Community Organizer : California

Community Organizer

Los Angeles, CA

Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE) is looking for an experienced organizer to join our team. SAJE is a 501c3 non-profit, base-building organization in South Los Angeles. Since 1996 SAJE has been a force for economic justice in our community, focusing on healthy housing, tenant rights, and equitable development.

Our mission is to change public and corporate policy in a manner that provides concrete economic benefits to working class people, increases the economic rights of working class people, and builds leadership through a movement for economic justice; in the process creating sustainable models of economic democracy.

Reporting directly to the organizing team leadership, the Community Organizer drives our base building work. This is the foundation of our holistic approach to building tenant power to improve housing and job opportunities and advance a community-based vision of what development should look like in our neighborhoods. (Better neighborhoods, same neighbors).

SAJE’s Community Organizer is responsible for: member recruitment, leadership development, and mobilization. We seek, in our policy work and our organizing with the people of the communities of South Los Angeles, to fight slum housing conditions, defend against real estate speculation and evictions, and expand tenant’s rights.

In addition to base building, the organizer will develop and maintain community partnerships that will help further our work. We collaborate with a diverse array of organizational partners in our different work areas. Our equitable development work involves partnerships with multiple community based organizations as well as organized labor and government agencies.

Responsibilities:

BUILD OUR BASE

• Conduct and supervise campaign outreach and recruitment through activities such as door-knocking, surveying, and house visits with potential leaders
• Develop leaders in the community: identify new leaders, develop and retain relationships with leaders, engage them in dialog to help us to guide, ground, and shape SAJE’s campaigns
• Organize, facilitate, and/or supervise grassroots campaign meetings
• Staff a tenant rights clinic
• Speak and prepare leaders to speak to media about campaigns

DEVELOP CAMPAIGNS

• Learn, develop, and implement organizing and political strategies with organizing and policy teams
• Assist Organizing Team in developing and maintaining community partnerships to increase SAJE’s community presence
• Organize and supervise community delegations to key decision-makers and public forums
• Develop materials to aid in organizing and advance our campaigns (such as fliers and workshop curricula)

USE ACCOUNTABILITY & ADMINISTRATIVE BEST PRACTICES

• Work with Organizing Coordinator to manage calendar, set goals, and create weekly work plan encompassing all organizing activities
• Help maintain campaign contact and referral database
• Maintain records on all building campaigns, door knocking and tenants’ rights clinics
• Maintain time records on a weekly basis (hours worked and activities conducted)

Qualifications:

• Strong commitment to social justice and an understanding of the challenges facing tenants in working class, immigrant communities
• Minimum three years of experience in community or labor organizing OR health or housing outreach and education
• Ability to gain the trust of, motivate, and spark an interest among local residents
• Ability to support, track, and increase local residents’ leadership skills
• A strong track record of working with different kinds of stakeholders and groups including immigrant workers, low-income community residents, clergy and churches, unions, community based organizations, academic institutions, and government gatekeepers and staff
• Good presentation, and speaking skills & capacity to explain complex information & issues in easy-to-understand manner, including ability to use popular-education techniques
• Flexible in time and mind: there will be weekly evening commitments and work required during the weekend
• Organized and detail oriented; excellent time management skills and ability to prioritize work, strong capacity for independent and collaborative problem solving
• Disciplined in maintaining high standards in organizing tracking systems
• Ability to drive, valid license, and have a reliable & insured vehicle
• Ability to stand and walk for long periods
• Ability to write use basic computer applications
• Is warm and positive in their work with colleagues and community members
• Bilingual English-Spanish

To apply:
SAJE is an equal opportunity employer; we strongly encourage people of color, women, and LGBTQI people, veterans, and people of all ages to apply. SAJE is a family-friendly employer. Accordingly, we strive to maintain a forty-hour work week and a sustainable work/life balance and offer a competitive benefits package and salary (based on experience).

Please send a thoughtful cover letter, resume, three references, and a short, recent writing sample (e.g. organizing rap, newsletter article, one pager, blog post, etc.) as Microsoft Word attachments to Dagan R. Bayliss, Director of Organizing at apply@saje.net.

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