Overview
Tompkins County, NY Community Organizer
**MUST LIVE IN TOMPKINS COUNTY WITH PREFERENCE FOR ITHACA BASE**
Mothers Out Front is a dynamic social impact organization with ambitious goals to address the climate crisis. We are seeking a talented and passionate organizer to join our New York team and help build a diverse and powerful movement of mothers, grandmothers, and allies stepping up in big ways to take action for climate justice. This is an exciting opportunity for a strategic, collaborative and energetic organizer.
About Mothers Out Front:
Mothers Out Front builds our power as mothers to ensure a livable climate for all children. We are building a diverse national movement of mothers, grandmothers, and caregivers dedicated to convincing elected officials and business leaders to work for a swift, complete, and just transition away from fossil fuels to clean and renewable energy. We know that mothers have an important role to play in the climate change movement, and, when it comes to protecting their children, mothers are an unstoppable force for change! Our goal is simple: to enable mothers to take active leadership in climate justice work by providing the structure, training, and tools for them to work together on campaigns in their communities and at the statewide level.
Job Summary:
Department: Organizing
Reports to: New York Organizing Manager
Location: Tompkins County (hybrid – with significant in-person work and a home-based office)
The Tompkins County community organizer will work to build community teams that carry out effective campaigns that move decision makers to make child-centered climate decisions. You will help us focus resources particularly in those communities who suffer the injustices of climate change and fossil fuel use today and have been historically marginalized. We have passionate volunteer-led teams across New York advocating for a swift transition away from fossil fuels towards clean and renewable energy and are committed to deepening and expanding this critical movement. As the community organizer in your region, you will work to build teams who carry out effective campaigns that move decision makers to make child-centered climate decisions.
Local Impact
Community Support and Empowerment: Support and strengthen community-based/volunteer-empowered Mothers Out Front teams to undertake impactful campaigns that build the engagement and leadership of mothers from diverse ethnic, racial and socio-economic backgrounds to solve our climate crisis at the local and state level.
Volunteer Recruitment and management: Recruit new volunteers and members to join Mothers Out Front through outreach tactics such as door knocking, phone banks, one-on-one meetings, attending local events and more. Train and support volunteers to actively participate in campaigns and community initiatives. Provide ongoing guidance, coordination, and recognition for volunteers’ contributions.
Campaign Management and Strategic Guidance: Provide strategic advice, training, and support for new and existing teams, helping them to develop strategic campaign plans, actions and materials; setting and helping to meet goals; ensuring the campaigns are in alignment with the Mothers Out Front mission to effectively make progress away from fossil fuels.
Relationship Building: Establish and nurture relationships with local stakeholders, community organizations, elected officials, and other relevant parties to expand the movement’s reach and impact.Support leaders and volunteers of Mothers Out Front to develop relationships with a diverse mix of allied organizations and community leaders.
Meeting Facilitation and Team Coordination: Attend local team meetings, facilitate the meetings, and oversee logistics and outreach.
Coalition Building and Stakeholder Engagement: Participate and train members to participate in strategic coalitions that support our movement and increase our visibility; establish a working relationship with key decision-makers, funders, media and other stakeholders in your region to move the campaign work forward.
Data Management and Reporting: Ensure that key data (including number of people engaged, house parties held, volunteers participating in campaign events, and more) is recorded and tracked in our database, NationBuilder.
Event Coordination and Volunteer Management: Work closely with the volunteer leadership to coordinate events across the region.
Support for Mom-Centered Activities: Recruit and support volunteers for mom-centered activities in their communities such as house-parties, workshops, educational playdates with a focus on climate justice, book clubs, etc.
Fundraising and Membership Support: Participate in fundraising initiatives as needed, including working with Mothers Out Front development and membership staff to meet membership goals in the region. Provide relevant data for the development department and, as needed, attend fundraising events.
Leadership Recruitment and Development: Recruit members to serve on the statewide leadership team and functional teams to advance the mission of Mothers Out Front.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
High creativity and strategic action. An ability to thrive in a dynamic, collaborative, goal-oriented, fast-paced, campaign-oriented environment. Ability to work remotely and be productively self-directed and personally organized.
An understanding of strategic issue campaign development, ideally at the municipal/county level, including attention to power-building, tactics that influence decision-makers, building effective democratic local organizations, and the use of public narrative and story-telling in campaign organizing.
Local Knowledge: Familiarity with the Tompkins County community and an understanding of its unique social and environmental dynamics.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills: Including the ability to deliver compelling messages and engage diverse audiences. Experienced in active and reflective listening.
Collaboration Skills: Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills to build relationships, work effectively within teams, and mobilize volunteers towards common objectives.
Demonstrates a strong commitment to social justice and actively works to dismantle systems of oppression, including racism, sexism, misogyny, classism, ableism, homophobia, xenophobia, and other forms of discrimination.
Demonstrated ability and commitment to working with people from a variety of ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as varying religious, educational, generational, and gender identity backgrounds; including those within the LGBTQ and physically disabled communities.
Strong project management skills, coupled with sharp attention to detail, solution orientation, and a demonstrated ability to effectively manage competing and changing priorities.
The ability to work evenings and weekends, as needed, and to travel across the region/state regularly, as well as attending national staff and organizing team retreats.
An understanding of or aptitude for platforms for shared remote work, including Google Suite, Zoom, and Slack.
Ability to travel to out-of-state meetings for 3-5 days up to two times per year.
Access to reliable transportation for meetings and events.
Passion for Climate Justice: Deep commitment to addressing the climate crisis and achieving climate justice, with a specific focus on advocating for the well-being of children and future generations.
Details: Mothers out Front is a virtual organization. This is a full-time, hybrid job. You will work from a home office and do a significant amount of in-person work throughout the Tompkins County area.
Salary and benefits: The salary range for the community organizer position is $64,000 to $68,000, depending on experience. Benefits include health and dental benefits, a 401(k) plan, flexible spending plan, paid vacation, holidays, sick days, and support for remote work set-up. We offer ongoing training opportunities, a fast-paced, dynamic, supportive, and collaborative setting and we are proudly women-led!