Leadership Development Community Organizer

VOLAR Values

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

Scope of Work

The Village of Love and Resistance (VOLAR) is seeking a Community Organizer to lead our grassroots organizing base and power building among membership, and nurture members/leaders in East Baltimore, MD with the support of the shared leadership team (Caretaking Council) and general members.

Areas of Work

The major areas of work for the Community Organizer include:

Coordinate Membership Recruitment & Leadership Development

• Conduct regular neighborhood outreach and relationship building with current and prospective primacy-base members (PBM) and Neighborhood Organizers.
• Directly support primary-base member participation in committee system
• Directly support PBM with the completion of the “Steps to Membership”
• Design and coordinate PBM orientations and trainings
• Design and coordinate regular political education sessions and trainings
• Launch Friends of VOLAR membership category

Coordinate (Bottomline) and Support VOLAR Committees

• Coordinate the Radical Organizing School, Base-Building Committee, Mutual Aid, and more
• Coordinate and support committee orientations and trainings
• Attend all relevant Committee Meetings including CTC monthly meetings

Assist in various Information Technology tasks (Social Media, Website, data bases)

• With the help of the Data Organizer, regularly generate content (with PBM) for to VOLAR’s social media and website
• Support Data Organizer in creating and distributing press releases for VOLAR events
• Support Data Organizer in conducting media trainings with members
• Support Data Organizer in conducting outreach and develop relationships with local media outlets and journalists
• Assist Data Organizer in updating VOLAR’s Google and NationBuilder databases
• Assist Data Organizer in transitioning VOLAR from Google Database to NationBuilder database

Build Bridges and Represent VOLAR

• With the support of Neighborhood Organizers, develop relationships with neighborhood organizations
• Create opportunities for collaboration with relevant neighborhood and city organizations
• Along with Neighborhood Organizers, represent VOLAR (with PBM) at community events and meetings

Coordinate Mutual Aid

• Steward/Coordinate regular food distribution to neighbors
• Secure reliable and quality food supply for distribution
• Develop and maintain relationship with food supplier(s)
• Train and support neighborhood volunteers in non-violent communication and various food distribution roles

Education/Training

• Required: Minimum of 2 years of experience organizing with community organizations or neighborhood associations focused on community development, affordable housing, and/or related issues.
• Preferred: Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work with a focus on organizing or related field
• Preferred: Experience working with mission– focused organizations

Required experience/qualifications

• Lived or worked in Baltimore area communities for at least one year
• Commitment to VOLAR’s mission around building community rooted in healing, wellness, and cooperation
• Strong project management and administrative skills; is detail-oriented, collaborative and a creative problem solver.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; is able to work with a range of stakeholders including residents, community members, and partners.
• Computer literacy and comfort working with Google Drive, Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Quickbooks.
• Ability to work some evenings and weekend hours
• Ability to work in-person for meetings, site visits, community events
• Reliable transportation
• Time Management
• Oral communication on skills
• Written communication skills
• Facilitation skills
• Ability to practice effective interpersonal skills with compassion and honesty
• Ability to understand or identify with the experience of poor and working class people
• Willingness to engage oneself and engage with the shared leadership team in honest, constructive, mindful, and compassionate self-reflection and self-criticism

Preferred experience/qualifications:

• Non-violent communication skills
• Telephone Etiquette
• Attention to Detail
• Experience and/or ability to approach problem-solving, and crisis intervention from a “love” perspective (find ways to resolve issues without calling police/agencies when possible)
• Creativity and sense of humor
• Working knowledge of and ability to facilitate conversations on critical race theory and intersectionality as it pertains to diversity, inclusion, and racial, class, and gender equity
• Experience in anti-racism/anti-oppression trainings
• Knowledge of Baltimore communities, history, issues and organizations. [Baltimore residents are strongly encouraged to apply and given strong preference.]

Accountability & Support Process

This Community Organizer will work in collaboration with VOLAR CTC members, general members, the Social Housing Organizer and Own Our Hood Organizer to fulfill their roles and responsibilities. The Community Organizer will participate in a regular and consistent process of accountability and receive direct support from a small team of CTC members. This Team will regularly meet with the Community Organizer for check-ins. These weekly check-ins are designed to assign tasks and roles, offer support to the Community Organizer, promote communication and synergy between committees, address any challenges that may arise, provide evaluation and debrief events and projects, and identify areas of strengths and growth.

Expected hours are 40 hrs a week. This is not a virtual position. This position requires evening and weekend hours as a regular schedule and will not change over time.

Health benefits provided