Lead Organizer

Description

About Californians For Justice (CFJ)

Californians for Justice is a statewide, youth-powered organization fighting to improve the lives of people of color, immigrants, low-income families, LGBQiA2S+/TGNC youth and other marginalized communities. Through organizing in schools and in their neighborhoods, youth who join Californians for Justice become leaders in their own communities. They deepen their knowledge on issues like systemic racism, gender and sexuality, and education inequity, and organize and activate their peers to take action.

CFJ organizes students to have a voice in both local and statewide education policy. Our campaign and policy reform goals include adequate and equitable school funding, increased access and success in K-12 and higher education, and creating Relationship Centered Schools - schools that invest in youth voice, in staff, and in creating space for youth and adults to build positive relationships with one another. CFJ currently has four regional offices in Fresno, Long Beach, San Jose and Oakland, 48 full-time equivalent staff and a budget of $4 million.

Californians for Justice has been successful because of our strong, dedicated staff team. CFJ staff are unwavering in their commitment to youth power and racial justice, to building connection and trust with their teams, and have a strong sense of purpose and dignity in their work.

Position Overview

The Lead Organizer plays a pivotal role in advancing Californians for Justice (CFJ) mission by

leading local education organizing campaigns, building grassroots power, and developing

youth and community leadership. This position is responsible for strategic campaign

development, base-building, leadership development, supervising organizing staff, and

contributing to organizational growth.

Additional Details

The position is full-time and non-exempt. In all duties and responsibilities, this position

exercises discretion and independent judgment. The position can be based in any of CFJ’s

four offices - Fresno, Long Beach, Oakland or San Jose with some statewide travel required.

Requirements

Essential Responsibilities

Organizing & Campaign Leadership (40%)

• Advance local education organizing aligned with CFJ’s long-term strategic orientation by leading campaigns through strategic planning sessions, bi-weekly check-ins with staff and members on campaign progress, ongoing assessment and evaluation, and demonstrating the ability to pivot and adjust the strategy if necessary.
• Organize yearly community events as a campaign tactic to engage the broader community and elevate CFJ’s presence and leadership in the community.
• Create and implement youth-friendly campaign plans, resources, and materials to effectively engage young people.
• Build and sustain meaningful relationships with the community, community leaders, decision-makers, and allies in the region through consistent engagement and partnership in local campaigns.
• Ensure active student involvement and leadership in all stages of local and statewide campaigns, promoting ownership and growth informed by “CFJ’s Youth Voice Continuum”
• Support statewide initiatives and projects by providing leadership on campaign events, regions statewide delegations, and electoral efforts.
• Facilitate monthly campaign team meetings and feedback sessions and collaborate with your Organizing Director to provide coaching sessions as needed.

Base Building and Leadership Development (20%)

• Guide regional base-building strategy, including yearly and semester assessments of your base and the planning, executing, and evaluating base-building drives and activities to meet annual goal, including the implementation of staff weekly outreach plans.
• Conduct training and support for organizers, interns, and core leaders in base-building, including but not limited to after-school and community outreach, classroom presentations, phone banking, and one-on-ones.
• Provide year-round support for developing regional school-based chapters through onsite observations and collaborative assessments with organizers and interns, as well as coaching and strategic support as needed.
• Establish a high level of rigor in managing our leadership development programs by creating and facilitating skill-building and political education workshops for intern and core leaders.
• Work with organizers to ensure rigorous tracking of regional members' leadership development using administrative systems, one-on-one check-ins, and personalized leader development support.
• Build and manage your regional Distributed Leadership Model (DLM) structure by providing organizers and interns with the needed orientation, training, resources, and year-round support to develop a robust DLM that is staff and youth-led.

