Chapter Organizer

THE POSITION

* This is a Living document and subject to flow & transformation

Job Title: Chapter Organizer

Job Location: Open to multiple options within Kentucky within the Wilderness Trace and Cumberland Chapter areas: Boyle, Mercer, Garrard, Lincoln, Casey, Laurel, Knox, Whitley, and Pulaski Counties

Reporting Relationship: Supervised by a KFTC Organizing Co-Director or Lead Organizer

Employment Type: Full-time

Who We Are

KFTC is a grassroots organization with thousands of members and a dozen chapters across Kentucky organizing for racial, social, healing, and economic justice, a healthy environment, and an honest democracy. We believe in the power of community organizing - people working together to achieve common goals. KFTC members and staff use a range of organizing strategies to build grassroots power and make change, including leadership development, strategic communications, art and culture, integrated voter engagement, grassroots fundraising, alliance building, and we're open to new, effective, and innovative ways centered in love, care, and collective growth.

KFTC's members and staff created the following vision and goal to guide our work through 2031:

Vivid Description: Kentuckians For The Commonwealth is a collective light, leading the way to a thriving, joyful, intergenerational, multi-cultural society where people are free from oppression and where equity, health care, and racial, economic and environmental justice exist for everyone. We are a beloved community where all people are connected and affirmed through healthy relationships, dedicated to achieving mutual liberation.

Audacious Goal: Guided by Black, Indigenous, People of Color and impacted communities, we will recruit, equip, and activate a network of 100,000 members and partners across all 120 counties to dismantle racism and all systems of oppression, to develop a robust democracy and transform the future of Kentucky.

What You'll Do

KFTC is seeking to hire an experienced organizer who is highly motivated, self-aware, creative, committed to lifelong learning and transforming the future of Kentucky while seeking to achieve mutual liberation for all. 

As a Chapter Organizer in the Wilderness Trace and Cumberland Chapter areas, you will:

• Have 1:1 conversations with KFTC members and other community members to discover their self-interest, invite them into organizing, and develop their skills
• Organize robust monthly chapter meetings in chapters centered in London and Danville with strong agendas and great turnout including calling all members to invite them.
• Build local campaigns led by KFTC members to win concrete issue victories.
• Make direct asks for people to become members of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth including financial donations - reach out by phone, in-person, email, text, and through events to ask people to donate what they can.
• Bring skills and experience doing and leading organizing movements for mutual liberation, grassroots fundraising, campaigns, membership building, door-to-door canvassing, 1:1s and more.

• Recruit, support, and activate a growing, diverse, skilled, informed, and value-aligned set of grassroots leaders in Kentucky whose lived experiences and values motivate them to work for racial, economic, and environmental justice; honest & equitable public education, energy, land, and climate justice, and Just Transition. 
• Support KFTC members and allies to advance a visionary, anti-racist, anti-colonial policy agenda.  
• Support the implementation of organizing campaigns and strategies in the Wilderness Trace and Cumberland Chapter areas as well as broadly across Kentucky . 
• Create opportunities for Kentuckians to grow as leaders , which could look like: designing and facilitating workshops; providing one-to-one and small group coaching; planning high-quality webinars, conferences, and community meetings; lifting and supporting the perspectives & experiences of Black, Indigenous, people of color and impacted folks residing in KY; creating clear and compelling written materials; organizing door-to-door canvassing; creating opportunities for people to take collective action and demonstrate solidarity; and supporting people to take on various leadership roles. 
• Represent KFTC within key organizing alliances in the Wilderness Trace and Cumberland chapter areas, cultivating strong and healthy relationships that will lead to greater alignment, resources, and the sharing of strategies among allies at local, state, regional, national, and global levels.
• Contribute to important organizational goals and priorities , including by centering anti-racist & anti-colonial principles and practices, building a strong and effective staff team, helping to raise resources through grassroots and foundation fundraising, and more.

Who You Are

You are deeply committed to KFTC's vision and values, as well as grassroots organizing as an approach to change. Key attributes & guiding principles include, and are not limited to: 

• Deep alignment with values, interests, principles, and policies related to organizing BIPOC-led movements.
• Experience with grassroots organizing campaigns and fundraising.
• Bringing a visionary spirit to the work and culture of the organization via brave imagination, innovative thought, and creativity.
• Persistently seeks to understand the specific experiences of historically marginalized groups in the U.S., particularly Black and Indigenous groups.
• Employs anti-racist & anti-colonial values, practices, and principles in your personal & professional life. 
• Direct anti-racism and anti-colonial experience (e.g., direct experience in and/or with Black & Indigenous led justice movements, etc.)
• Is committed to being a lifelong learner who is open to flow and change, and capable of being open to giving, receiving, & applying Loving critique.
• Understands the importance and potential of building authentic solidarity between BIPOC folks and low-income white folks historically, presently, and as a guiding light. Has experience cultivating these relationships.
• Prioritizes self-care for the purpose of collective care, as it is intrinsically tied to the energy infused in the work.
• Has and seeks to hone a conscious awareness of themselves and the people and environments they engage with.
• Has the ability to work well independently; this job is somewhat self-directed. 
• Be skilled at working collaboratively in teams with volunteers and co-workers. 
• Be comfortable using (and/or learning to use) technology, including Google platforms, databases, email, and Slack communication, and various social media platforms.

