About the organization:

‍Make the Road PA was launched in 2014 and, over the last decade, has quickly become one of the largest Latinx organizations in the state of Pennsylvania. MRPA now runs three robust organizing centers in Reading, Allentown, and Philadelphia. We have a strong, engaged membership base of Black and Brown working-class people, primarily in Latinx communities. We have a strong track record of local and state campaigns, large-scale mobilizations on federal issues, large-scale civic engagement work, and active leadership among key progressive organizing groups, coalitions, and tables across the state.

About the position

The Organizing Director is a senior leadership position and will be charged with developing and implementing statewide strategies and adding capacity to regional campaigns that builds long term power for our membership. With leadership from national organizations, the Organizing Director will also support federal issue-based campaigns. The Organizing Director provides ongoing coaching, training, supervision and support to the policy and field teams, organizers and the Deputy Organizing Director. In coordination with the Co-Executive Directors, the Organizing Director helps coordinate and guide issue campaigns in areas of school funding equity, living wage policies, criminal justice reform, immigrant rights, climate justice, workers rights, and other issues as needed as well as work closely with the Civic Engagement Director to implement the organization’s non-partisan voter engagement strategy with Organizing and Field Departments. The Organizing Director will also work closely with the Co-Executive Directors to ensure that campaign goals, strategies, messaging and funding opportunities and deliverables to funders are completed. The Organizing Director will manage large organizing initiatives, execute sophisticated trainings and conferences, develop strategic plans to demonstrate our grassroots power and represent the organization in coalition meetings and state tables. The Organizing Director is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and will, as part of the SLT, help with the implementation of our multi-year strategic plan and guide the organization’s development and overall organizational goal setting. Please note that this position will regularly be communicating with monolingual Spanish and monolingual English speaking members and staff, so consideration for this position requires fully bilingual Spanish and English fluency.

Location

Philadelphia, Reading, Hazleton, or Allentown, PA

Travel

This position will involve between-office travel approximately 50% of the time, primarily day trips between Philadelphia, Allentown, Reading, Hazleton and Harrisburg. This position will also occasionally travel to New York, DC and to other Make the Road states around the country, and overnight trips may occur once per quarter.

Reports to

Co-Executive Director

Supervises

Deputy Organizing Director and Public Policy & Advocacy Manager

Job Responsibilities

• Engage multiple stakeholders including membership, elected officials, and organizational leaders in the social justice field;
• Build and help lead coalition tables and/or campaigns that deal with issues directly impacting MRPA members;
• Develop activities and events to raise financial resources through membership dues;
• Develop and implement leadership development curriculum;
• Coordinate, facilitate and regularly engage the Member Leadership Council and work with the Civic Engagement Director to hold meetings with the Endorsement Committee;
• Supervise the Deputy Organizing Director and Public Policy & Advocacy Manager and aide in the Deputy Organizing Director’s supervision of Lead Organizers;
• Drive development and support execution of organizing strategy;
• Co-develop, with the Senior Leadership Team, the overall strategy of the organization with strategic direction from membership bases and inputs from organizers and other departments;
• Support Lead Community Organizers in building and running campaign plans based on detailed power analysis and a strong theory of change;
• Find opportunities for campaigns to connect and how they intersect;
• Work closely with the Public Policy and Advocacy Manager and Local Policy Coordinator to ensure that the policy department is supporting the organizing program and vice versa;
• Work closely with the Communications Manager to ensure that the broader public organizational narrative aligns with organizing goals;
• Seek out and create opportunities for the organizing work to connect, build power, alliance and solidarity toward a shared vision and politics;
• Coordinate with Civic Engagement Director to work cohesively with the field department and civic engagement programs;
• Maintain, manage, and develop strategic partners and allies to support broad organizational campaigns and goals and create the best possible space for community members to organize;
• Maintain key relationships with allies to the organization’s organizing and campaigns;
• Represent the organization in external and internal meetings, coalitions tables, state tables, conferences, etc.;
• Work with the Deputy Organizing Director and the Public Policy & Advocacy Manager to develop the organizing team to build and execute successful organizing campaigns and represent the organization in coalition tables, internal and external meetings;
• Fundraise for the organization through foundations and individual donors for campaigns or general operating funding for the organizing department;
• Ensure member dues are being collected by the organizing staff;
• Coordinate, facilitate (when necessary), and execute organizational meetings this includes, but is not limited to: staff meetings and retreats, Senior Leadership Team meetings, All Staff Meetings, Leadership Councils and Membership Assembly meetings.

What are we looking for?

• 6-8 years of grassroots base building community organizing experience, at least 2 of which were doing immigrant rights organizing;
• Fluency, written, reading, and spoken, in Spanish and English;
• 2-3 years of supervision experience required, experience managing someone who supervised someone themselves highly preferred;
• Experience working at a blended c3/c4 organization and working with the c3 field team to reach organizing goals;
• Experience driving an organizing campaign, start to finish, and writing large scale campaign plans;
• Ability to be highly organized and highly communicative with coworkers up, down, and sideways;
• Extremely strong project management skills;
• Strong writing skills in English required and in Spanish preferred but not required;
• Experience doing member based advocacy and creating relationships with elected officials;
• Valid U.S. driver’s license and access to a reliable vehicle;
• Experience working at a national organization with state or local chapters/affiliates highly preferred but not required;
• Experience working with other departments, including communications, development, and policy, to reach organizing goals preferred but not required;
• Experience mobilizing members or volunteers for large sized events (500-1000 participants) preferred but not required;
• Experience working at the federal or state level preferred but not required;
• Experience in one or more of the following issue areas highly preferred but not required: housing justice, education, youth organizing, worker rights, and climate justice;
• Experience working in Pennsylvania preferred but not required.

Salary

$95,500-106,500, depending on experience

Benefits

• 3 weeks paid vacation
• 10 sick days, 5 personal days, 7 holidays in the calendar year
• Paid holiday break in December
• Life insurance, medical, dental, and vision insurance, option flexible spending account.
• Transit credit.
• Up to $80/month phone reimbursement.
• Mileage reimbursement.
• 401k
• Parental leave.
• Short and long term disability insurance.

COVID-19 Policy: 

Make the Road employees are required to be fully vaccinated with a FDA approved COVID-19 vaccine on or before their start date. Refusal to receive the vaccine will result in the offer of employment being rescinded.

The work schedule can at times be greater than 40 hours per week and includes evening and weekend meetings and events, as necessary. It is not a strictly 9am-5pm position.

Make the Road PA does not sponsor work visas; this position requires authorization to work in the United States.

MRPA is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a diverse staff. Women, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, and people of color are strongly encouraged to apply. All qualified applicants will be afforded equal employment opportunities without discrimination because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, genetic information, disability, or marital status.