Cooperative Education & Engagement Manager

ABOUT OUR COOPERATIVE

The East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative is a multi-stakeholder co-op that facilitates BIPOC and allied communities to cooperatively organize, finance, purchase, occupy, and steward properties, taking them permanently off the speculative market. We create community controlled assets and empower our communities to cooperatively lead a just transition from an extractive capitalist system into one that is ecologically, emotionally, spiritually, culturally, and economically restorative and regenerative.

As a candidate, you will be eligible for Staff Ownership after a candidacy period of 18 months and 1400 hours. (Review our bylaws to learn what it means to become a Staff Owner.) You will be expected to develop your capacity to operate effectively in a cooperative workplace focused on progressive social change. This may look like taking direction from other staff or community members, holding yourself accountable for responsibilities, stepping into leadership roles, or sharing leadership with other cooperative owners/members (“member” and “owner” are used interchangeably; there are 4 types of members).

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

The Cooperative Education & Engagement Manager is an integral position, responsible for ensuring our community is deeply engaged in our cooperative at large, and in each of our many projects, putting community members in the drivers’ seat. They will be engaging with multiple audiences, including the broader East Bay community, our active “Community Owners” and “Owner Groups”, and the residents, operators, and patrons at our various projects. This individual will be planning and facilitating various types of community meetings and events, co-creating and facilitating workshops with the community and “Resident Owners.”

The Engagement Manager will also engage our membership body in EB PREC policies, projects and our collective governance structure in creative ways, for tangible cultural outcomes. They will outreach to bring in new members, engage and support members, and track membership requirements. They will oversee and coordinate our various Owner Groups and guide our members through the nuts and bolts of cooperation including crafting proposals, making cooperative decisions, and supporting members on project management, organization, and information sharing. Cooperation can be challenging and deeply rewarding, so this individual will support cooperative owners and community members to shift their mindset and heartset in relation to cooperation and collective stewardship of our neighborhoods.

Ideal for people who:

• Are natural leaders who bring high organizational skills, high energy, and deep community connections to the role.
• Are familiar with Holocracy, Movement Generation and the Just Transition Framework,
• Are familiar with the Free School model, Each One Teach One (Black Panthers), Popular Education and other forms of fractal organizing and resource sharing,
• Are skilled in resiliency practices, such as non-violent communication, restorative justice, and mediation.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

1.) Be the Voice and Face of EB PREC in the Community

• Build positive collaborative relationships with community members, especially at the Barn and on 7th St cultural corridor in West Oakland, including our members, residents, and partner organizations.
• Share our cooperative vision and processes, supporting our members through our collective governance processes.

2.) Community Engagement & Recruitment

• Engage East Bay BIPOC & allies for co-ownership and mutual support opportunities in EB PREC.
• Co-create and implement community engagement strategy, especially in neighborhoods surrounding EB PREC properties.
• Maintain and coordinate annual calendar of events across the Cooperative.
• Plan and coordinate events, including vision, staffing, budget, food, music, vendors, agendas, volunteers, materials.
• Coordinate and host monthly orientations to our cooperative model.
• Manage tabling at relevant events to reach legacy East Bay BIPOC community.
• Facilitate new member sign ups at orientations and events.
• Share investment opportunities like our “Freedom Shares” with low income BIPOC residents, as a part of our 2025 capital campaign.
• Hold recurring “Office Hours” that community members and organizations can book to learn more about EB PREC and receive support.
• Participate in formal public meetings with our real estate projects team, like neighborhood council & City Planning meetings.

3.) Community Owner (Member) Engagement

• Engage and support members to navigate collective organizing and mutual aid.
• Plan and facilitate monthly virtual or hybrid meetings with members, collaborating with staff and members.
• Plan and host Annual Member Meeting in collaboration with the Board.
• Facilitate collective decision making among members utilizing the Cooperative proposal process, and facilitate feedback on projects and initiatives, liaising between members and staff as needed.
• Facilitate participatory exercises for visioning, consensus building and skill sharing among members at meetings and workshops.
• Encourage membership engagement through volunteer opportunities at events, workdays, and collaboration groups.
• Manage and create member communications and periodic comms campaigns through our google group, facebook group, listserv, and social media; using mailchimp, canva and other digital tools, as well as phone banking, door knocking, and other creative avenues, keeping members informed and engaged.

4.) Owner Group Coordination

• Steward EB PREC’s “Owner Group” process (i.e. committees), especially for groups organizing toward property acquisition.
• Process Owner Group applications and coordinate Owner Groups, connecting them with relevant staff and resources.
• Onboard and guide Owner Groups; track for progress and support; meet and correspond as needed.
• Create new staff-incubated Owner Groups collaborating with staff and members.
• Resident Owner & Owner Group Education
• Build capacity of Resident Owners and other community members to co-steward and live together on EB PREC properties in collaboration with property manager(s) through trainings, engagements, and workdays.
• Co-create and facilitate educational plans for Residents to engage in cooperative decision-making, policies and procedures.
• Develop and launch popular education, social media, online ed training, workshops, and customized trainings for “Owner Groups” and residents.
• Research existing educational opportunities among cooperatives, community land trusts, and other aligned organizations, and incorporate them into learning plans.
• Improve upon existing interactive educational materials, co-create digital and analog tools for self-guided and facilitated use.

