Organizer in Training (Paid)

We're hiring a cohort of trainees for a paid, 11-week organizing program — October 5th through December 18th, 2026. This isn't a class. You'll be on the ground from day one, working on the Good Neighbor campaign, bringing housed and unhoused neighbors together to clean up encampments and build real power for housing solutions in Oakland.

You'll be trained by an Organizing Director who's been doing this work for 15 years, in an organization that wins elections and shapes policies in Oakland. We're hiring for permanent, salaried roles out of this cohort after the program concludes.

The Good Neighbor Campaign

Good Neighbor is a community-led model for dealing with homelessness — organizing care and real political action, led by housed and unhoused residents together.

Homelessness could explode even further in the Bay Area over the next year, as the Trump administration cuts thousands of housing vouchers and the AI boom drives rents to record highs, pricing working-class families out.

Good Neighbor is working towards real solutions to this crisis:

• Building community between housed and unhoused neighbors
• Directly addressing the impacts of encampments on working class neighborhoods by improving conditions on the street - cleaning up trash, preventing illegal dumping, and providing simple upgrades to make encampments clean, orderly, and liveable for all residents
• Pushing policy solutions to reduce the harm of the housing affordability crisis, get people off the streets into stable housing, and change the system that created these conditions in the first place

What You'll Actually Be Doing

• Knocking on doors, talking to people, getting them to show up to community cleanups and events
• Learning about how Oakland City government works, and teaching residents how to make it work for them
• Staffing Good Neighbor cleanup events - picking up trash, serving food, strategizing with housed and unhoused participants about how to support encampments to stay clean and organizing in between cleanups
• Sitting down 1:1 with people you meet, getting them plugged into the work, and developing their leadership
• Keeping track of who you talked to and what happened; planning, executing and evaluating your organizing work to grow your skills and build community power

Hours and Pay

• Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 2–8pm. + Saturday: 8:30am–2:30pm. That's 30 hours a week.
• $33/hour.
• No benefits — this is a training program, not a permanent staff position.
• Performance-based bonuses up to $1,500 over the course of the program

Who We're Looking For

• Current West Oakland residents strongly encouraged to apply!
• Full availability for the schedule above across the entire 12-week program. Showing up on time and ready to work for every shift (and communicating proactively on rare occasions when this is not possible) is a core requirement of the job.
• A genuine passion for social justice, community organizing and building relationships across difference — this program is built on solidarity between housed and unhoused neighbors in West Oakland
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills - the ability to connect with people and cultivate good relationships
• Integrity - you say what you mean and you mean what you say
• Persistence and resilience - you don’t give up easily
• You can handle walking around outside for up to 4 hours at a time: door-knocking and cleanup events happen rain or shine
• Prior professional organizing experience appreciated but not required — this program is designed to train organizers from the ground up
• Candidates with community roots in West Oakland strongly encouraged to apply
• Bilingual English/Spanish strongly preferred (not required) — the program is prioritizing bilingual candidates to support C4C’s ability to build with non-English speaking residents (Spanish is a priority given the demographics of Oakland, but let us know if you speak a different language that could help us reach more residents as well!)

What Happens After

Long-term opportunity: We intend to offer strong performers permanent, salaried organizing positions with C4C after the Academy ends December 18th, 2026. Some trainees not placed with C4C may be connected with partner organizations based on fit and availability.

No benefits — this is a training program, not a permanent staff position.

Long-term opportunity: We intend to offer strong performers permanent, salaried and benefitted organizing positions with C4C after the Academy ends December 18th, 2026. Some trainees not placed with C4C may be connected with partner organizations based on fit and availability.

Bilingual English/Spanish strongly preferred (not required) — the program is prioritizing bilingual candidates to support C4C’s ability to build with non-English speaking residents.

Spanish is a priority given the demographics of Oakland, but we are also eager to work with folks who speak:

• Cantonese
• Mandarin
• Arabic
• Amharic, Somali, or Other Afro-Asiatic Languages