and API connections between platforms.
• Evaluate and recommend new tools for data warehousing, engineering, and analytics to improve organizational efficiency.

If you’re ready to make a difference and help build a movement, we want to hear from you! Apply by submitting your resume and a 1-page cover letter here. Address cover letters to Perry O’Brien, Senior Campaigns Director. In your cover letter, we encourage you to share why working for a veterans organization engaged in political organizing is meaningful to you.

If you have any questions you can email

Be part of something bigger. Join us at Common Defense and help us continue the fight!