5.) Steward Our Staff’s Community Engagement Work (Project Management)

• Coordinate and facilitate team meetings and agendas, events calendar, ensuring proper staffing and budgets are set in place.
• Track team goals and project deadlines/milestones, checking in with responsible staff as needed.
• Share feedback and input from community members with the staff's Community team, and with discernment and wisdom, integrate feedback as appropriate.
• Liaise between the Community team and our other departments to ensure community engagement transcends all of our work.

6.) Administration

• Document and systematize member participation, activities, trainings, and dues, ensuring accurate and timely data entry and tracking of membership requirements and Community Owner status.
• Track staff hours, event activities, and outcomes to improve transparency and program effectiveness, and maintain documentation of procedures for team activities and initiatives.
• Enhance and maintain community engagement tools, processes, and communications materials, including training materials and filing systems on Google Drive and Asana.
• Foster effective team communication by sharing relevant information across staff members and teams to facilitate deeper engagement and collaboration.

7.) Lead & Cooperate!

• We all carry the load collectively and support the growth of the cooperative. Not every responsibility can be anticipated, and you may be called upon to support others, as you may call on others to support you, to carry our collective work forward. This is an important part of our staff dynamic, and reflects our commitments to solidarity and personal growth.

DESIRED QUALITIES/EXPERIENCE

CORE QUALIFICATIONS

• East Bay resident, with strong ties to the community
• Self-motivated, flexible, and committed to responding to the needs of the community
• A people person, with a passion and talent for building relationships and connecting with a diverse and expanding network
• Excellent demonstrated group facilitation and conflict engagement skills
• Extensive experience developing and implementing innovative and interactive learning opportunities & programming, in both virtual and in-person formats
• Extensive experience creating skill-share experiences centering people first, building reciprocal relationships
• Solid experience with events planning for different types of events, including budgeting for events
• Demonstrated capability with program management and light administrative responsibilities including program planning and delivery, strategy development, quality assurance, client service, and staff mentorship and management
• Solid skills creating digital and analog training materials and tools for self-guided and facilitated use
• Extensive communications experience for outreach, including social media newsletters, flyers, and email listservs
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills (particularly in a remote work environment); experience with remote work, ability to be fully present for remote meetings, and access to a quiet, distraction-free space with stable Internet and computer
• Excellent ability to negotiate needs of various stakeholders
• Excellent time management, planning, organization, and prioritization skills
• Experience with or capacity to learn digital tools and project/relationship management systems such as Google Suite, Asana, Mailchimp, CRMs, etc.
• Familiar with cooperative and social justice organizations, campaigns, or programs
• Strong commitment to anti-racism and anti-oppressive movement building.
• Strong commitment to and willingness to engage in political education and anti-oppression workshops, as well as internal work to build a culture of resilience and transformative justice
• Strong commitment to collective decision-making and working in a staff collective of a cooperative
• Access to reliable transportation
• Available some weekends and evenings

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bilingual/biliterate in Spanish/English preferred
• Experience in non-hierarchical pedagogy, and facilitating conversations and processes that question business-as-usual capitalist world views, and invite cooperative world views
• This position may grow into a Director level role, so prefer a candidate who has the potential to grow into holding increasing responsibilities, as well as guiding the strategy, direction and vision for Community Engagement.

HOURS, PAY, AND BENEFITS

This position is full time (30 hrs/wk) at $74,500 (0.75 FTE of $99,333). EB PREC offers health and dental insurance, Medical FSA, Dependent Care FSA, Paid Time Off (PTO), 11 paid holidays, flexible scheduling for work/life balance, professional development allowance, and home office reimbursement.

This position is primarily in person, working out of our West Oakland office and coworking space among other East Bay sites, staying connected and directly accessible to our community, with opportunities to work remotely. This position requires frequent interfacing with community members, and many meetings, training sessions, and events that will take place in the evenings and on weekends.

Applications for this position will be accepted on a rolling basis until filled.

Priority application deadline: Sunday, September 29th.

HOW TO APPLY

Please send your resume and cover letter to jobs@ebprec.org. Feel free to address the following questions in your cover letter:

• What excites you most about the cooperative?
• What role have you held in the past that is most similar to this role, or what life experiences have you had that you sense have prepared you most for this role?
• What challenges would you anticipate, if any, in taking this role?
• Describe one thing you’ve learned about our organization while researching this opportunity.

EB PREC is an equal opportunity employer and encourages diversity in its applicants. All applicants will be considered for employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, ancestry, national origin, military or veteran status, or mental or physical disability. BIPOC, queer and trans people, women, and nonbinary and gender non-conforming applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.