Description
Campaign Manager
Dr. Anil Kumar for Congress | Michigan's 11th Congressional District (Independent)
Reports to: Dr. Anil Kumar (“The Candidate”)
Location: Candidates must be based in Metro Detroit. Daily presence in the district required, with regular travel across MI-11.
Status: Full-time, salaried, through November 2026
Start date: Immediate
About the Campaign
Dr. Anil Kumar is running as an Independent to represent Michigan's 11th Congressional District. Dr. Kumar is a practicing physician, community leader, and longtime Oakland County resident running a people-powered campaign built on healthcare access, economic fairness, and restoring trust in government. We are building a disciplined, modern operation that meets voters where they live: at their doors, on their phones, and in their communities.
Position Summary
The Campaign Manager is the campaign's chief executive, owner of the plan, the budget, the team, and the outcome. You run the operation day in and day out, make the hard calls, and make sure every dollar, every hour, and every volunteer conversation is pointed at winning MI-11. You are the operating partner to the candidate, the unifier of field, digital, comms, fundraising, and compliance, and the person who turns a strong independent candidacy into a winning independent campaign. This is a builder role for a disciplined leader who can zoom from a spreadsheet to a stump speech in the same hour and who knows that campaigns are won on the margins, through planning, people, and relentless follow-through.
Requirements
Core Responsibilities
Campaign Plan and Strategy
Own the written campaign plan end-to-end: path to 50 percent plus one, win number, vote goal, ballot access, fundraising, paid and earned media, field, digital, coalition, and GOTV. Keep the plan current, keep it honest, and drive every weekly decision against it. Own the win number and the gap-to-win.
Backward Planning and Master Calendar
Build the master campaign calendar from Election Day (November 3, 2026) backward, and from the Michigan Independent ballot access petition deadline before that. Map every milestone that matters: signature filing, voter registration deadlines, absentee and early voting windows, debates and forums, mail drops, TV and digital flights, GOTV ramp, and Election Day logistics. Publish the calendar, name dependencies, start early, and force a weekly review against the plan so slippage is caught before it becomes a crisis.
Budget and Burn Rate
Own the campaign budget. Set it up with the candidate and finance director, track it daily, and make the trade-off calls: more field versus more paid media, mail versus digital, staff versus consultants. Watch cash position carefully.
Fundraising Leadership
Partner with the Finance Director and the candidate to hit major donor and grassroots fundraising goals. Protect and maximize candidate call time, aggressively build the Rolodex, staff major donor meetings, and ensure every new supporter has a donor ladder to climb. Treat fundraising as oxygen: constant, unglamorous, and non-negotiable.
Ballot Access and Petitioning
Own the ballot access operation for an Independent candidate in Michigan: the signature target with a healthy cushion, the petitioning calendar, paid and volunteer petitioner management, quality control and verification, and filing. Treat ballot qualification as the campaign's first existential milestone; everything else depends on it.
Team Building and Management
Hire, onboard, and manage the campaign team, including the Field Director, Communications Director, Social Media Manager, Finance Director, Scheduler, and any consultants or interns. Set clear expectations, hold people accountable, and create the conditions for talented people to do their best work. Use MOCHA (Manager, Owner, Consultant, Helper, Approver) for every active workstream to ensure ownership is never ambiguous.
Candidate Management and Message Discipline
Protect Dr. Kumar's time, focus, and voice. Own the candidate's schedule in partnership with the scheduler. Run prep for debates, forums, press hits, editorial boards, and major donor meetings. Hold the line on message discipline: one clear message per moment, lead with impact and conflict, avoid institutional framing. When the campaign gets hit, respond with discipline and advanced crisis planning.
Communications and Paid Media
Partner with the Communications Director and the digital and social leads to run a unified message across earned, paid, and organic channels. Own the relationships with mail, TV, radio, digital, and polling vendors. Approve creative. Sign off on spends. Keep message discipline tight across every surface.
Field Oversight and Integrated Organizing
Partner with the Field Director on the field plan and make sure the field, digital, fundraising, and coalition teams are stitched together, not siloed. Every volunteer touch should feed the donor pipeline; every donor touch should feed the volunteer pipeline; every voter conversation should feed the narrative. Embed relational-first thinking across the whole operation, trusted messengers persuade; strangers do not.
Coalition and Endorsements
Build and maintain relationships with labor, community, faith, small business, healthcare, civic, and issue-based groups across MI-11. Land endorsements that translate into real voter contact, volunteers, and fundraising, not just logos on a website. Running as an Independent makes durable coalition work non-negotiable.
Polling, Targeting, and Data
Commission and interpret polling, modeling, and research. Use the data to drive calls on message, resource allocation, and where to double down. Share findings widely enough that the whole team rows in the same direction.
Compliance and Operations
Partner with the compliance firm and legal counsel on FEC and Michigan compliance, financial disclosures, disclaimer standards, and reporting deadlines. Own campaign operations: tech stack, vendors, payroll, insurance, office, and logistics. Keep the trains running so the rest of the team can focus on winning.
Rapid Response and Crisis Management
Lead the campaign when the news cycle shifts, opponent attacks, breaking stories, candidate incidents, or unforced errors. Own the call on whether, when, and how to respond. Keep the candidate calm, the team aligned, and the message on track.
Qualifications
Required
Two or more cycles, or equivalent years, managing a federal or state campaign, or serving in a senior role (deputy campaign manager, political director, chief of staff) on one.
Proven ability to write and execute a campaign plan from a blank page, including budget, targeting, and timeline.
Working knowledge of field, digital, comms, fundraising, and compliance, deep enough to manage heads of each function and spot trouble early.
Fluent in backward planning: can build a master calendar from Election Day backward with milestones, dependencies, and weekly targets.
Clear framework for role clarity on every workstream (MOCHA or equivalent).
Demonstrated hiring, firing, and performance management judgment.
Comfort with FEC and compliance basics.
Strong writing instincts and message discipline.
Available evenings and weekends; full availability for the final three weeks before the November 3, 2026, general election.
Committed to the values of the campaign.
Preferred
Ties to Michigan, Oakland County, or Metro Detroit.
Direct experience on an Independent, third-party, or non-partisan campaign, or on a hotly contested open-seat race.
Ballot access and petitioning experience, ideally in Michigan.
Experience running a coalition-heavy campaign with labor, faith, healthcare, or community partners.
Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, or other language skills spoken in the district.
Strong relationships in the Michigan political, donor, or grassroots organizing ecosystem.
Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: From $8K to $10K per month, commensurate with experience.
How to Apply
Send the following to info@drkumarforcongress.org with the subject line “Campaign Manager”:
Resume.
A short written memo (under 800 words) outlining: how you would run the first 60 days of this campaign, the three biggest risks you see, and how you would mitigate them.
Three references, including at least one former direct report and one person who has given you meaningful fundraising responsibility.
Priority review begins immediately. Position open until filled.
We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected status.
Paid for by Dr. Anil Kumar for Congress
