Community Organizer, Kansas City, Missouri Office - ACLU of Missouri
Katie Hinners-Mueller
Community Organizer
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
For nearly 100 years the ACLU has been at the forefront of virtually every major battle for constitutional rights and civil liberties in this country, and is the leading defender of our nation’s Bill of Rights. Principled and nonpartisan, the ACLU has offices in all 50 states, and brings together the country’s largest team of public interest lawyers, lobbyists, communication strategists, and members and activists in the advancement of constitutional rights, by managing legal, legislative and public education programs on a broad range of issues including racial justice, free speech, religious freedom, reproductive rights, LGBT rights, and privacy.
Founded in 1920, the ACLU of Missouri Foundation (ACLU-MO) is one of Missouri’s premier public advocacy organizations. We are in the midst of planned growth and increasing prominence in policy issues including racial equality, equitable policing, reducing mass incarceration, threats to reproductive rights, post-Ferguson work, LGBT equality, ending capital punishment, and protecting privacy in the digital age.
We have a diverse staff of ten full-time individuals, with offices in St. Louis and Kansas City. To learn more about our work, please visit www.aclu-mo.org and www.aclu.org.
POSITION OVERVIEW
The Community Organizer will be responsible for creating a network of constitutional rights and civil liberty community advocates, particularly in the western half of Missouri, to advance the ACLU’s work.
The ACLU fights for constitutional rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed under the United States and Missouri Constitutions, particularly those protected in the Bill of Rights. We employ integrated advocacy, using public education, litigation, legislation.
The Community Organizer will be an integral part of the ACLU’s Legislative & Policy team. Our legislative priorities include First Amendment rights, equal protection, privacy, reproductive rights, voting rights, police accountability, LGBTQIA rights, the school-to-prison pipeline and voting rights. The Community Organizer will work collaboratively with staff across the state and with community partners to develop and implement campaigns that build the ACLU’s capacity to accomplish lasting change in Missouri. Through public education efforts, volunteer engagement, and training, the Community Organizer generates grassroots energy to push for statewide policy goals.
This position will work from our Kansas City office primarily. Frequent travel across state is likely.
The ideal candidate will have a deep commitment and passion for civil liberties, and an understanding of what it takes to fight for advancing equity in partnership with community allies.
Job Responsibilities:
Under the supervision of the Legislative Director and in cooperation with the Lead Organizer, the Community Organizer will be responsible for developing close relationships with a variety of individuals and organizations representative of local communities.
The Community Organizer will develop and execute an annual work plan designed to promote participation in local, state, and federal issue campaigns; build an active base of community advocates who can be mobilized to participate in meetings, rallies, hearings, and delegations; create a volunteer leadership development process that empowers the community; build relationships with community organizations, faith leaders, business leaders, donors, and new and diverse communities to advance our civil rights and civil liberties campaigns; and track volunteer metrics and engagement. The Community Organizer will also take lead on ACLU-MO’s Voter File work, including data management, list generation, turf-cutting, phone bank scripts and logistics, etc.
Specific Duties Include:
· Develop organizing campaigns around key civil liberties issues aligned with the ACLU’s priority issue areas. The Community Organizer will particularly focus on building relationships and identifying issues of interest with directly impacted communities
· Represent the ACLU of Missouri in coalition meetings and work collaboratively on joint efforts with community organizations, activists, and coalition partners
· Develop, conduct, and widely publicize Know Your Rights trainings that promote grassroots leadership and coalition building on priority issue areas
· Galvanize support of community organizations, public officials, faith leaders, business leaders, donors, and new and diverse communities for organizing campaigns
· Work collaboratively with grassroots leaders, allies, and ACLU-MO staff to execute large and effective community actions (hearings, rallies, etc.)
· Identify, cultivate, and empower strong community leaders who will lead campaigns that pursue our constitutional rights priorities
· Coordinate with the Lead Organizer to establish effective cross state tools to engage volunteers and community leaders on ACLU priority issues.
· Use the Voter File to keep track of engagement with members, volunteers, and community members. (Training is available to learn VAN, Catalist or other Voter File CRM tool)
· Complete and execute work plans with measurable deliverables
· Other duties as assigned
Qualifications:
The ideal candidate will have a combination of skills in a variety of areas. On-the-job training and professional development will be available to expand skill set. Successful applicants will meet a majority of the following qualifications:
· Passion for ACLU’s mission and values
· Two years or more experience in volunteer coordination or campaign management.
· Experience with legislative campaigns, ballot initiatives, or electoral campaigns is preferred
Qualifications (cont’d)
· Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and interpersonal communication skills are a must
· Individual must be a self-starter and capable of working quickly while thinking strategically about long term goals for individual projects
· Strong written and verbal communication skills required
· Proven track record of success in organizing strongly preferred.
· Significant work with Voter File data tools (VAN, Catalist, or other CRM) preferred
· Proficiency in language other than English is preferred but not required.
· Valid automobile driver’s license is required (position involves extensive travel throughout the state); Must be able to accommodate a variable work schedule including some nights and weekends
· Understanding of, and passion for, ACLU mission and a commitment to diversity; a personal approach that values the individual and respects differences of race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability and socio-economic circumstance, and able to work with diverse individuals within the organization and broader community
Compensation and Benefits
Competitive salary based on experience. Excellent and comprehensive benefits package including paid vacation and holidays; medical, dental and vision insurance; life and disability insurance; and 401(K) pension plan with employer contributions, and employer match of optional employee contributions; benefits include professional development and training opportunities.
To Apply:
E-mail a letter of interest, resume, writing sample and three professional references to appli...@aclu-mo.org. Please indicate “Community Organizer” in the subject line of your email. Please indicate in your cover letter where you saw this job posting.
Alternatively, application materials may be mailed to: 906 Olive Street, Suite 1130, St. Louis, MO 63101. Please, no phone calls.
Deadline:
Application materials will be reviewed as received and will be accepted until the position is filled.
The ACLU is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. The ACLU encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, and veteran status.