Supervision (20%)

• Supervise two Organizers and two Statewide Strategy Team (SST) interns, providing guidance and support to help develop individual and regional organizing work plans through consistent weekly one-on-one check-ins.
• Organize, design, and lead regular regional team meetings to assess progress and align efforts toward annual/semester goals.
• Leads their weekly supervision meeting with their Organizing Director by consistently completing the check-in agenda before meetings and utilizes that time and space to discuss strategy questions, receive thought partnerships, and troubleshoot challenges.
• Provide comprehensive weekly updates to the Organizing Director on your wheel of work.
• Conduct 2X2 feedback minimum once a month to strengthen supervision. 2X2 is a feedback tool that will be provided during the onboarding period.
• Conduct yearly performance evaluations with supervisees to measure effectiveness on
• annual goals and overall performance.

Fundraising & Local Administration (5%)

• Participate and ensure the organizing team participates in all statewide grassroots fundraising activities, including maintaining a portfolio of individual, local businesses, and organizational prospects for solicitation and supporting regional staff to meet regional and statewide goals.
• Work alongside our Development Team by supporting local foundation proposals, site visits, and local fundraising initiatives as required.
• Ensure the timely completion and submission of all administrative and reporting forms, including but not limited to timecards and reimbursements, stay updated on policies and procedures, and effectively communicate them to organizing staff and students.

Organizational Leadership 15%

• Model and uphold the principles and values of CFJ’s Organizational and Leadership Philosophy.
• Participate in cross-department committees, meetings, and organizational teams.
• Conduct statewide facilitation, training, and political education.
• Serve as an active member of the organization by providing leadership for overall organizational projects and needs.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, mutual respect, principled struggle, and collective eadership within your team and organization.
• And other duties as needed.

Essential Qualifications

• Minimum three years or more of organizing experience in and knowledge of the
• culture and history of youth organizing and education advocacy in Fresno. Other
• relevant experience as an organizer in other social justice movements could be
• considered as well.
• Strong interpersonal and team-building skills, particularly with high school students
• and key decision-makers.
• Ability to energize, inspire, and move youth, communities, and allies to action.
• Experience with one or more of the following areas: action research, campaign
• strategy, curriculum development, facilitation, training, base building, alliance
• building, media outreach, grassroots fundraising, and educational policy.
• Strong facilitation skills with youth leaders that are engaging, inspiring and interactive.
• Excellent ability to track and maintain data, re: leadership development and base
• building of high school youth leaders.
• Commitment to CFJ’s mission of social justice, racial justice, and youth empowerment.
• Commitment to the organizing strategies and tactics implemented by CFJ.
• Strong commitment to social justice, racial justice, and youth empowerment.
• Excellent verbal communication skills.
• Excellent problem-solving and organizational skills.
• Ability to prioritize and do multiple tasks and projects.
• Ability to work flexible hours including evening and weekend events.
• Strong computer skills with expertise in Mac OS, Google Suite/Apps, MS Word, MS
• Excel, and other basic software applications.
• Valid California driver’s license, insurance, and regular access to a 4-5 seat passenger
• car.
• Available to work flexible hours, including occasional evening and weekend events.

Physical Demands

• Physically able to work in the office and the community at large as this is a full-time “in-person” role.
• Able to work on a computer, including sitting at a desk, for extended periods of time with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Manual dexterity to operate a keyboard.
• Able to see or read a computer screen and printed material with or without vision aids
• Able to speak clearly and in audible tones on the phone and in person and be understood by others.
• Able to hear and understand speech at normal levels and on the telephone.
• Able to understand and follow oral and written instructions.
• Able to occasionally lift objects weighing up to 10 pounds

Benefits

CFJ provides a comprehensive benefits package featuring 100% employer-covered health insurance (including medical, dental, and vision) for employees working a minimum of half-time hours and their eligible dependents. Additional perks include generous allocations of sick leave, vacation days, and paid holidays. The organization also emphasizes professional growth, offering dedicated development opportunities such as personalized coaching for all staff members.

Compensation

The pay rate for this position is $38.15 per hour ($79,352 annual salary), aligned with all CFJ

Manager-level salaries.

Salary Description

$38.15 Per Hour