The Community Organizer supports SHCS’ efforts to change people and policies and fulfill our vision of a community united to ensure that every child and adult is free from poverty. A member of SHCS’ growing Policy and Organizing team, this position recruits, and supports leaders in low-income communities. The position is responsible for growing, implementing, and tracking SHCS’ efforts to develop the skills, consciousness, and involvement of grassroots neighborhood leaders; develop the political consciousness of potential allies; and create a culture of organizing and transformation across agency programs. The Organizer plays a key role in planning and implementing policy campaign activities to exercise grassroots power, and developing a sustained and democratic organization. The position serves as a liaison between internal programs, neighborhood leadership, and community partners.

Community Organizer

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Sacred Heart Community Service, located in San Jose, CA, is looking for a Community

Organizer to develop the leadership capacity and grassroots activism of low-income communities

and build a diverse base of allies.

We believe that for too long economic, political and cultural systems such as capitalism,

concentrated power, and racism have served to empower some while oppressing many. We seek

a world in which all people have the power of self-determination.

To achieve this long-term goal we believe there are two essential steps. First, we must change

the values people use to make decisions. Second, we must change who is involved in decision

making.

Our work is anchored in relationships and common values of equity, inclusion, and shared

resources and power.

The qualified 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 teaching and living an anti-racism and

anti-oppression worldview.

The qualified candidate also must be organized, and possess excellent oral and written

communication skills, experience in leadership development and policy advocacy, an ability to

work flexibly and creatively, and have a passion for our mission. For 53 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 with

people to push for systemic change.

Position Summary

The Community Organizer supports SHCS’ efforts to change people and policies and fulfill our

vision of a community united to ensure that every child and adult is free from poverty. A member

of SHCS’ growing Policy and Organizing team, this position recruits, and supports leaders in

low-income communities. The position is responsible for growing, implementing, and tracking

SHCS’ efforts to develop the skills, consciousness, and involvement of grassroots neighborhood

leaders; develop the political consciousness of potential allies; and create a culture of organizing

and transformation across agency programs. The Organizer plays a key role in planning and

implementing policy campaign activities to exercise grassroots power, and developing a

sustained and democratic organization. The position serves as a liaison between internal

programs, neighborhood leadership, and community partners.

Description of Duties

Grassroots Organizing (80 percent)

Basebuilding

● Recruits leaders to membership in our team through door-to-door canvassing, personal

visits, social service agency outreach, house meetings, and phoning.

● Plans and coordinates outreach and organizing meetings in order to build an effective,

ongoing organization and to promote participation and leadership of grassroots members

and allies.

● Develops and maintains outreach and organizing plans, work plans, campaign plans,

leadership development plans.communications systems and databases to track leadership

development.

● Works with teammates, managers and leaders to meet PAO standards for leadership

development, basebuilding, 1:1s, and campaign development.

Leadership Training

● Collaborates with teammates and leaders to plan and execute an ongoing curriculum joining

hard organizing skills with advanced political analysis and an anti-racism and anti-oppression

worldview.

● Trains leaders on a variety of core organizing skills including: member

recruitment, facilitation and public speaking, planning, issue analysis, campaign

strategy and tactics, advocacy, and organizational development.

● Develops and implements leadership training on social change theory, power

analysis, worldview analysis and ideology.

Policy Campaigns

● Works with community members to cut policy issues that serve as basis for meaningful

personal and systemic change.

● Trains and positions leaders to run policy campaigns that recognize intersectional

issues and incorporate an anti-racism and anti-oppression worldview.

● Assists in issue research and analysis.

● Trains and mentors leaders to represent the organization in meetings with

policy makers and targets, and to develop press stories/materials and

media relationships.

● Coordinates activities and actions, including the development and

implementation of mobilization strategies for public participation in public

policy hearings, actions, discussions, etc.

● Supports leaders to create organizing materials including talking points,

marketing collaterals, flyers, fact sheets, etc.

● Supports agency-wide advocacy efforts that align with the mission and vision of Sacred

Heart, result in meaningful change in people’s lives, and have the support of PAO members.

Mutual Support and Community Building

● Work with organizers and staff in other program areas to create a culture of organizing

and transformation with a broader definition of what it means to build power, including

mutual support.

● Participate in training agency staff and leaders/members of program areas to develop

organizing skills, political analysis and an anti-racist, anti-oppression worldview and

practice.

● Develop joint work plans on specific projects that promote leadership development,

base-building, mutual support and meaningful policy change tied to PAO's core issues.

● Work with staff across programs to identify and respond to organizing opportunities

external to Sacred Heart's programs and existing membership.

Collaboration and Partnership (10 percent)

● Work with the executive director and other senior staff to set appropriate roles and

participation with regional partners.

● Serve as liaison with local and regional anti-poverty advocacy collaborations and SHCS

Policy and Organizing Team.

● Identify and build collaborations with key community partners.

General (10 percent)

● Supports the planning and implementation of SHCS programs, events, training, and outreach

efforts.

● Performs other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications and Experience

● Strong commitment to our vision of ensuring every child and adult is free from poverty.

● Strong commitment to organizing through leadership development and anti-oppression

worldview.

● Ability to work with diverse people, communities, and cultures, with understanding of

culturally competent practices.

● 1-2 years experience working in community organizing and/or public affairs, or similar

grassroots leadership experience

● Ability to motivate members to take action.

● Demonstrated experience in grassroots leadership development programs, including

curricula development, training, and tracking systems.

● Excellent meeting planning and facilitation skills.

● Superior verbal, written, and presentation skills.

● Detail oriented, self-motivated, ability to multitask, provide quick responses and highly

organized.

● Willing to work long hours, evenings and weekends.

● Computer literacy with proficiency in database systems, web-based communications, MS

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Preferred

● Bilingual (Spanish, Vietnamese or Chinese)

● Demonstrated success in public policy advocacy

● Basic graphic design software proficiency

This is an exempt, salaried position ranging from $65,000 - $70,000 commensurate with

experience. 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.

This position is represented by Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 521.

Visit us at http://www.sacredheartcs.org for more information about our organization.

Position is open until filled.