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Career Opportunities

Community Organizer

Position: Community Organizer

Location: Sacramento, CA

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ABOUT US

The California Native Vote Project’s (CNVP) mission is to achieve equity and justice for Native American children, families and communities by increasing Native civic participation and power. CNVP is the first-of-its-kind statewide effort to engage Native American communities across dozens of counties to build political power through an integrated voter engagement strategy, which centers community organizing, and braids on top of that other strategies to achieve people-powered movements — including political education, leadership development; voter education, registration and protections; policy advocacy; research; and Native candidate preparation. 

  

Position Overview

The Community Organizer will lead and coordinate CNVP’s grassroots organizing work in assigned locations through base building, leadership development, campaign development and implementation, coalition building, and action research, amongst other change strategies aligned with vision and mission of CNVP. The position is full-time and exempt.

 

Essential Responsibilities

  • Share personal story in a away that will inspire other AIAN’s to join the organizing efforts at CNVP through one to ones, talking circles, and listening sessions
  • Learn, be coached, train, and utilize CNVP organizing model and  to CNVP organizing skills, competencies, and expectations.
  • Lead local campaign work campaign development and implementation, leading to policy and/or systems change for improved conditions for Native peoples. 
  • Support statewide and sister-city organizing and campaign work campaign development and implementation, leading to policy and/or systems change for improved conditions for Native peoples. 
  • Utilize a variety of strategies to achieve campaign goals, including base building, civic engagement, coalition building, leadership development, direct action, action research, and other change strategies.
  • Increase and strengthen leadership of the CNVP base. 
  • Carry out outreach to base, partners and allies through one to ones, community presentations, meeting facilitation, trainings, phone banking, text banking and other outreach approaches.
  • Build organizational partnerships to establish Native organizing network partners in the region and across the state.
  • Support CNVP’s Native American community leadership development work, including but not limited to curriculum development, training, facilitation, logistical coordination, and tracking member leadership development goals.
  • Carry out activities that increase and track CNVP’s membership base.
  • Analyze and report on CNVP leadership development tracking and oversee our membership numbers and each member’s individual leadership development goals.
  • Supervise youth organizers and build their leadership skills.
  • Supervise and recruit community volunteers and build their leadership skills.
  • Represent CNVP in local and statewide organizing coalitions and networks.
  • Participate in ally events and meetings to build and maintain CNVP’s visibility and solidarity across movements.
  • Organization-wide responsibilities
    • Participate in cross-department committees and teams.
    • Provide support and participation for organization-wide and regional campaigns and events.
  • Team Leadership and Culture: 
    • Support a culture of excellence, teamwork, inclusiveness, accountability and positive group dynamics.
  • Other duties as assigned.

Essential Qualifications

  • Be humble and willing to be coached, have hustle and follow through, and good instincts about people.
  • Experience working with Native American communities and Tribal organizations, and a demonstrated commitment to and passion for the mission, vision, and values of CNVP
  • Two or more years of experience leading organizing efforts and/or advocacy with experience doing one to ones, power analysis, leading public actions, facilitating meetings and trainings.
  • Strong commitment to self determination, liberation, sovereignty, social justice, racial justice, and community empowerment.
  • Strong interpersonal and team-building skills, particularly with the Native American community, especially intergenerationally
  • Ability to energize, inspire, and mobilize people to action and organizing.
  • Excellent problem-solving and organizational skills.
  • Excellent attention to detail and follow-through.
  • Highly-organized with ability to prioritize and balance multiple projects
  • Excellent communication skills, both written and oral.
  • Ability to meet deadlines.
  • Strong computer skills with proficiency in a variety of applications.
  • CA driver’s license, insurance, and regular access to a 4-5 seat passenger car.
  • Ability to travel throughout the state as needed.
  • Available to work flexible hours, including evening and weekends.

 

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with the following areas: community organizing, campaign strategy, curriculum development, coalition building, training.
  • Proficiency with Apple computers.

 

In order to prioritize the health and safety of our employees, all California Native Vote Project employees are required to provide proof of COVID vaccination. California Native Vote Project will discuss reasonable accommodations with employees who may be unable to receive a vaccine due to disability, the advice of a medical provider, or sincerely held religious beliefs. 

 

Work Environment

Hybrid in-person and virtual, with some evening and weekends required. Some travel also required (pending COVID-19 restrictions). 

Physical Demands

  • Able to work on a computer, including sitting at a desk, for extended periods of time. Able to read a computer screen. Manual dexterity to operate a keyboard.
  • Able to stand and walk for long periods of time.
  • Able to occasionally lift objects weighing up to 20 pounds.

 

Compensation commensurate with experience.