Senior Organizer

ORGANIZATIONAL SUMMARY: Grassroots Collaborative (501c3) builds power with working families through strategic community-labor organizing, grassroots leadership development, civic engagement, and research. We organize to win progressive policies and systems-change that improve the lives of low-to-moderate income residents and communities of color. We utilize popular education to build consciousness and build organization that unites residents to create transformative change for a more just society. Our affiliated 501c4, Grassroots Illinois Action, works to build community political power through issue advocacy and electoral strategies.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Grassroots Collaborative engages in campaigns to make corporations, big banks, and the rich pay their fair share. Our member organizations face the combined threat of public financial crises on 3 levels – city, state and schools. We organize to tangibly improve the lives of working people to win revenue for the programs, schools, and services our communities deserve. We lead long-term strategic campaigns to win a progressive Chicago city budget with an intersectional platform that includes defunding the police and taxing the rich to fund a green new deal and more. 

POSITION SUMMARY: We are seeking an experienced community, labor or coalition organizer. The senior organizer will help develop campaign strategy, coordinate campaign activity among our member organizations and several coalitions, create and conduct popular education sessions and lead public actions to grow public awareness of our campaigns and build pressure on our targets to win our demands. This position calls for a person with bold ideas, tactical creativity, and a commitment to developing long-term strategies that generate intermediate wins. We are looking for a strong team player, who can also work independently. The ideal candidate will have an ability to identify strategic opportunities as well as have a deep commitment to movement-building. An interest in public budgets, corporate accountability, racial justice and anti-austerity work will be a strong asset.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Coalition Building – Maintain communication with coalition partners and engage them in strategic campaigns including digital, legislative and street actions.
• Strategy Development – work with the campaign director to develop long-term campaign strategy.
• Political Education & Leadership Development– Design and conduct workshops and presentations that educate our member organizations and coalition partners about the origins of our fiscal, racial and climate crises and prepare members to lead elements of our campaigns. 
• Communications – Work with the Communications Director to create and amplify a public narrative that reimagines Chicago as a place where Black and Brown families thrive.
• Direct Action – Develop and execute a variety of member-led actions that move our campaign objectives forward.
• Legislative – Implement grassroots lobbying strategies to educate legislators on campaign demands and policy solutions.
• Other roles: Participate in Grassroots Collaborative staff team and other organization-wide meetings and activities. Additional roles and responsibilities as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• 5-8 years full-time labor, community, constituency or coalition organizing experience
•  Ability to coordinate large and complex multi-issue coalitions
• Strong organizational, leadership, and problem-solving skills
• An energetic and strong commitment to progressive social change and racial, economic and environmental justice within an anti-oppression framework
• Ability to motivate and inspire others
• Willingness to work some irregular hours, including evenings and weekends, and travel (when it is safe to do so)
• Experience with corporate campaigns, environmental justice, abolition, interest in Wall Street accountability a plus
• Excellent verbal communication and writing skills. Ability to communicate effectively with staff and grassroots leaders
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot issues as they arise, make contingency plans, and shift plans as needed
• Spanish language skills are a plus
• Proficient in Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Google Suite, Slack
• Excellent team player, able to meet deadlines and work independently
• Strong innovative, creative, and critical thinking skills
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in politically sensitive and high-pressure environments
• Effective time management skills, including prioritizing and managing multiple tasks, with light supervision

WORK ENVIRONMENT: 

• Position is based in Chicago
• COVID Considerations: Grassroots Collaborative recognizes that we need to make shifts to address the continuing difficulty of the pandemic on our emotional and physical health.
• We are working remotely until it is safe to return to the office.
• For the duration of the pandemic, we are implementing a 4 day work week, with Full Time Employment defined as 32+ hours, with Fridays off. (There will be exceptions, where more working hours are required, including on Fridays or over the weekend.)
• Some travel in the Chicago metro area is required, along with central and downstate Illinois.