Pennsylvania Statewide Organizing Director

Overview

One Pennsylvania promotes good jobs, strong and healthy communities, and corporate accountability. Together, we fight for social justice and tackle the racial, gender, and economic inequality that holds back working families. Working with us is demanding and exciting.

One Pennsylvania is seeking an Organizing Director who is a leader who recognizes and appreciates different ways of working and being and can balance building a culture of self-care with risk-taking and urgency. We seek someone who models our values of transparency and accountability and understands the importance of growing and investing in the leadership of our staff and members. This person should have the ability to develop systems and infrastructure in service of power building and should be well-versed in base building, issue cutting, agitation, electoral strategy, and co-governance. We are looking for an innovative leader who excels in movement-building, is results-oriented, and has strong project and people management skills.

Successful applicants must have excellent communications skills, show leadership in large and small groups, be able to work in a team where roles are fluid, have knowledge or willingness to learn about the social justice strategies and movements that come before us, be willing to work long and irregular hours (50 hours a week regularly and able to flex up to 60 hours per week).

Reports to: Executive Director
Supervises: Lead Organizers

RESPONSIBILITIES

Grassroots Organizing and Leadership Development

• Support organizers to build a powerful base of leaders in counties across Pennsylvania by training staff to: conduct organizing one-on-ones, build a committee of member leaders, identify issues, lead campaigns and conduct research visits and power analyses.
• Ensure that organizers and One PA members and leaders have the skills and tools to successfully design, implement, and adjust issue campaigns such as power mapping, media, and public engagement, mobilization, and online engagement.
• Support the professional development of organizers and lead organizers. Ensure that organizers are adequately trained and implement traditional grassroots community organizing and worker organizing strategies such as phone banking, door-to-door canvassing, house meetings, as well as new tactics such as digital and/or online organizing.
• Support a leadership training program focused on building power and politicizing black and brown communities.
• Provide coaching and management, develop individualized and detailed goals and work plans, and support organizers and lead organizers via mentorship and weekly check-ins on progress towards meeting goals.
• Develop and test effective and new organizing and mobilizing strategies, tactics, and tools that engage our communities and leaders.
• Support the organizing team in identifying and developing relationships with organizations and leaders who can become effective partners in campaigns.
• Develop systems, tools, and structures that provide strong clarity and accountability for organizers, members, leaders, and campaign implementation.

Create and Drive Issue Campaigns 

• Lead strategic direction of issue campaigns with a focus on building power, by aligning campaigns to civic engagement and elections, narrative and communications, and growing OnePA’s base.
• Develop and implement campaign strategy and plans on a week-to-week basis with organizers, including carrying out actions, rallies, press conferences, and other tactics.
• Use deep power analysis and issue-cutting skills to help organizers and senior managers create and execute razor-sharp campaign strategies by building a culture of campaigning that electrifies and focuses on people.
• Work closely with the Political Director and Civic Engagement Director to hone and run bold legislative and electoral campaigns.
• Lead process to develop long-term agendas and power analysis for various campaign areas (housing rights, environmental justice, workers’ rights, democracy reform) with staff, grassroots leaders, and coalitions.
• Represent One PA at campaign tables/coalitions, designing  One PA’s organizing efforts within issue campaigns to also strengthen and grow our base of members and leaders.

Team Management and Leadership

• Effectively build a team of organizers invested in building power and establishing deep relationships with grassroots leaders.
• Manage six organizing staff and develop their leadership. Ensure that the team has clarity at all levels by modeling, building, and supporting effective communication, coordination, and performance-oriented culture. Use agitation and compassion to bring out the best in people.
• Support implementation of One PA’s theory of change by serving on the Executive Team and driving the organization to strategically build power in every aspect of our work.

Organizing Money 

• Work with the Development Director to hold relationships with funders, write LOIs, grant proposals, and reports that raise the resources needed to support the departmental budget and staff; ensure that One PA meets funding requirements and deadlines;
• Management of program expenditures; identifying and preparing applications for alternative funding sources including advocacy for funding;
• Be a public leader by managing a portfolio of external ally and donor relationships, and represent One PA to a broad variety of audiences and settings.

While no one candidate will embody all the qualifications below, we are looking for:

QUALIFICATIONS: 

• A minimum of 7 years or comparative experience working with community, labor, or electoral organizations with success in developing and winning campaigns.
• Strong interpersonal, relational, and organizational communication skills.
• Commitment and passion for racial, gender, and economic justice and their intersections, both inside and outside organizations.
• Experience with issue organizing in communities of color – preferably in Black communities.
• Exceptional supervision and coaching skills, including managing staff.
• Knowledge of community organizing, political education, and movement building.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to write and implement training curriculum and organizing tools.
• Ability to partner and collaborate with the existing organizing team.
• Ability to work well in a fast-paced environment and able to multitask without sacrificing quality. Reliable, consistent, trustworthy, detail-oriented, and self-motivated.

Preferred 

• A minimum of 10 years or comparative experience working with community, labor, or electoral organizations with success in developing and winning campaigns.
• Fluency in EveryAction, Google, Office Suite, VAN.
• Cultural Competencies: Shares our commitment to integrating racial justice and equity and economic justice into the work we do and ensuring an inclusive organizational culture.
• Commitment to leadership development in communities most impacted by injustices we confront.
• Flexibility, self-awareness, humility, emotional intelligence, and ability to bring creative ideas and a fresh perspective to an evolving organizing program.

Conditions: Ability to work hours exceeding stated office hours to get the job done; ability and willingness to work evenings and weekends when necessary.

The ideal candidate for this position will be based in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia. Lots of travel between the cities, as well as to Harrisburg may also apply. Owning a car as a licensed, insured operator is required. One PA provides mileage reimbursement at the federal rate and lodging when working away from home.

Compensation: 

Salary commensurate with experience, range starts at $85,000 annually. Benefits include defined benefit pension (with contributions beginning after six months of employment), optional 401K type plan, generous paid time off, and fully paid health insurance.

To Apply: 

Will remain posted and open until filled. Please send a resume, a one-page writing sample (preferably an old campaign plan or training curriculum), and a cover letter to Steve Paul, Executive Director, One PA via email at steve@onepa.org. To ensure prompt attention make sure to put “ Organizing Director” in the subject line.

Equal Opportunity: 

One Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. One Pennsylvania does not discriminate against or tolerate harassment of any employee because of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, physical or mental disability, or any other basis prohibited by law, or protected activity under the anti-discrimination statutes.

Women, LGBTQIA people, and people of color are strongly encouraged to apply.