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1 May 2023

Full-Time Organizing Director

Texas Campaign for the Environment – Posted by Texas Campaign for the Environment Houston, Texas, United States

Job Description

Location

Must be based in Corpus Christi, Austin, or Houston metro areas and willing to commute to regional offices in these locations.

About Texas Campaign for the Environment Fund (TCE Fund) & TCE:

TCE Fund’s mission is to engage people and communities through face-to-face public education, grassroots organizing and action-oriented research for a cleaner and healthier Texas. TCE 501(c)(4) acts as a hub for climate justice work in Texas and beyond, directly influencing public policy through community-based lobbying. Both organizations lead local, statewide and national issue campaigns to fight pollution, especially fossil fuel and petrochemical facilities that harm communities and worsen climate and other pollution impacts.

TCE Fund and its sister-organization TCE are part of an international movement to stop a tidal wave of proposed petrochemical and fossil fuel exports facilities along the Gulf Coast. These facilities, if built, would have dire consequences on local air pollution and climate change and would largely benefit major energy company shareholders and executives while forcing ordinary Texans to pay higher prices.

About the role:

The Organizing Director is responsible for training, managing, and coaching a distributed team of organizers and coordinators on campaigns aimed at stopping new fossil fuel infrastructure projects, including the proposed petrochemical buildout in the Texas Gulf Coast.

The Organizing Director will be responsible for helping shape and direct our organization’s involvement in this movement while expanding and overseeing staff located in distributed offices in Corpus Christi, Houston, and Austin.

TCE and TCE Fund campaign staff are working on community organizing and outreach, building teams of volunteers, and developing and executing strategic campaign plans. Our organization is known for public pressure campaigns and demonstrations, large-scale grassroots advocacy and lobbying, and coalition building in order to move our campaign targets and win electoral fights. The Organizing Director will be intimately familiar with these approaches and will bring new insights to make our work more effective.

Major functions and responsibilities:

  • Staff Management – Lead, supervise, and coach TCE Fund’s organizing and coordinating staff. Provide individualized and detailed work plans and development goals. Support organizers via weekly check-ins, semi-annual performance reviews, training, and guidance to ensure accountability and growth of organizing staff. Serve as a member of the TCE Fund management bargaining team in negotiations with employee representatives.
  • Campaign Support – Work with TCE Fund staff, consultants, and coalition allies to develop, implement, and support data-driven campaign plans with measurable benchmarks and goals that build a strong base of volunteers and develop new leaders. Win campaign victories that move corporate decision-makers (i.e. financial institutions that fund petrochemical expansion) and governmental leaders and agencies on important actions and policies.
  • Project Management – Design and implement templates using project management software that keeps staff on track to achieve campaign objectives and organizational goals. Update and manage project templates based on debriefs and feedback. Create systems for organizers to retain and develop volunteers through ladders of engagement.
  • Senior Leadership – Meet with TCE Fund’s Senior Leadership team on a weekly basis to serve as a thought partner on setting organizational priorities, campaign strategy, and growth. Use your influence and expertise to propose and manage best practices, protocols, and processes for staff culture and operations.
  • Base Building and Diversity – Create opportunities to develop and expand the organizing team’s and members’ cultural competencies and ability to work across lines of race, class, gender, and other identities. Support the creation of inclusive campaigns that build a broader base and appeal to folks outside our current spheres of influence.
  • Travel and Presence – Regularly plan travel (up to 30% of time) for meetings with staff organizers, coalition partners, and other stakeholders. Initiate plans for in-person training, collaboration, and retreats. Encourage attendance and participation to build a strong internal culture of collaboration and comradery.
  • Communications and Advocacy – Work with the TCE Fund Communications team to develop online engagement strategies and campaigning tools to expand our base. Ensure that organizers and communications staff work cross functionally on their respective goals and objectives.

Qualifications and core competencies:

  • Five or more years of proven experience in staff management in organizing and advocacy groups.
  • Extensive experience in grassroots community organizing for environmental and/or social justice. Experience and/or knowledge in base building, face-to-face outreach, online-to-offline organizing, political campaigns, and/or direct action.
  • Experience in volunteer engagement and leadership development, as well as planning and execution of strategic campaigns.
  • Demonstrated competency and ability to build trust and communicate effectively with strong and diverse personalities, people with varied backgrounds, identities, and professions. These include community and faith leaders, public officials, industry professionals, and nonprofit allies.
  • Outstanding verbal and written communication skills.
  • Proficiency with MS Office and Google Drive (Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc.)
  • Ability to quickly analyze and synthesize complex information.
  • Willingness and availability to travel throughout the state and region.

Personal Characteristics

  • A commitment to advancing the overarching goal of environmental and social justice.
  • Ability to handle and prioritize multiple activities and responsibilities; a self-starter and finisher.
  • A team player who inspires collaboration and operates decisively; is flexible and well-organized.
  • Strong critical thinker and planner.
  • Emotionally mature and self-confident.
  • TCE will require proof of full COVID-19 vaccination of anyone who is to be hired for this position. Reasonable accommodations for documented exemptions may be considered.

Nice to have:

  • Spanish speaking and writing skills.
  • Lived experience with impacts of pollution.
  • A keen eye for good design and presentation of public-facing campaign materials.
  • Experience in Texas and/or Louisiana.
  • Proficiency in project management software (such as Asana) and CRMs (such as Powerbase or ActionNetwork)

Compensation

Annual salary range $82,000-85,000, commensurate with experience. Benefits package includes insurance coverage (medical/dental/vision, including an HSA account with employer contribution), paid time off and flex/comp time, paid holidays, retirement plan with employer matching contribution.

TCE Fund is more than an equal opportunity employer. We are actively seeking to build a diverse and inclusive team with a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills to support the incredible diversity of grassroots organizing across Texas.

How to Apply

Application Guidelines

Submit your application through our online portal. We recognize that great candidates may not meet every qualification outlined in this job description and we welcome any applicants who believe they would excel in this role.

Job Categories: Environmental. Job Types: Full-Time. Job Tags: advocacy, campaigns, grassroots, and organizing. Salaries: 80,000 - 100,000.

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