Senior Area Director - Field

New York State Nurses Association

Senior Area Director - Field (2 open positions)

Downstate

Based in New York City, NY

The New York State Nurses Association is a union of 42,000 frontline nurses standing together for strength at work, our practice, safe staffing, and healthcare for all. We are New York's largest union and professional association for registered nurses.

Mission of the Role:

The Senior Area Director – Field ensures that the organization’s field program remains organized, accountable, proactive, and deeply connected to members. The role is ultimately responsible for ensuring that Directors are equipped to lead, staff are focused and supported, bargaining units are prepared, campaigns are moving forward, and members receive exceptional representation while building the leadership and collective power necessary to advance the organization’s long-term goals.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Senior Area Director – Field provides day-to-day leadership and oversight of the organization’s field program. The Senior AD is responsible for ensuring that field operations remain strong, staff are supported and accountable, organizing and bargaining priorities continue moving forward, and members remain at the center of the organization’s work. This is a permanent, full-time position and reports to the Director of Strategic Initiatives & Campaigns. This role is Field-based, state-wide; extensive travel, as well as evening and weekend hours will be required to fulfill the duties of this position.

This role provides direct leadership and coaching to Directors, maintains a strong presence in the field, oversees execution of organizing and campaign priorities, and ensures teams are prepared for upcoming bargaining and major organizational campaigns. The Senior AD also serves as a critical connection between field operations and senior leadership, identifying emerging challenges, escalating significant issues, and ensuring organizational priorities are translated into disciplined field execution.

Success in this role requires strong people management, organizing judgment, operational discipline, and the ability to balance immediate field needs with longer-term organizational priorities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Field Leadership & Director Support

• Provide day-to-day leadership, coaching, and support to Directors responsible for field teams and programs.

• Establish clear expectations and priorities and ensure Directors have the information, resources, and support necessary to lead their teams effectively.

• Conduct regular check-ins with Directors to assess progress, troubleshoot challenges, remove barriers, and strengthen management practices.

• Support Directors in managing staff performance, workloads, priorities, and complex field situations.

• Promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, problem-solving, and continuous improvement across the field program.

• Field Presence & Organizing Execution

• Maintain a consistent presence in the field by visiting worksites, observing staff, attending meetings and actions when appropriate, and engaging directly with members and leaders.

• Assess whether organizing plans are being implemented effectively and identify opportunities to strengthen execution.

• Ensure staff are spending meaningful time with members and maintaining strong relationships at worksites.

• Identify field challenges early and work with Directors and staff to develop solutions.

• Use direct observation, staff feedback, member input, and organizing data to assess the health and effectiveness of the field program.

• Member Service, Engagement & Leadership Development

• Ensure members remain at the center of field priorities and decision-making.

• Maintain high standards for member representation, workplace issue resolution, and responsiveness to member needs.

• Ensure teams are consistently identifying, recruiting, developing, and supporting member leaders.

• Strengthen member participation in workplace organizing, bargaining, campaigns, political and legislative work, and other organizational priorities.

• Promote organizing approaches that build durable member leadership, stronger worksite structures, and greater member ownership of the union.

• Bargaining & Contract Campaign Readiness

• Ensure bargaining units approaching negotiations have strong preparation plans and clear timelines.

• Work with Directors and field teams to develop and execute effective contract campaigns that engage members before and throughout bargaining.

• Assess bargaining readiness, including member engagement, workplace structures, bargaining committees, leadership development, communications, and escalation capacity.

• Identify units requiring additional support and coordinate resources to strengthen preparation.

• Ensure bargaining preparation is integrated into broader organizing and leadership development goals.

• Safe Staffing Campaign

• Build field readiness for a coordinated statewide Safe Staffing campaign.

• Work with Directors and field teams to integrate Safe Staffing campaign goals into ongoing organizing and member engagement.

• Identify opportunities to educate, engage, and mobilize members around Safe Staffing.

• Assess worksite and regional readiness and identify gaps in leadership, structure, participation, or organizing capacity.

• Coordinate with organizational leadership and relevant departments as campaign strategy, timelines, and expectations are finalized.

• Daily Field Operations

• Oversee day-to-day field operations and ensure continuity during the interim leadership period.

• Respond to urgent field, staffing, member, and operational issues and ensure appropriate follow-through.

• Review and approve routine PTO requests and address coverage and staffing needs.

• Support Directors in prioritizing competing demands and deploying staff and resources effectively.

• Make timely operational decisions within the authority of the role and elevate matters requiring senior leadership involvement.

• Performance, Accountability & Organizational Priorities

• Translate organizational priorities into clear expectations, assignments, timelines, and measurable field outcomes.

• Regularly review progress across teams and ensure commitments and assigned work are completed.

• Establish or maintain effective systems for tracking organizing, bargaining, campaign, and member engagement priorities.

• Identify performance gaps, emerging risks, or areas requiring intervention and take appropriate action.

• Use field observations, organizing metrics, staff reports, and member feedback to inform decisions and resource allocation.

• Leadership Communication & Coordination

• Maintain regular communication with senior leadership regarding field progress, significant developments, emerging risks, and member concerns.

• Escalate issues requiring additional organizational support, resources, or executive decision-making.

• Ensure Directors receive timely information regarding organizational decisions and priorities.

• Coordinate with other departments as necessary to ensure field work is aligned with bargaining, political, communications, campaign, and organizational priorities.

• Represent the needs and perspectives of members and field staff in leadership discussions and organizational decision-making.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• Significant experience in labor organizing, field organizing, union representation, campaigns, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience supervising, coaching, and developing managers and/or organizing staff.
• Strong understanding of member-based organizing, leadership development, workplace organizing, and contract campaigns.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple teams, priorities, and urgent issues in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong judgment and ability to make timely decisions while recognizing when issues require escalation.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, coaching, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Ability to build strong working relationships with members, staff, elected leaders, and organizational leadership.
• Commitment to member-centered unionism and building the power and leadership of working people.
• Ability to travel regularly to worksites, meetings, bargaining sessions, and campaign activities and to work evenings and weekends when required.

Preferred:

• Experience leading multiple field teams or supervising managers.
• Experience with bargaining preparation and comprehensive contract campaigns.
• Experience coordinating large-scale, regional, or statewide organizing campaigns.
• Experience working across organizing, bargaining, political, communications, and campaign functions within a labor organization.

Core Competencies:

• Member-Centered Leadership

• Keeps members, their workplace issues, leadership development, and collective power at the center of decisions.

• People Leadership & Coaching

• Sets clear expectations, develops managers and staff, provides actionable feedback,