Office & Events Coordinator

The Opportunity

Essie Justice Group (Essie) is building grassroots power to dismantle the US incarceration system, the most egregious creator of racial and gender injustice of our time. We are a loving and powerful community of women with incarcerated loved ones—and include cisgender women, transgender women, formerly incarcerated women, gender nonconforming (GNC) people, elders, and young people.

Essie Justice Group (Essie) is building grassroots power to dismantle the US incarceration system, the most egregious creator of racial and gender injustice of our time. We are a loving and powerful community of women with incarcerated loved ones. Our community includes cisgender women, transgender women, formerly incarcerated women, gender nonconforming (GNC) people, elders, and young people.

After nine years of building an active membership across California and beyond, Essie is deepening its base-building and leadership development strategies with the 1 in 4 women with incarcerated loved ones to propel bold decarceration agendas across the nation. We seek to transform the criminal legal system and create a Black feminist future rooted in care, equity, community safety, and liberation. In the midst of significant organizational growth, we are seeking a motivated, detail-oriented, and values-aligned Office & Events Coordinator for our Oakland office to join our team.

The person in this role has the warmth and hosting orientation that makes people excited to be at the office and gather as a team for the weekly team huddles, someone who enjoys caring for the space and providing logistics support in a loving and energetic way as their contribution to Essie’s vision and values. The ideal candidate recognizes that our team spends more waking hours working than anything else, and acts to support their productivity, collaboration, learning, and growth by ensuring our environment and our events run smoothly and support the well being of the team. A natural multi-tasker who is able to wear many hats and follow through on various deliverables will thrive in this role; this person values and is excited by details and kinesthetic tasks. The Office & Event Coordinator holds a deep belief that logistics and space curation matters deeply to the organizing work we undertake at Essie.

Core Responsibilities

Office Coordination & Culture -  Ensure a comfortable and well-running office & meeting environment to support the work of Essie staff and members.

• Serve as a welcoming first point of contact for employees and visitors on the phone, via email, or in our office; assist guests as needed, responding to inquiries or concerns and referring to other people or resources as appropriate.
• Provide administrative and logistical support to ensure the smooth operations of our offices and other environments where we meet or gather.
• Process incoming mail and packages; maintain inventory and order office supplies.
• Coordinate office technology needs and troubleshoot with staff and members to maintain functionality and access.
• Maintain organized and user-friendly systems to support an efficient office (e.g. restocking office supplies; visitor check-in, etc.); attend to the physical environment to ensure welcoming & comfortable space (water plants, adjust pillows & lighting, etc.).
• Support the core functions of your department team, including logistics, financial processes and office management.
• Provide administrative support to other directors/teams when an assistant or coordinator is out.
• Coordinate staff celebration and appreciation events and gestures.

Event Coordination - Help create events that reflect and support Essie values and vision through an unwavering attention to the details.

• Coordinate logistics, vendors, and venue (including site relationships & technology needs) for events.
• Create event work plans and other documents to provide clarity, transparency, and efficiency for event teams.
• Provide collaborative support to event teams and leaders and ensure tasks are completed in a timely manner.

Special Projects - Help drive organizational goals forward through project support as needed.

• Execute special projects delegated by managers that support your growth in the core areas of Essie’s work including organizing, campaigns, Black feminist institution building, and narrative strategy.
• Do what it takes to ensure the success of assigned projects through strong project management, facilitation, communication, and administrative and logistics support.

Who We Are Looking For

Ideal Qualifications

• 2+ years of administrative and/or office coordination and/or logistics experience in a full time role or meaningful internships.
• Detail-oriented, with excellent administrative, communications, and organizational skills.
• Experience with data entry and maintaining digital and hard-copy filing systems.
• Experience developing efficient processes that allow for the successful functioning of day-to-day operations and/or events.
• Ability to work independently and with discretion and discernment in decision-making related to administrative matters.
• Comfortable multi-tasker who thrives in a mission-driven work environment.
• Excellent computer skills with MS Office and Google Suite. Familiarity with Mac operating systems.
• Commitment to the beliefs and values of Essie, with a demonstrated ability to create content from a Black feminist lens.

Qualities

• Dependable, solutions-oriented coordinator. You are extremely organized and handle projects with skill and grace, especially in a fast-paced, focused environment. In your previous experience you’ve demonstrated exceptional follow-through by maintaining a constant engagement and leadership in delegated projects from beginning to end. You value and pride yourself on absolute reliability, rooted in a deep sense of responsibility. You anticipate needs and take initiative to address them. “I persist despite obstacles” is one of your mottos.
• Welcoming energy. You project warmth and compassion and people naturally gravitate to you because they feel seen and appreciated by you. You are a natural host and take joy in making others comfortable; your presence brings calmness to any space you are in.
• Discernment and honesty we can trust. You are a thoughtful team member who acts in alignment with your integrity and are unfailingly trustworthy.
• Committed to evolution. You are committed to continuously deepening and evolving your own understanding of systems of oppression through study, openness, and humility. And you easily recognize your own relationship to privilege and power, examining and shifting your behaviors as appropriate.
• Uplifting and additive. You see mistakes as opportunities for growth; problems as catalysts for solutions, and inspire others along the journey. You carry a positive approach, can-do attitude, and authentic kindness wherever you go.

The Position

The Office & Events Coordinator is a full-time, non-exempt, hourly position. The salary for this position is $30-32/hr or the equivalent of $62,400-$66,560, with the opportunity to earn overtime, and with full medical, dental, and vision benefits, optional 401(k), a substantial vacation package, and a monthly personal wellness stipend. These positions will be based in one of Essie’s offices in Oakland, California or Los Angeles, California. All Essie staff are required to be vaccinated against Covid-19, with limited exceptions for medical or religious reasons.

To Apply

Please address a personal, specific, and thoughtful cover letter to the “Essie Hiring Committee” and submit along with a resume through our hiring portal (https://essiejusticegroup.bamboohr.com/jobs). Your resume tells us what you can do; your cover letter should tell us who you are and why you want to work with Essie.

Essie Justice Group provides equal employment and advancement opportunities to all staff members. Employment decisions are based on merit, qualifications, and skills. Essie does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, immigration status, socioeconomic status, ancestry, age, size, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, familial status, veteran status, disability, AIDS/HIV status, medical condition, prior conviction, arrest history, traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Essie values and specifically seeks applicants who are people with incarcerated loved ones; formerly incarcerated people; people of color; women; queer, transgender, gender non-conforming (GNC), and gender fluid people.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, performance assessment, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

About Essie Justice Group

Essie Justice Group is a non profit organization of women with incarcerated loved ones taking on the rampant injustices created by mass incarceration. Our award-winning Healing to Advocacy Model brings women together to heal, build collective power, and drive social change. Essie is Great Place to Work-Certified™ by Great Place to Work.

Learn more at www.essiejusticegroup.org.