Collar County Organizer

About The People’s Lobby

The People’s Lobby is a membership-driven organization devoted to organizing widespread support for public policies and candidates – including people from our communities – that put racial justice and the needs of people and the planet before the interests of big corporations and the very rich. We train leaders to build bases of people and money power in our communities, organize support for progressive legislation, and endorse candidates and take direct action to pressure elected officials and other powerful people to put the interests of people and the planet first.

Responsibilities:

Base building

• Grow our membership base in Chicago’s Far West Suburbs (a portion of DuPage and Will counties to be determined in collaboration with the Organizing and Political Directors and the existing membership base)
• Use The People’s Lobby’s methodology of relational organizing to identify leaders committed to building power with our organization. This methodology includes one to one relational meetings with community members and leaders to understand what they want, need and are willing to take responsibility of campaign leadership to win. Mentor and support current members on how to engage and grow their base of membership locally via organizing events.
• Create and implement a calendar of local events that engage current and new membership which deepen and strengthen political analysis and their engagement.
• Build relationships with community institutions and leaders who might be interested in organizing with us, i.e. local organizations, churches, schools, service providers, community centers and elected officials.

Issue & Electoral Campaigns

• Organize people and communicate with voters around elections.
• Organize people around implementation and defense of the Pretrial Fairness Act and TPL’s environmental justice work.
• Identify and organize around other racial and economic justice issues based on the self-interests of collar county leaders.

Leadership Development

• Use a deep leadership development model to invest in highly engaged community leaders and prospects in order to test their leadership, grow their vision of their own leadership in our organization/collective, and deepen their investment and participation.

Fundraising

• Engage core team in a membership drive to bring in dues-paying members in the collar counties.
• Participate in all staff fundraisers.

Other

• Participate in and organize collar county leaders to participate in The People’s Lobby organization-wide campaigns and activities

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated success in relational organizing and in working with people from diverse race, class and gender identities.
• Demonstrated success in working with volunteers to complete group projects.
• Demonstrated success using a combination of tactics (canvassing, community meetings, social media or other) to bring new people into an issue or electoral campaign or as organization members.

Qualities Sought:

• Angry about injustice in the world and committed to effectiveness.
• Willingness to work within The People’s Lobby’s organizing methodology, including a focus on self-interest, negotiation and agitation.
• Enjoys working with people and is capable of negotiating clearly with members, coworkers and the supervisor about how we do the work.
• Willingness to take risks and do things outside of personal comfort zone.
• Attentive to details, which is often the difference between an average organizer and a highly effective organizer. Examples include keeping a busy calendar and the ability (or willingness to learn) how to think through the steps of managing meetings or events involving groups (sometimes large groups) of people.
• The ability to take multiple perspectives, even at times seemingly competing perspectives, and see what might be true (partial truths) in each of them.
• Kind, but direct. Able to give and receive feedback.

The People’s Lobby is committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. We believe that a diverse team enriches our work and strengthens our mission. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds who are passionate about social justice and who share our commitment to equity and inclusion.

Employer-paid health and dental plans, technology and transportation stipends, and 5% retirement contribution. The People’s Lobby offers generous paid time off, including 10 sick days per year and 10 days of paid time off for the first year of employment. The following holidays are observed by the organization: New Year's Day, Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Indigenous People's Day, and Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday. In addition to the holidays officially observed by the organization, permanent, regular employees are entitled to five (5) paid floating holidays, to be used for the observance of other civic holidays, religious holidays, or other days of personal significance. Additionally, offices will be closed for the last ten business days of each year.