Community Organizer (Sioux Falls Region)

United Today, Stronger Tomorrow - Communities Respond to Covid

Regional Covid Issue Organizer - Sioux Falls, SD

United Today, Stronger Tomorrow - Communities Respond to Covid (UTST) is seeking to hire a FT community organizer for 4 months to test the potential to build and run a new organizing project focused on the four state region surrounding Sioux Falls, SD. The project’s goals are to identify the top Covid-related issues impacting communities, workers, and people in the region, lead a process to build a regional organizing committee, build a base of community leaders, and initiate a campaign development process. UTST is partnering with ruralorganizing.org and local community leaders in building this innovative project.

The Region: The economic watershed area of the Sioux River has a population of just under one million people and includes the four states of South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska along the Sioux and Missouri Rivers. The agricultural processing facilities and dairies in this region rely heavily on an immigrant and refugee work force. The major cities/locations in this region include Brookings, SD; Huron, SD; Marshall, MN; Pipestone, MN; Sioux County, IA; Sioux Falls, SD; South Sioux City, NE; Storm Lake, IA; and Worthington, MN. The region is also home to many members of the Lakota and Dakota nations, and includes the tribal lands of the Flandreau and Yankton reservations.

UTST is a pilot project that will identify constituencies and institutions impacted by Covid and test innovative organizing efforts to connect them to both short-term work developing and implementing equitable Covid response policies and longer-term advocacy work that will create a more democratic, equitable, racially just, healthy, and environmentally sustainable post-Covid world. In a set of states, we will explore how best to design and build the project based on local conditions in order to achieve our primary goals of 1) building a base, 2) connecting the base to short and longer-term advocacy work, and 3) identifying which organizing tools worked and why and determining if they can be successfully replicated.

Job Responsibilities: The Regional Covid Issue Organizer will be responsible for the following activities:

Working with the UTST Project Director to staff a leadership team of local leaders who will be managing the regional project.

Building and managing a regional organizing committee of local leaders representing different communities in the 4 state region.

Base-building to recruit new people into the regional organizing project.

Conducting issue ID through a combination of one-on-ones, “house” meetings, virtual town halls, and stakeholder meetings.

Working with the UTST Digital Team to use digital tools and tactics to build our lists, including writing copy for and building Facebook ads, launching online petitions and surveys, and reporting out on campaign progress.

Identifying, training, and managing community leaders to help build out the work.

Leading a campaign development process on the top 2-3 issues Identified

Qualifications: The ideal candidate has 2 years experience in community, electoral, and/or worker organizing, including membership recruitment and development, campaign development, and direct action organizing and is based in the region and/or has deep ties to the region.

Skills necessary for this position includes the ability to build and manage relationships with a wide array of stakeholders, multitask different pieces of work, build coalitions, staff workgroups and/or committees, recruit and manage volunteers, and implement digital organizing tools, tactics, and strategies. They must also have an interest in working in a fast paced, innovative, and “start-up” environment.

Technical skills include working knowledge of ActionNetwork, EveryAction, or similar CRMs, and some Facebook advertising experience.

Women, people of color, native/indigenous people, and LGBTQ+ people are strongly encouraged to apply. Strong preference for Spanish speaking proficiency.

Compensation/Terms of Employment: This position is a 4 month long position through November. The consultant rate for this position is between $1200 to $1800 a week FT, depending on experience.

United Today, Stronger Tomorrow - Communities Respond to Covid is sponsored by the national racial and economic justice organization, Community Change, in partnership with Pilot Project Director Paul Getsos, former National Director of the Peoples Climate Movement.