Position Title: Statewide Community Organizer
Location: Los Angeles or Sacramento
Application Deadline: Rolling basis until position is filled
ABOUT CNVP
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 Statewide Organizer will lead the next phase of the CNVP’s statewide organizing strategy. This position requires someone with significant political and/or community organizing, strategic campaign development and supervisory experience. This role will serve as a support in strategies for local and statewide organizing and campaign work; support on projects and initiatives; and represent CNVP at partner and coalition tables. This position will also build and execute statewide/local organizing training and mentorship programs for both internal and external audiences. The position is full‐time and exempt.
Essential Responsibilities
Organizational Strategy and Development:
- Support statewide organizational planning, collaborating with the Director of Organizing, staff, Advisory Board and partners to set clearly defined statewide organizing goals and strategies to achieve them.
Team Leadership and Culture:
- Support a culture of excellence, teamwork, inclusiveness and accountability; build leadership practices that support the recruitment, development, engagement and retention of a talented organizing team and grassroots leaders, elders and parents/students.
Organizing Leadership:
- Share personal story in a way that will inspire other community members 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 elevate CNVP organizing skills and competencies.
- Lead and support statewide/sister city organizing 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, and 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.
- Organize campaigns at the state legislature and state ballot measure level, and cultivate relationships with state legislators and their staff, and coalitions working on these campaigns.
- 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, engage and track CNVP’s membership base.
- Ensures the tracking, reporting and analysis on all membership activity in their purview.
- Analyze and report on CNVP leadership development tracking and support increasing membership numbers and each member’s individual leadership development goals.
- Supervise assigned organizing staff around local and statewide organizing campaigns, and coach, shadow, have weekly check ins to achieve success sheet goals.
- Supervise and recruit community volunteers and build their leadership skills.
- Represent CNVP in local and statewide organizing coalitions and networks. Acts as a spokesperson with allied organizations, community groups and media.
- 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.
- In partnership with the organizing team will support planning, strategy, and implementation of statewide organizing campaigns.
- Work as a senior member of the organizing team to help develop and execute long term strategic organizing growth plan.
- Support leading statewide campaigns on behalf of the organization.
- Cultivates political and community support for organizing campaigns in accordance with 501(c)3 guidelines.
- Supports staff in developing and maintaining organizing campaigns, including training, base building, power analysis, guidance, oversight and accountability of organizing staff in performance of their duties.
- Develops relevant budgets, allocates resources effectively and plans and implements program activities as appropriate.
Essential Requirements:
- Experience working with Native American communities and Tribal organizations, and a demonstrated commitment to and passion for the mission, vision, and values of CNVP.
- At least five years of experience-preferably running campaigns, mobilizing, organizing, and running recruitment drives, plus three years supervisory experience.
- Experience organizing at the state legislature and with ballot initiatives, and willingness to outreach to legislators and their staff. Knowledge of how the state legislature works.
- Excellent interpersonal skills as demonstrated by the ability to relate, establish and cultivate respectful relationships with people from diverse backgrounds.
- Adept at leading and motivating workers in necessary struggles, including a strong commitment to sovereignty, social justice, racial justice and youth empowerment.
- Awareness of and proficiency with digital organizing communications technologies.
- Comfortable with leading and training staff around organizing skills, including but not limited to mobilizing, organizing and leadership development.
- Experience with PDI and other organizing databases.
- Experience in effective stakeholder and community engagement.
- Clear and concise communication with team members and senior management.
- Strong and confident leadership; experience leading teams.
- Strong interpersonal and team‐building skills.
- Effective facilitating and organizing meeting skills.
- Highly reliable and organized.
- Excellent analytical and judgment skills as demonstrable by the ability to assess information and evidence and act strategically.
- Excellent attention to detail and follow‐through, with an ability to meet deadlines.
- Ability to prioritize and balance multiple tasks and projects.
- Excellent communication skills, both written and oral.
- Strong computer skills with proficiency in Microsoft Office and a variety of applications.
- California driver’s license, insurance, and regular access to a 4‐5 seat passenger car.
- Available to work flexible hours, including occasional evening and weekend events.
- Ability to travel throughout the state as needed.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with one or more of the following areas: community organizing, action research, campaign strategy, curriculum development, alliance building, campaign development and/or policy.
- 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 evenings and weekends required. Some travel is also required.
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.