Organizer, Economic Freedom

About Community Change and Community Change Action:

Community Change builds the power and capacity of low-income people, especially low-income people of color, to lead powerful and dynamic movements for social change. With our community-based partner groups, we bridge the grassroots and the national, supporting outsider strategies to disrupt the status quo while also building pathways to influence the insider conversation. 

Our vision of a better world centers the leadership of impacted people of color to move our work on immigrant rights, economic justice, and racial equity, including a focus on jobs and housing, early childhood care and education, income supports, and immigration reform.

This position also supports Community Change Action, an affiliated 501(c)(4) advocacy organization. While motivated by the same core values – equity, inclusion, and justice – Community Change and Community Change Action operate independently of one another and each organization has its own board of directors.

Position Description: 

This is a full-time position that requires a combination of highly developed organizing skills, administrative skills, research ability, relational ability, familiarity with models of community organizing training, experience developing and executing organizing and field plans to move targets, and great attention to detail for program evaluation and deliverable tracking.

A portion of time will be spent working with Community Change’s sister organization, Community Change Action. 

This is a 1-year flex position.

Principal Responsibilities:  

• Organize a base of individuals who are eligible for Guaranteed Income programs in Chicago, Cook County, and other potential target locations.
• Advance Community Change’s overall strategy to build a direct base of impacted persons by regularly conducting to 1:1s and moving identified persons through an engagement ladder.
• Work with grassroots partners to advance local/state policy campaigns that advance wins on critical health equity/economic justice issue priorities with base building/power building and governance implications for the partner and Community Change/Action.
• Coordinate rapid response and cross-team Community Change campaigns to develop state or national strategies, actions, and campaigns as necessary.
• Provide strategic support, broad campaign development, and overall coordination for our organizing work in areas of need across the organization.
• Assist partner organizations to develop strategies for building alliances, partnerships, and coalitions to enhance their power and achieve their goals, including organizational and strategic development work, fundraising, leadership training, and non-partisan electoral work.
• Support and build the organizing and training capacity of impacted persons, existing and new partner organizations to build their power to win changes at the local, state and federal levels.
• Report and track campaign and partner progress.
• Support communications efforts to the field and broader audiences.

Qualifications: 

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in organizing in labor, or other membership based institutions.
• Experience developing and executing field plans to move targets, and great attention to detail for program evaluation and deliverables tracking.
• Relational capacity; ability to work democratically and effectively with diverse groups and people.
• Strong team player, familiar with team dynamics and willing to work in a team environment; experience and comfort working as part of a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural team.
• Strong commitment to racial, gender justice and social change.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• The ability to produce consistent, quality work in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work at a macro level, keeping in mind the broader vision, while also attending to operational details.
• Adaptive work style that includes taking initiative and working independently and also a willingness to meet expectations and deadlines set by others such as a supervisor or team leader.
• Capacity and willingness to work some flexible hours and to travel.
• Demonstrated ability to conceive and execute creative, breakthrough strategic initiatives to achieve goals.
• Comfortable using cloud-based technology including Google Workspace and dynamic databases like Salesforce.
• The ability to speak a language used by key constituents is a plus.

This position reports to: Organizing Director, Economic Freedom 

Supervisory Responsibility: N/A

Salary & benefits: Annual salary of $70,000 - $85,000. Community Change also offers an excellent benefits package, which includes 4 weeks of annual paid vacation; additional paid holiday leave between December 24 and January 1 and a Summer break the week of July 4th; 8% employer contribution to retirement account after six months of employment (and 3% employer contribution for the first 6 months); and a choice of generous health insurance plans.

Travel Requirements: Up to 50%.

Classification: Community Change recognizes a staff bargaining unit affiliated with IFPTE Local 70, a union for non-profit workers. This position is included in Community Change's bargaining unit and covered under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

Location: This is a remote position, however, living in or near Cook County is preferred. Eastern time zone hours.

Equal Opportunity: Our vision of a better world centers the leadership of impacted people of color to move our work on immigrant rights, economic justice, and racial equity, including a focus on jobs and housing, early childhood care and education, income supports, and immigration reform. We strongly encourage the interest and applications of people of color, women, and people in the disabled and LGBTQ+ communities. Community Change is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Closing Date of Position: Open Until Filled

Click here to learn more about our employee benefits and Community Change’s values