We’re Hiring: Field Organizer
Field Organizer Job Description
Organization: Grantmakers for Southern Progress (GSP)
Title: Field Organizer
Salary Range: $80,000 – $90,000 annually
Location: This is a remote position, but the candidate must be based in the U.S. South
Job Classification: Full-time, Permanent
Reports To: Director of Programs
Supervisory Responsibilities: This position does not have supervisory responsibilities.
Travel Requirement: This position requires up to 85% travel.
About Grantmakers for Southern Progress
Grantmakers for Southern Progress is committed to being an anti-racist organization that centers and responds to the voice and liberation of Southern communities living in the margin. As we build a people-centric culture, we understand the complexities of aligning our mission, vision, and values with the experiences and interests of our staff. To ensure we successfully align ourselves and work towards equitable, structural change in the South, we hire people excited to engage in culture-building with us. Our hires are team builders who authentically engage with others, are eager to learn, are agile, transparent, open to change, and are ready for continuous feedback.
In return, we commit the following to our people:
- We will evaluate and document our internal systems change process to ensure our structures meet the needs of our employees, members, and Southern communities who benefit from our work.
- We are committed to listening and learning from our staff, the voices directly impacted by GSP’s work and other organizations that have embarked on this journey to become antiracist organizations.
- We will strategically manage our staff’s long-term career development to ensure their growth as a leader with and beyond GSP.
- We have implemented equitable salary policies and practices.
- As a fiscally sponsored organization, we have partnered with an institution that offers competitive benefits and abundant paid time off to encourage staff’s health and well-being.
- We commit to transparent and open communication. We will share relevant information, feedback, and expectations with our staff in a timely, honest, and respectful manner.
- We commit to building a remote work environment that encourages open dialogue across teams and with team leads, engages in active listening, and addresses concerns or issues promptly.
As we continue evaluating our systems, structure, and culture, please note that job descriptions, roles, and responsibilities are subject to change or modification.
Position Summary
The Field Organizer will be responsible for stewarding relationships with grassroots and frontline movement organizers and organizations, facilitating non-transactional relationship building with GSP’s members, and mapping the work of the frontline across GSP’s 13-state footprint. Some work will eventually expand to the US territories. This role will lead the creation of GSP’s Practitioner Network for grassroots and frontline organizations to include strategy development, planning specified programming, as well as, creating and executing evaluative practices to ensure the network meets practitioner needs. As a member of the Programming Pod, the Field Organizer and their work will also support the development of GSP’s signature programs. This role reports to the Director of Programs and will work closely with other staff. This position is a full-time, permanent position that will require you to work in the community, requiring 85% travel.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
The Field Organizer will be responsible for:
Practitioner Network Development and Support (Approximately 40% of the role)
- Create and implement the framework for GSP’s Practitioner Network.
- Engage with practitioner organizations within GSP geographic boundaries to understand their work, the communities they serve, and the issues preventing them from operating at full capacity.
- Provide direct consultative support to practitioners by identifying or providing resources, coaching/training opportunities, potential funders that are values aligned, or other needs that would ultimately assist movement work.
- Facilitate convenings amongst practitioners to build collective understanding to what is needed from philanthropy to effectively support movement work with logistical support from the Program Coordinator.
- Promote collaborative learning, exchange, coordination amongst movement formations.
Organizational Learning (Approximately 40% of the role)
- Identify and inform GSP staff and leadership of new movement formations or community-based organizations leading systems change work in the US South.
- Based on learnings from across the field, provide consultative advice to GSP leadership around programming design, implementation, and organizational strategy to support our membership and practitioner networks.
- Establish and maintain a database of practitioners within the US South that lead systems change work.
- Support GSP’s membership network by organizing Learning Tours across the South to highlight the critical work of practitioners.
- Work with the Director of Programs to evaluate and establish the framework for the Field Organizer role to inform the structure of the position for future Field Organizers.
Organizational Responsibilities (Approximately 20% of the role)
- Attend staff meetings and four in-person staff gatherings.
- Attend weekly 1:1 meeting with supervisor.
- Support planning and attendance at other GSP programs/events as necessary.
- Represent GSP across the sector at conferences, peer organization programming, and member programming.
Experience and Qualifications
A competitive candidate will have the following experiences, knowledge, and attributes:
- Ability to succinctly and clearly summarize in writing program topics for diverse audiences
- Comfort with speaking in front of a group to open learning sessions
- Strong attention to detail and an ability to develop and stick to organizational systems to establish priorities, build project plans, and manage teams to meet time-sensitive project goals
- Ability to manage through ambiguity while knowing when to ask for clarification
- Interest and experience in building relationships that foster engagement in programming
- Interest in developing educational programs and an aptitude for research and analysis
- Desire to work in a collaborative, fast-paced, and changing environment
- Be effective, creative, flexible, organized, a stickler for the details and have a high degree of emotional intelligence to work independently, with a team and external partners.
- This position will require both creativity and the desire to pitch in all tasks, large and small, to support the team
- Possess a clear analysis around race, gender, and class and understands the historical impact of racism in the South.
- 8-10 years’ experience with building deep relationships with and/or organizing with Southern movement organizations
- Experience facilitating group learning and meetings with working objectives
- Experience coordinating projects with multiple partners/stakeholders and experience working directly with community members from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities
This job posting will remain open until the position is filled. To apply for this role, please submit your resume and cover letter via email at HR@g4sp.org. Please use your name and Field Organizer as the subject line.