Southern California Organizer

Southern California Organizer

Job Opening: Southern California Organizer

Start Date: Immediately

Location: Los Angeles, CA  

Bend the Arc is building the power and passion of the progressive Jewish movement in America by bringing together Jews from across the country to advocate and organize for a more just and equal society. We are the only national Jewish organization that is focused solely on promoting these values here in the U.S.

The Bend the Arc family of organizations consists of Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice, our 501(c)(3) organizing, education and leadership arm; Bend the Arc Jewish Action, our 501(c)(4) advocacy arm; and Bend the Arc Jewish Action PAC, a political action committee dedicated to supporting candidates who share our vision for a more just and equal society. Headquartered in New York City, we have offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and San Francisco, with chapters organizing nationwide.

Position:

Bend the Arc is seeking an organizer for the Southern California region. Reporting to the Field Organizing Manager, the SoCal Organizer will be an integral member of Bend the Arc’s field team, and is responsible for building the breadth and depth of our base and power in Southern California. The Organizer will identify and engage volunteer leaders and coach, mentor, and train these leaders to organize and build power through Bend the Arc’s campaigns.

The Organizer will excel at building relationships with volunteer leaders and organizational partners within and outside of the Jewish community; be driven by a desire to build statewide, local, and national political power; be highly motivated and goal oriented; and be able to work both independently and as part of a team.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Volunteer Development and Management. The candidate will demonstrate leadership in managing relationships, building culture, and creating the Bend the Arc leader experience with Bend the Arc members, progressive allies, and fellow Bend the Arc staff. They will  set and meet goals for the Southern California region by guiding leaders to engage in strategic campaigning and intermittent campaign selection.
  • Building and supporting highly effective teams. The candidate will demonstrate experience or knowledge of how to manage and build teams of lay leaders across various issue areas and campaigns.
  • Leadership Development. Through mentoring, coaching, and training, the candidate will prepare volunteer leaders to take on greater and greater responsibility and move them up Bend the Arc’s ladder of engagement.   
  • Events, Actions and Campaigns. The candidate will support local leaders to plan chapter activities that include: actions and educational events related to Bend the Arc’s campaigns and issues; chapter and community building events that advance local base-building goals; meetings with elected officials to advocate for specific policies and build relationships; building relationships with local partners; and actions including phone banks, canvass days, sign on letters, coalition led actions, and more. This will all be organized in conjunction with relevant coalition and grassroots partners.
  • Volunteer Recruitment. The candidate will recruit new Bend the Arc members to participate in our strategic campaigns.
  • Public Face. The candidate will occasionally represent Bend the Arc publicly and build relationships with elected officials and coalition partners and/or find and train volunteer leaders to hold these relationships.
  • Rapid Response. When news breaks, our network often needs to respond immediately. Whether it's rallies or house parties, the candidate will make sure Bend the Arc responds forcefully when we need to spring into action.
  • Jeremiah Fellowship. The candidate will support development of Bend the Arc’s Jeremiah Fellows in Los Angeles to work with existing volunteer leaders and integrate into Bend the Arc’s campaign work.
  • Tech. The candidate will use a combination of: NationBuilder, NGP VAN, Relay, Office & Google Suites, Facebook and Twitter in their organizing projects.
  • Other. The candidate will coordinate with our Development Team and provide occasional support to fundraising efforts.

Skills and Qualifications:

  • 2-3 years of demonstrated experience in community, faith based, campus, legislative, and/or electoral organizing;
  • Demonstrated commitment to racial equity and inclusion, commitment to anti-oppression practices and experience centering people of color in a multi-racial organizing context;
  • Ability to build and maintain strong one-to-one and institutional relationships with a diverse array of people, including a variety of age groups and affiliation levels, and with partners from diverse communities;
  • Ability to identify, recruit, develop, and mentor leaders.
  • Experience planning and leading trainings;
  • Understanding of federal, statewide and local politics and advocacy, understanding of how to identify power structures at play and how to influence them;
  • Demonstrated success at keeping multiple projects organized; good short- and long-term planning skills; strong administrative and time-management skills;
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
  • Formal training in organizing strongly preferred;
  • Commitment to the mission and vision of Bend the Arc;
  • Experience working respectfully and collaboratively with volunteers to build their skills and commitment and inspire their best work and build effective teams;
  • Understanding of how to take online community members into real life actions and make organizing and recruitment campaigns bigger in a consistent way;
  • Creativity, flexibility and comfort working in a fast­-paced campaign environment with teams;
  • Ability to travel occasionally and work some evenings and Sundays. Travel will be in and out-of-state as needed (anticipated up to 4 times a year).

Compensation and Hours:

This is a full-time position, with work schedules including evenings and weekends.  Annual salary range is $48,000-$55,000 DOE, and includes paid time off and benefits.

To Apply:

Please submit your resume and a cover letter to [email protected] with “SoCal Organizer” in the subject line of your message. No phone calls, please.  We sincerely regret that we will not be able respond to all applicants. Only those considered for the position will be contacted to interview.

Bend the Arc provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment, and encourages applications from women, people of color, persons with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.

This job description is intended to convey information essential to understand the scope of the position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of skills, efforts, duties, or responsibilities associated with the position.