Request for Proposals: M4BL In-Person Retreat Facilitation Team

M4BL In-Person Retreat Facilitation Team

Location: Remote/St. Louis, MO (for the in-person retreats)

Contract rate: $25,000 for the facilitation team

Priority Deadline: Priority​ ​will be​ ​given​ ​to​ resumes and interest letters ​received​ ​by​ Dec 15th, 2022

Contract Dates: January 2023-March 2023

About The Movement For Black Lives:

The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) formed in December of 2014 was created as a space for Black organizations across the country to debate and discuss the current political conditions, develop shared assessments of what political interventions were necessary in order to achieve key policy, cultural and political wins, convene organizational leadership in order to debate and co-create a shared movement-wide strategy.

M4BL is an ecosystem of more than 150 Black-led organizations representing thousands of Black people from across the country that have come together with renewed energy, strategy, and purpose to articulate a common vision and agenda. Our ecosystem is united by core values and politics that seek to build an anti-capitalist, abolitionist, and Black queer feminist future.

Our Work:

The Movement For Black Lives is committed to building a powerful Black Social Justice Movement. In order to leverage our collective power, we are committed to cohering movements and engaging organizations and individuals in strategies that are crucial to deepening shared work and building power. We believe that our historical mandate and our responsibility in this moment is to provide a container to strengthen the potency and possibility of Black led formations that are moving in coordination to a shared vision.

Contractor Description:

The facilitation team (minimum 2 people) will be responsible for facilitating two consecutive in-person retreats for M4BL on Feb 5-11th, 2023 in St Louis MO. One retreat will be for our member leaders, the other will be for our staff team. Both retreats will have 40+ people. The retreats will have one day of overlap and both the member leaders and staff will be present for the day of overlap which will be about 80 people. M4BL will cover the facilitation team’s airfare and lodging.

The goals of the retreats will be:

• to forge greater cohesion through debate, ideation and the building of relationships
• To get clear of what the ecosystem priorities will be over the next two years
• To program plan and to walk away with clear directives around how we deepen work across the ecosystem that builds towards shared work.

Areas of Work/Deliverables:  This facilitation team is responsible for working with the planning team to build an agenda for the two retreats, will work to synthesize notes so that the two retreats speak to each other and provide written synthesized notes that have decision points articulated for the teams to move into implementation.

• Agenda Creation: Work with planning team to build out effective and responsive agendas that ensures we meet our goals
• Facilitation: Facilitate both retreats in ways that are participatory, engaging and effective.
• Wrap up: Provide synthesized notes with clear tracking of decisions and tasks. Provide recommendations to the Movement For Black Lives planning committee about post-retreat follow-up.

You will thrive in this role if you...

• Are a good synthesizer
• Have a sense of humor
• Are honest and direct - Can help us hold critical questions
• Have some understanding of the M4BL ecosystem and how it functions and moves
• Have high emotional intelligence
• Hold confidence and maintain confidentiality of discussions in retreat
• Have experience with large teams
• Are thoughtful in incorporating pre-readings and the many voices in the room

Attributes, Experiences, and Qualifications*:

• Experience in facilitating Black folks
• Self-initiative and advanced project management skills
• Problem solving: You are creative and can stay calm, cool and collected under pressure. You have an ability  to anticipate problems before they arise.
• Ability to communicate and collaborate virtually: You are efficient and comfortable with Google Suite, responsive via email, and willing to participate in virtual meetings as needed; and you have the ability to navigate spaces with multiple strong voices and opinions to move the group forward and land decisions with clarity.
• Mission-aligned: You oppose the ravages of racial capitalism, settler colonialism, white supremacy and patriarchy.
• Working Style: You are able to work independently as well as collaboratively within a team. You are committed to respectfully building towards consensus and resolving obstacles and/or conflicts.

*While no candidate will possess every quality, the successful candidate will possess many of these qualifications and attributes. Even if you aren’t sure but are excited about the position, we encourage you to apply!

To Apply:

Please kindly submit the following  via the BambooHR link by Wednesday Dec 15th,  2022:

1. Your resume
2. A brief proposal (1 pages maximum) that includes a general timeline and work plan.
   1. Answer the following questions:
      1. What considerations are most important to you in the planning of this retreat?
      2. What other information do you need from us in order to plan for this retreat?