Now Hiring: Organizing Director

Overview

Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), a fiscally sponsored project of the Tides Center, is a social justice organization serving poor and working class Arabs and Muslims across the San Francisco Bay Area, while organizing to overturn racism, forced migration, and militarism. Recognizing the diversity of experiences within our community, AROC utilizes a multi-pronged strategy providing a centralized space for social services meeting material needs, developing analysis, creating strategy, and leading grassroots campaigns for systemic changes that make tangible impacts in the lives of working class SWANA (South West Asia and North African) communities.

In order to advance the work of AROC, we are looking for someone who will bring to the Organizing Director role a personal understanding of racism, forced migration, and militarism for SWANA communities in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. The successful candidate will confidently cultivate and build the necessary and strategic relationships with AROC’s membership base and broader ecosystem to sustain and grow the AROC projects and who understands the importance of movement building.

Who We Are

Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) organizes to fight for racial and economic justice and the dignity and liberation of our Arab, and Muslim communities. AROC works towards the self-determination of our people under attack in Palestine, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and across the entire SWANA region with the same breath that we fight for our freedoms here in the United States. AROC sees our struggles here as a domestic manifestation of global militarism and racial capitalism, and as the root causes of the political, social and economic instability of our homelands. In that spirit, AROC sees the liberation of our people as inextricably tied to the liberation of all oppressed people.

AROC is also committed to and actively developing interventions to heal the generational trauma grown from patriarchy and white supremacy so as to not reproduce systems of harm that prevent our community from taking effective action towards the transformation and liberation of our people.

The Opportunity

The Organizing Director will be responsible for directing the work and supporting the base building, youth, and strategic alliances of the Organizing Team, leading campaigns and advocacy that builds power of AROC’s base to enter and participate in the larger social justice movement. The Organizing Director will be responsible for also developing a robust team of organizers and communicators to become the next strategic leaders in the organization and movement and will integrate the organizing work with communications strategy.

The Organizing Director will work closely with the Directors Team, which includes the Executive Director, Legal Director, Development Director, and Operations Director to raise and strengthen AROC’s work. As the Organizing Director will work collaboratively with other AROC teams, such as Leadership and Legal Teams as well as with other ally organizations and movement formations. The Organizing Director reports directly to the Executive director, and supervises the Base Building Organizers, Communications Coordinator, and the Building Partnership Coordinator.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Organizing Strategy and Implementation

• Develop base-building and outreach strategies to carry out with AROC members and staff organizers
• Identify and develop opportunities to engage and retain members and our base in building community power by creatings goals and plans to grow and engage members in base building efforts, campaign work, leadership development, and related organizing activities
• Develop and bring together grassroots leaders to shape and direct the goals and outcomes of organizing work
• Develop political education curriculum and programming for member and base leadership development
• Ensure organization-wide practice and consistency of outreach for programs and campaigns, including developing or adopt adequate systems to track outreach and organizing efforts
• Conduct and coordinate research to develop and advance strategic campaigns and organizing strategies that include direct services as a tactic for base building
• Conduct effective power analysis based on the material conditions that exist in the community that sharpen and strengthen existing campaign work
• Works with Executive Director to evaluate and assess campaigns and programs and makes strategic and tactical decisions to most effectively move the organization toward its goals
• Work with Directors on developing organization-wide trainings, events, and leadership development opportunities for staff
• Represent organization in coalition and community spaces

Media / Communications

• Conduct and direct communications strategies for campaigns and projects in coordination with organizational communication plans
• Coordinate messaging and media training for staff, grassroots leaders, and members
• Work with organizing team to develops outreach materials for AROC projects and campaigns

Movement Building & Strategic Partnerships

• Position AROC as a leader in social justice movement locally, regionally, statewide, and nationally to strengthen AROC's organizing efforts and goals by building organizational relationships with community members, institutions, partners, and allies
• Develop, nurture and manage relationships with key stakeholders and decision makers, including local community based organizations, labor unions, and government officials as well as national formations
• Model and advance values-based leadership that prioritizes transformational outcomes
• Serve as an organizational spokesperson and ambassador

Organizational Development & Leadership

• Partner with the Executive Director and the Directors Team to refine and advance the organization’s strategic direction, including facilitation and support of staff meetings, team meetings, annual planning retreats, and developing and evaluating annual goals and benchmarks
• Participate in the Directors Team to coordinate organization-wide work, monitor overall health and functioning of the organization, and facilitate effective organizational responses to opportunities and challenges
• Supervise, train, and mentor the organizing team which includes adult and youth organizers, and communication and partnerships coordinators by: 1) managing the direction of weekly program team meetings, campaign meetings, and retreats and 2) meet as needed one-on-one with Organizing Team members - to create shared responsibility and accountability to the organization's mission as well as work plans, goals, and deliverables
• Support fundraising by providing reports and materials for foundation and individual donor efforts, as well as participate in the annual fundraising event and sprint fundraising campaign

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Knowledge of Bay Area Arab community history
• Knowledge of the wider Bay Area political, economic, and community organizing landscape
• Strong personal and organization skills
• Basic computer skills - familiarity with Word, Excel, various design and communications platforms, web browsers, Google Calendar, and Google Drive
• Must have a minimum of 3 years of demonstrative experience in:
  • An organizing leadership role, including identifying and developing campaigns in BIPOC communities (including low-income, immigrant, LGBTQ community members)
  • Campaign development (power analysis, strategy development, tactical planning, execution, and evaluation)
  • Development and facilitation of political education curriculum
  • Leadership development
  • Supervising and managing staff and teams
  • Working collaboratively in coalitions and networks

Work Environment & Physical Demands

This position may require sitting at a desk for an extended period of time. It will also require being on site for organizational events, actions, and activities. There may be a hybrid work schedule between work from home and work out of the office. The candidate should be able to work on a computer including sitting at a desk for extended periods of time with or without reasonable accommodation; manual dexterity to operate a keyboard; able to see or read a computer screen and printed material with or without vision aids; able to speak clearly and in audible tones on the phone and in-person and be understood by others; able to hear and understand speech, including on the phone; able to understand and follow oral and written instructions; able to occasionally lift objects weighing up to 10 pounds.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Employment Terms

This position is 40 hours per week, minimally. This position has a salary range of $85-90K annually. This position is exempt. We offer a competitive health benefits package that includes: medical, dental, vision, a generous paid time off schedule, and other perks.

How to Apply

Submit resume, cover letter, and references to jobs@araborganizing.org with subject line: ORGANIZING DIRECTOR. The Applications are then forwarded to the hiring committee and reviewed as received.