Co-Organizing Director

ABOUT THE ROLE:

This position will work with the current Organizing Co-Director to lead, grow and strengthen our newly established organizing department, and play a key role in setting the overall strategic direction of the organization. This role is best suited for someone ready to coach and develop organizers building structures that enable worker leadership to build worker power in our state. This role is for an experienced organizer and campaign manager with a strong commitment to building worker power by growing our base and developing worker leaders to fight for collective liberation. This role requires leading and practicing anti-racism in all areas of the work and a commitment to building multi-racial solidarity among staff and members. They are enthusiastic about using a wide range of strategies to drive campaigns that shift the bounds of what is considered possible and win bold, transformative demands. They will support fostering organizational culture aligned with our mission to build collective power leading with a relational, visionary and accountable mindset.

This position will collaborate across the organization with the Legal Clinic and Communications staff to build powerful alignment between issue campaigns, policy, narrative, and leadership development. They will serve as a member of the Leadership Team, and report to the Executive Director.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

35% Campaign Strategy Leadership

• Co-lead organizing department in setting campaign strategy, including selecting targets, and integrating the organization’s communications, lobbying, worker-driven policy development, and enforcement capacity into campaign plans
• Collaborate with team to create outreach, worker engagement, and leadership development plans to execute campaign strategy
• Proactively identify opportunities for new worker campaigns aligned with organization’s strategic priorities as a statewide powerbuilding organization
• In close collaboration with the communications team, build campaign narratives and plans that integrate digital communications, social media, and worker-facing communications that advance organizing goals and build our base of support
• Manage development of tools like surveys and crowdsourced databases to center workers in issue identification and campaign & policy development
• Collaborate with the communications and legal teams to deepen connections between outreach, leadership development, campaign, and enforcement work

35% Team Leadership and Staff Development

• Collaborate with the current organizing co-director and implement training curriculum on core organizing skills, including relational organizing, list management and growth, and leader recruitment and development
• Provide the direct supervision and development of organizing staff, ensuring that team members have consistent work plans, clear roles, and regular feedback to succeed in their individual roles and as a team. Invest in staff leadership and build deep relationships grounded in clear vision and responsibilities.
• Provide coaching & modeling to develop worker leadership on campaigns at every stage by supporting the implementation of a new membership model, formation of worker committees & leadership roles, and taking an active role in the field alongside organizers to create leadership development opportunities for workers.
• Collaborate with operations team to develop systems and train and mentor organizing staff in metric tracking and data management; support staff in training leaders to keep data organized so they can take an active role in outreach, recruitment, and growing the base.
• Provide skill training, political education and hands on support to organizers as we develop new organizing infrastructure for the organization.
• Support training and mentoring of staff throughout the organization, ensuring that they can integrate our organizing model, strategies, and priorities into their work.

10% Policy and Political Leadership

• Support policy development on legislative campaigns, collaborating with relevant staff and partners to ensure policy goals that come from worker organizing are viable and responsive to workers’ needs
• Conduct strategic organizing research or identify need for external support
• Collaborate with the Leadership Team to develop political strategy for campaigns with legislative goals, and help set organizational priorities for cross-industry political objectives

20% Organizational Leadership and Other Responsibilities

• Serve on the Leadership Team, working collaboratively to advance the organization’s priorities and to foster an organizational culture grounded in equity, mutual respect, and commitment to power building
• Represent the organization in a wide range of external settings, consistently advancing the organization’s interests and communicating our worker-centered, power-building framework
• Strengthen relationships and strategic collaboration with external partners and foster connections to new partners aligned with the organization’s theory of change and strategic orientation
• Manage team budget. Support fundraising by assisting with application and report drafting and participating in relationship-building meetings to convey our organizing strategy to current and potential funders

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• At least 7 years of experience working with community, labor, or electoral organizations. High level ability to develop campaign strategy with staff and worker leaders, integrate others into organizing plans, and align campaigns to advance a long term powerbuilding agenda.
• Demonstrated experience working with politically underrepresented and historically marginalized communities, and centering member leadership development.
• At least 3 years supervising staff and leading a team, with a strong track record of building teams and developing staff leadership through coaching, training and feedback. Committed to building relationships and integrating data and equity best practices into management and team development.
• Strong project management skills and ability to track multiple deadlines and priorities.
• Enjoy collaborating on new/emerging projects, and able to thoughtfully communicate and discuss ideas as well as proactively ask for help.
• Excellent judgment, professionalism, and problem solving skills, including the ability to respond quickly and effectively to unforeseen challenges.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Working knowledge of the state’s political landscape, including basic mechanics of state and local governance and legislative processes
• Possess an understanding of digital organizing strategies
• Prior experience holding high level of responsibility for strategic external relationships
• Professional proficiency in Spanish
• Knowledge of national political and worker organizing landscape

OTHER INFORMATION

Salary & Benefits: This is a management position with the anticipated salary range being between $90,000 - $115,000, depending on relevant experience. We provide a generous benefits package, including exceptional medical, dental, and vision care, 5% employer 401k contribution, substantial holidays, vacation and sick leave, and an ORCA card for employees in the Puget Sound area.

Location: This is a salaried overtime exempt position that we anticipate being based in our Seattle office, though we are open to candidates who may primarily work out of our Yakima office. We are a hybrid workplace and expect this role will have a combination of in person work and work that can be performed remotely, and are open to considering strong candidates who currently live out of state and are willing to relocate. It will require occasional evening and weekend work dependent on campaign needs.

How to Apply: Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to jobs@workingwa.org with the applicant’s last name and “Organizing Co-Director” in the subject line. In your cover letter, let us know why you’re interested in this role and which skills you believe will make you successful in it. The priority deadline for submissions is March 20, 2025. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and we will accept applications until the position is filled.

Commitment to Equity: Working Washington is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strongly encourage people from communities most negatively affected by historical and ongoing inequity to apply, such as: people of color, immigrants, women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people, and people with disabilities. We seek candidates whose lived experiences reflect the lived experiences of the workers we support. If you need disability, language or other accommodation in the application process, please contact Lexi Peterson-Burge at lpetersonburge@workingwa.org.