Member Mobilization and Engagement Organizer

Position Overview

The Member Mobilization and Engagement Organizer is responsible for developing and implementing a member mobilization and engagement strategy that furthers CJA’s leadership development and political education, member campaigns, and strategic planning goals. This position will build out strategic digital systems and mobilize the CJA membership to build shared power to win local, state and national campaigns. They will be a key leader in the development and implementation of CJA’s strategic plan in 2021 and 2022, and will organize the CJA membership to win critical local, state, and national campaigns. The Member Mobilization and Engagement Organizer will work as part of the organizing team, and will report to the CJA Organizing  Director. This is a remote position.

About Climate Justice Alliance

Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) was formed in 2013 to create a new center of gravity in the climate movement by uniting frontline communities and organizations into a formidable force. Our translocal organizing strategy and mobilizing capacity is building a Just Transition away from extractive systems of production, consumption, and political oppression, and towards resilient, regenerative, and equitable economies. We believe that the process of transition must place race, gender and class at the center of the solutions equation in order to make it a truly Just Transition.

We are a unique alliance of 74 community, frontline, and environmental justice organizations; movement networks; and support organizations at the forefront of climate change. Our members are multicultural, intergenerational, and prioritize leadership among women, gender-oppressed, and persons of color. They come from traditionally underrepresented constituencies, including Indigenous Peoples, African American, Latinx, Asian Pacific Islander, and low-income white communities, often located near toxic, polluting industries such as oil refineries, fracking wells, coal mines, power plants, and pipelines; rails, ports, and other major transportation corridors; landfills and incinerators; and industrial agriculture.

Core Responsibilities

Develop and oversee implementation of Membership Mobilization, Engagement, and Digital Organizing Strategy and Communications System (50%)

Co-Design and Lead Implementation of Member Organizing Strategy

• Develop, in consultation with staff and members, a clear, efficient, and effective Membership Mobilization, Engagement, and Digital Organizing Strategy (“Member Organizing Strategy”) to support the development and implementation of CJA’s new strategic plan.
• Grow grassroots membership in the alliance by coordinating the membership application and review process, as well as hosting orientations or meet-and-greets for interested members.
• Communicate recommendations to the Co-Executive Directors and Board on strategic decisions around membership engagement and support. 
• Provide organizing team and Organizing Director with assessments of and recommendations for sustaining and growing the CJA membership as laid out in the strategic plan. 

Manage Data and Coordinated Member Outreach

• Facilitate overall communications and outreach with the CJA membership. This position should be in regular phone, text, and email contact with all members.
• Develop a clear plan and system for all staff to use the CJA database (Powerbase) as the central organizing tool to track membership engagement and activity. 
• Organize and maintain up-to-date data in the CJA database and identify opportunities for engagement and shared work within the Alliance. 
• Create and train staff on communication systems and practices to support implementation of the “Member Organizing Strategy”.
• Coordinate and facilitate monthly membership calls in partnership with staff, the membership, and the Organizing Director.

Develop and Maintain Strategic Communications Channels with Members

• Create and maintain a suite of digital material used to onboard and offboard CJA members and support their deep engagement in the Alliance.
• Provide regular updates to staff on the state of membership engagement and next steps for strategic plan implementation. Respond to and pass on member requests to relevant staff in a timely manner.
• Provide timely resources, events, trainings, and other critical information to the full membership to support their work on the ground through communications channels including the member weekly and monthly digests and the member website. 
• Collaborate with the communications team and Tech and Database Manager to ensure that the “Member Organizing Strategy” has a clear communications strategy that uses the most effective channels of mobilizing all members.

Grow, Orient, and Develop CJA Members’ Capacity and Ability to Engage in National Campaigns, and Political Analysis (40%)

• Regularly onboard and offboard CJA members through orientations and using resources produced and approved by CJA member leadership and staff.
• Conduct and/or coordinate member outreach (with staff) at the request of/in coordination with the Organizing, Reinvest in Our Power and Policy teams in order to mobilize and/or engage members in specific national campaigns.
• Provide consultation to members on or connect them with other members or experts on best practices for translocal organizing, campaign and strategic planning, communications requests, rapid response requests, and other requests. 
• Support cross-team collaboration to ensure that all processes involving CJA membership facilitate deep relationships and a culture of accountability to grassroots leadership.
• Develop and implement an annual Political Education and Capacity Building schedule of trainings and materials for distribution to the full membership (in consultation with all CJA teams).

Build Healthy & Sustainable Organizational Work Culture; participate in organization-wide, cross-team learning and partnership; and Other Responsibilities (10%)

Along with all other staff, this position contributes to CJA’s culture of innovation, teamwork, accountability, and continuous learning.

Supervisory Responsibility

Currently does not supervise other employees but may eventually supervise an Organizing Associate or other Organizing team members.

Expected hours of work

Standard days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m in your time zone.  Daily schedule is flexible within the proximity of this time frame, and will be decided in consultation with the supervisor.

Travel

CJA staff are not currently traveling, per our Board-approved COVID Travel Policy. Under “normal” conditions, and with serious consideration for the safety of our staff, significant travel would be required for this role.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• 3-5 years of experience in a campaign or organizing role with a local, grassroots, frontline organization around climate or environmental justice;
• Experience with developing and maintaining digital organizing platforms (or a strong passion to learn quickly), including databases and internal resource websites, and successfully utilizing them to win campaigns.
• Demonstrated ability to engage across cultural differences and backgrounds and support a diverse coalition in meeting shared goals. 
• Demonstrated experience facilitating strategic organizing discussions, power mapping, and other grassroots organizing tools;
• Deep understanding and analysis of grassroots organizing, political landscape, and power-building strategies for organizing locally to inform national organizing strategy; and
• Deep commitment to environmental, social, racial, and economic justice and CJA’s mission.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Ability to switch between detail-intensive data processing and relationship-based interaction comfortably;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, both verbal and written;
• Ability to manage and make progress on multiple projects simultaneously;
• An orientation towards learning and development; willing to learn from mistakes, receive feedback, and give feedback to others.
• Bilingual or working proficiency in a second language is a plus.