Organizing Director

Organizing Director

Sacred Heart Community Service, located in San Jose, CA is looking for an experienced manager of organizers to lead, develop, innovate, and integrate our efforts to build a base of grassroots leaders and allies, and spearhead campaigns to address the root causes of poverty and inequality.

This individual must be highly organized, possess an ability to work flexibly and creatively, and demonstrate superior organizing, training, and communication skills. The ideal candidate must be equally committed to our vision of a community united to ensure every child and adult is free from poverty, an approach of driving policy change through transformational leadership development, and developing programs through an anti-racism and anti-oppression worldview.

For 60 years, SHCS has been one of the leading institutions addressing poverty in Santa Clara County through a strategy that combines meeting basic needs and offering tools for self-sufficiency while building power together to push for systemic change. In the 17 years that SHCS has been organizing, our committees have won local campaigns almost every year, including stopping a new Santa Clara County jail from being built, strengthening protections for renters from further displacement, and making our immigration protections among the strongest in the country. The Organizing Director will maintain that tradition, playing a key role in planning and supporting successful community-shaped policy campaigns and working with our team to develop sustained and democratic organizing committees.

Position Summary

The Organizing Director guides SHCS' efforts to make change and fulfill our vision of a community united to ensure that every child and adult is free from poverty. The leader of SHCS' Organizing team, the position is responsible for leading efforts to develop the skills, consciousness, and involvement of low-income communities and their allies, while spearheading policy campaigns to exercise grassroots power to win material changes to SHCS members' lives. The position supports the training of staff and membership to understand the root causes of poverty and systems of oppression, while developing staff capacity to organize and mobilize membership to participate in committees and policy campaigns. The Director supports the development and implementation of a policy advocacy agenda working with and increasing the capacity of grassroots leadership, organizational stakeholders (staff, volunteers, board members, and donors), and community allies.

Description of Duties

Leading Community Organizing (50%)

Directs the development and implementation of outreach and organizing plans, including training, communications systems, databases, strategic and tactical plans.

Develops and leads efforts to recruit leaders through door-to-door canvassing, one-on-one meetings, social service program outreach, and house meetings.

Leads planning and coordination of action committees in order to build an effective, ongoing organization and to maintain the involvement of grassroots leaders.

Directly organizes federated committee structure, with a focus on developing advanced leadership to set campaign priorities, coordinate training efforts, and provide input into the hiring and evaluation of staff.

Designs and oversees training on a variety of leadership/organizing topics including: member recruitment, facilitation and public speaking, issue development and analysis, media relations, campaign planning, and power analysis.

Oversees participatory action research and analysis efforts with leaders.

Oversees and facilitates the development of grassroots action campaigns, including developing effective campaign strategy, coordination of campaign tactics, and recruiting coalition allies.

Facilitates the training, support, and professional development of organizers and program staff to run and win community organizing campaigns at the local level.

Policy Advocacy (20%)

Supports the development and implementation of the SHCS policy advocacy strategy, working with the Policy Director and the Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships to ensure coordination with organizational stakeholders in planning, campaign development, partner cultivation, and web-based advocacy efforts.

Supports the identification of policy advocacy opportunities in alignment with the vision, mission, and core values of SHCS.

Collaborates on efforts to engage and build the capacity of organizational stakeholders and community allies to engage in policy advocacy campaigns.

Management Infrastructure (15%)

• Oversees the development, tracking, and reporting of advocacy and organizing program goals, outcomes, and performance metrics.
• Leads the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of advocacy and organizing policies and procedures.
• Oversees the recruitment and management of organizing volunteers and interns.
• Manages the organizing staff by providing program structure, direction, training, support, and feedback. Oversees the recruitment and hiring of organizing staff.
• Supports media relations efforts, including press cultivation, coordination of media events, and securing media coverage.
• Facilitates and supports resource development efforts for organizing program, including preparing proposals, funder presentations, direct solicitation, and reporting.

Collaborations (10%)

• Identifies and builds coalitions with key community partners.
• Serves as liaison with local and regional organizing collaborations, community allies, policymakers, and organizational stakeholders.
• Supports the implementation of trainings and support systems for coalition partners.

Leadership (5%)

• Supports the planning and implementation of SHCS programs, events, training, and outreach efforts.
• Serves as a member of the Senior Management Team and serves as on-site manager as needed.
• Acts as a "mandated reporter" by maintaining strict adherence to the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Law.
• Attends Board of Directors meetings and Board committee meetings as assigned.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Strong commitment to our vision of uniting the community to ensure every child and adult is free from poverty;
• Ability to work with diverse people, communities, and cultures, with understanding of culturally competent practices;
• Five to seven years of experience working in community/labor organizing, with three years of experience in management;
• Ability to motivate and inspire members to take action;
• Demonstrated experience in grassroots leadership development programs, including curriculum development, training, and tracking systems;
• Demonstrated experience in campaign planning and public policy advocacy;
• Willingness to meet people where they're at and work with new and prospective allies;
• Demonstrated experience with both volunteer recruitment and popular education techniques;
• Superior facilitation, verbal, written, and presentation skills;
• Detail-oriented, self-motivated, ability to multitask, provide quick responses and highly organized;
• Excellent work ethic with flexibility for occasional long hours during peak campaign periods, and some evenings and weekends;
• Computer literacy with proficiency in database systems (i.e., Salesforce or similar relationship management software), web-based communications, and Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
• Bilingual in Spanish/English.

Compensation

This is an exempt, full-time salaried position ranging from $105,000 - $115,000 commensurate with experience, reporting to the Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships. Excellent benefits include fully paid medical insurance for employees and majority paid medical insurance for qualified dependents, dental insurance, vision insurance, 12 paid holidays, 10 paid sick days per year, paid vacation starting at 10 days per year, additional wellness benefits, basic life and long-term disability insurance, professional development and more.

Sacred Heart Community Service is proud to be an Equal Opportunity workplace and an Affirmative Action Employer. SHCS is committed to building a team of people of diverse ethnic, cultural, and experiential backgrounds. We especially encourage members of historically underrepresented and marginalized communities, people of color, women, people living with disabilities, veterans, and LGBTQ+ people to apply. It is the policy of Sacred Heart Community Service to prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type and to afford equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants, without regard to race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, pregnancy, medical condition or genetic information, veteran status, national origin, disability, marital or other protected status. SHCS will conform to the spirit, as well as the letter of all applicable laws and regulations.