Community Organizer (Bilingual)

Title: Community Organizer

Reports to: Lead Organizer

Position Type: Full-Time (40 hours/week), Exempt

Work Location: 5011 Holly Drive, San Diego, CA 92113 and daily fieldwork throughout central and south San Diego

Language Requirements: English and Spanish fluency are required

Start Date: March 2025

Benefits:

• 100% Employer-paid medical, vision, dental and life insurance
• 401k plan with employer contribution
• 11 paid office holidays plus two paid floating holidays and 12/26-12/31 paid time off annually
• Two paid personal days annually
• 120 hours annual paid vacation time for the first five years of employment and 160 hours annual paid vacation time after five years of employment
• Generous sick time and paid FMLA leave policies

San Diego Organizing Project Overview

SDOP is a nonpartisan, multi-faith network of congregations representing more than 70,000 families across San Diego County. As one of the most diverse grassroots organizations in the region, we uniquely bridge racial, cultural, and economic divides. We unlock the power of people to bring justice, equality, and greater opportunity to fruition in their communities. Our vision is a just and equitable San Diego, transformed by the power of love rather than the love of power.

Job Overview

The role of an SDOP Community Organizer is to identify, recruit, and develop volunteer leaders from local congregations and faith communities into organizing teams and to develop those teams to exercise their collective power and agency by putting their faith into action in the public square. Together, we work to create more equitable systems by advocating for policy change. An organizer sees themselves, and their success, in the development of others.

Responsibilities and Duties:

• Setting up and conducting 15-20 one-to-one meetings each week with new or established SDOP leaders, clergy, and influential external leaders.
• Developing and supporting congregational Local Organizing Committees (LOCs) in at least 5 to 10 institutions.
• Working with LOCs to set relational campaign goals, hold research meetings, define issues, and conduct public actions to resolve community concerns.
• Building and maintaining intentional, public relationships with partner and allied organizations, coalitions, and public officials.
• Playing a supportive role in both local and regional political strategizing.
• Participating in local and regional trainings and staff development; developing leaders by leading local trainings.
• Leading voter engagement efforts in every major election, focusing on volunteer engagement and growing 100% Voting Congregation approaches in all assigned congregations.
• Building a dynamic power analysis of the city and region; entering data weekly in SDOP’s in-house organizing database and PDI voter file.

Qualifications

A successful candidate will have the following:

• PASSION AND EDGE – a clear sense of moral judgment focused on human dignity and a drive to work with others to address it.
• INTELLIGENCE – the ability to think, reflect, communicate, make decisions, and respond with flexibility in complex situations.
• SELF-DIRECTION - excellent time management skills, the ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects and to work well both independently and as part of a team.
• EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE - self-awareness, the ability to self-regulate and to tell one’s own story.
• RELATIONAL AND CULTURAL COMPETENCE – the ability to build relationships and work with people of different races, socioeconomic backgrounds, generations, and faiths.
• A TEACHER’S MINDSET - the ability to break down concepts, to read a room, and to accommodate different learning styles.
• GROWTH ORIENTATION - a commitment to learning and to developing a racial, economic, and political analysis of structural change.
• A TRACK RECORD – some evidence of attempting to build relational power and to respond to situations that seemed to demand responses; some success in whatever career or endeavor has occupied the individual’s time.