Community Organizer - Own Our Hood Program

VOLAR Values

Healing and Wellness, Cooperative Ownership, Justice and Equity, Shared Leadership and Participatory Democracy, Power, Love, Transformational Learning

Scope of Work

A community organizer is needed for a minimum of a two-year period to support the Village of Love and Resistance (VOLAR) in recruiting and qualifying residents in East Baltimore for its Community Investment Project implemented through the Own Our Hood Training Program- Financial and Social History Political Popular Education Training. The goals for the organizer will be to lead: (1) recruiting and community outreach activities for VOLAR’s Financial Political Popular Education Trainings, (2) support VOLAR’s Financial Political Popular Education Trainings.

The Community Organizer will be supervised by members of VOLAR's Own Our Hood Training Program and will be responsible for the following tasks:

1. Engaging community members over the course of the project:
   1. Building and supporting relationships with a range of community groups to ensure broad community engagement
   2. Lead a team of community members in outreach in their local neighborhoods through door-knocking, neighborhood meetings, and block-groups
2. Recruiting participants for the three-part series of Financial Political Popular Education Training (FPPET) trainings
   1. Design, plan and implement a recruitment strategy to reach target numbers
   2. Design, plan and implement a retention strategy. Build rapport and trust, maintain relationships and active communication with each of the cohorts of FPPET participants for future meetings, after completion of the FPPET.
   3. Work with Data Organizer with tracking systems to monitor progress in outreach and recruitment goals
3. Assisting with data collection and entry activities
   1. Administer in-depth one on one conversation, and questionnaires that collect self-reported information including demographics, health, social support. and participation in community programs
   2. Assist with iterative revision of questionnaires and data collectionprocedures
   3. Assist Data Organizer with entering data from questionnaires and one-one- ones and elicit feedback from training participants and other community stakeholders and leaders on initial results from the questionnaires and one-on- ones.
4. Support the project in developing and implementing dissemination strategies, including but not limited to written reports and presentations for funders/local stakeholders and training participants, newsletters, social media

Required skills and training

• Self-motivated
• Skilled in working as part of a team
• Experience in community organizing in low-income communities of color
• Experience in basic data collection, and data input
• Strong computer, internet, social media skills
• Willingness to engage in honest, constructive, mindful, and compassionate reciprocal critique of self and work of team members with outreach teams and other staff.
• Knowledge of Baltimore communities, history, issues and organizations. [Baltimore residents are strongly encouraged to apply and given strong preference.]
• Must be willing to commit to at least a 2-year involvement in VOLAR Organizing and Curriculum development project
• Ability to build unity and motivate others to action.
• Willingness and ability to work with diverse community residents, particularly low- income residents, to overcome barriers to developing their strength as community leaders and decision-makers

Preferred skills and training

• Experience working with low-income workers
• Good public and interpersonal communication skills, written,verbal
• Ability to see the broad picture and have an eye for detail
• Creativity and sense of humor
• Working knowledge of critical race theory/intersectionality as it pertains to diversity, racial, class, and gender equity and inclusion principles and skilled at facilitating conversations
• Experience in anti-racism/anti-oppression trainings
• Experience/knowledge in public health and social determinants of health

Expected hours are 20 hrs a week. This is a contractual position with a range of $20-$25/hr dependent on experience. This position may evolve into a full time salaried position with benefits over time.

VOLAR will provide preference for a Baltimore city resident. This is an on-site position requiring weekend and evening work hours.