Ideally, you have 3 or more years of experience in a similar role (volunteer experience is relevant). You have experience working with groups and developing other people as leaders, and are able to relate to Kentuckians from all walks of life and move people to action.

Strong interpersonal communication, group facilitation, and listening skills are essential. You are organized, strategic, able to cope with changing and uncertain circumstances, collaborative, courageous, and compassionate. What does it look like when we intentionally center healing, collective grief practices, and joy in our work & lives?

Strong, ever-growing, and intricate knowledge of self. Introspective and committed lifelong learner. Where are you currently located on your own personal healing journey, and how does it weave into your work?

You'll need to work well independently; this job is very self-directed. We also need you to be skilled at working collaboratively in teams with volunteers and co-workers. Be comfortable using (and/or learning to use) technology, including Good platforms, databases, email, and Slack communication, and various social media platforms.

Additionally desired, yet not necessary, qualities and experiences include:

• Broadly familiar with Kentucky's political, economic, and education justice landscape.
• Familiar with local, state, and federal political institutions relevant to honest, equitable, and fully funded public education, and education justice policy in Kentucky.
• Has some knowledge, familiarity, direct experience, and/or willingness to learn about BIPOC led education justice movements, as well as Kentucky Public School Strong.
• Experience with spokesperson development and media relations. 

Finally, you excel in and are guided by these concepts & principles:

1. Commitment, creativity, and skills that pull yourself and us all towards liberation & Love.
2. Critical consciousness, analysis, thinking, and planning skills.
3. Self-direction, reliability, and resilience.
4. Wholistic, self, interpersonal, and community building skills, meaning you come to this work as your whole and authentic self, regardless of space, place, and/or circumstance, with an alignment of mind, body, spirit & energy towards a vision of mutual liberation for all.

What Else You Should Know

1. This position will be open until filled; an ideal start date is in November 2026.
2. This position requires a full-time, flexible, 40-hour/week schedule with frequent in-state travel, some overnight travel, and some work on nights and weekends. A valid driver's license and a vehicle that can be used for work are also required.
3. KFTC has offices in Louisville, Lexington, Covington, Bowling Green, Prestonsburg, and London, KY. KFTC staff work sometimes from home or some hybrid between home and office, depending on their schedule and responsibilities. The ideal candidate for this role will be based in Boyle, Mercer, Garrard, Lincoln, Casey, Laurel, Knox, Whitley, or Pulaski Counties. 
4. All employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and comply with safety policies and procedures, like masking and social distancing. Employees in need of an exemption from this policy due to a medical reason or because of a sincerely held religious belief must submit a completed Request for Accommodation.
5. Salary is based on prior relevant experience. An organizer with no experience would start at $50,000. 5 years of relevant experience would mean starting at $57,408. A successful candidate who brings additional experience will have a higher starting salary.
6. Generally, KFTC's staff receive an annual cost-of-living pay adjustment plus an additional across-the-board yearly pay raise.
7. KFTC currently provides free full family, health, dental, and vision coverage. We have a compensation time policy, 15 paid vacation days, 9 paid sick days, 3 paid personal days, and 11 paid holidays, as well as 5 days of closure time at year's end. We offer 40 days of paid parental leave for the birth or adoption of a child, and 20 days of paid family care leave. All staff are eligible for a month's paid sabbatical after 5 years. KFTC contributes to a Simplified Employee Pension plan after 3 years of employment.
8. This position is in the bargaining unit of the staff union, which is represented by the Chicago-Midwest Regional Joint Board, Workers United, an affiliate of SEIU. 
9. KFTC is an equal opportunity employer, and does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, religion, color, marital status, veteran status, national origin, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical size or weight, status as parent or caregiver, pregnancy status, ancestry, or physical or mental disability that can be reasonably accommodated without undue hardship.

Our equal employment opportunity philosophy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, training, promotion, transfer, job benefits, pay, and dismissal.

KFTC aims to be guided by people most impacted by the issues at the center of our work. People of color, people from working-class backgrounds, women, and LGBTQIA2S+ people are encouraged to apply.

How to apply

Please apply with a resume, cover letter, and contact information (name, title, organization, email, and phone number) for three professional references.

This position is open until filled. We'll review applications upon submission and begin first-round interviews around October 21, 2026. Ideally, we're looking to hire for this role by mid-November 2026.