Texas Organizing Project is seeking a talented and dedicated bilingual (English/Spanish) campaign organizer to build our organization through helping drive a citywide campaign to fight for excellent public schools for every child. At TOP we believe that education justice is racial justice, and are always striving toward our overall goal of building power with and for Black and Latinx communities across the state.
The education justice campaign was started in late 2009 by TOP neighborhood leaders – parents and grandparents – to put a stop to the school to prison pipeline in Dallas ISD schools, where students of color make up more than 96% of total district enrollment and have been disproportionately impacted by suspensions, expulsions, and arrests in school for far too long. Since then TOP leaders, along with coalition partners, have made great strides by organizing for and winning the following victories around this issue and others under the umbrella of education justice:
- Districtwide Task Force to recommend solutions to curb the school to prison pipeline
- Alternative campus-wide approach to discipline that has been implemented in more than 50 Dallas ISD school
- Districtwide policy change in 2017 to ban discretionary suspensions for pre-K through 2nd graders and replace suspensions with positive, student centered approaches to behavior. Following TOP’s theory of change to win at the local level in several geographies in order to build momentum for statewide change, this ban on suspensions became state law later that same year, impacting millions of youth of color across Texas.
- Stopping an effort in 2014 to turn the entire school district into a home rule charter district, which could have potentially stripped away parent, student, and voter rights as well as jeopardized efforts to continue curbing the pipeline to prison and improving access to an excellent public education for all students.
- Passed a ballot measure to provide additional $126 million in revenue for Dallas ISD schools annually beginning in 2018. These extra resources will be used for the expansion of pre-K, for staff raises, and to further efforts around racial equity.
- $60,000 of the Dallas ISD budget allocated through participatory budgeting, in which hundreds of students at two high schools decided how to best spend the funds.
- Around racial equity: commitments from Dallas ISD to train all district staff on racial equity and to establish a community advisory council to guide the district in becoming more racially equitable.
The ideal candidate is an experienced community organizer who is also a coalition-builder and strategist who believes deeply in the importance of building community leadership, capacity and power. The Campaign Organizer will work in partnership with other staff and leaders to together drive campaign strategy and execution. S/he will be responsible for working with parent and youth leaders to execute a sophisticated campaign plan, coordinate related activities and efforts of allies to advance our campaign priorities and establish the basis for longer-term, ongoing work in Dallas. S/he must be able to organize and effectively communicate at all levels – with grassroots community people as well as established community leaders and policy experts. The Campaign Organizer will work closely with existing community leaders, community organizers and core partners in building TOP as an organization.
Key Areas of Responsibility
- Build a large base of parent and youth members
- Recruit, turn out and develop parent and youth leaders as part of a campaign committee across a variety of Black and Latinx communities in Dallas
- Help create and execute a sophisticated and winning campaign strategy by working with a campaign committee, staff, and allies
- Identify hot organizing issues that parents and students want to address in Dallas ISD schools
- Organize direct actions, events, and other tactics to move the campaign forward
- Coordinate campaign messaging, traditional media work, mass communications, and digital organizing with TOP’s communications department
- Regularly communicate the campaign’s progress to our members, staff, and partners
- Work with the existing database (VAN) to track members, participation and progress towards achieving success
- Develop and manage relationships with partner organizations
- Work with partners to move the campaign forward. This may include joint strategy meetings, joint actions or other events, relationship building, etc.
- Manage and develop relationships with decision makers, reporters, and other key stakeholders
- Enhance our reputation and brand, and promote our values.
- Other duties, as required
Competencies and Qualifications
- Excellent community organizing skills, strategizing, and execution of organizing campaigns
- Passion and commitment to racial, social, and economic
- Belief in and ability to live out TOP’s values: solidarity, visionary, and regeneration
- Excellent written and verbal communications skills with demonstrated focus on research, policy analysis, outreach, and targeted communications
- Critical thinking and problem solving skills
- Relentless drive, tenacity and a willingness to do what it takes to advance our mission and values
- Excellent time management, project management, and delegation skills
- Ability to work effectively with strong personalities, peers, public officials, and allies
- Familiarity with nonprofit role in advocacy
- Bilingual in English and Spanish
- Willingness to work long and often irregular hours including evenings and weekends
- Fulltime access to a car
- Computer competency – Word, Internet required; Experience in working with database systems a plus
Salary will be commensurate with experience. Benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, vision, 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, sick leave, and travel reimbursement.
TO APPLY:
Please email a resume, cover letter, and three professional references to recruit@organizetexas.org.