LA Community Organizer

Asian Pacific Environmental Network•Los Angeles, CA

4h•$39 - $42•Hybrid

About The Position

The Community Organizer position is a part of APEN’s Los Angeles organizing project, working towards APEN’s vision of building healthy, fair and just neighborhoods. The Community Organizer plays a crucial role in organizing low-income Asian immigrant and refugee communities, developing their leadership to engage in advocacy, campaign, and electoral actions, and providing interpretation and translation to make these processes accessible to members. The position reports to the LA Organizing Director and works with other organizers across APEN’s Oakland and Richmond organizing teams to integrate bold and authentic Asian immigrant and refugee leadership throughout the organization. The Los Angeles Organizing work will focus on basebuilding in the South Bay (specifically in the City of Carson), member outreach and development and campaign development as a key part of our Just Transitions efforts. Key Strategies we engage in are educating communities on the Just Transitions model, supporting policies and projects that support equitable development in our communities, leadership development, outreach and organizing towards a just and healthy vision for our communities. The job may require some evening and weekend activities.

Requirements

Commitment to the mission and principles of APEN and social justice; and shares the commitment of indigenous peoples and the broader environmental justice movement to work toward a Just Transition, defined as shifting from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy that provides well being for all.
1-3 years of organizing experience working within Social/Environmental Justice movement and/or social service sector
Experience in project management i.e. anchoring events, programs, tracking tasks and meeting deadlines, coordinating with a team, etc..
Clear communication skills (written and verbal)
Self-motivated, responsible, proactive, and disciplined
Team-oriented, with a commitment to principled struggle
Outreach and recruitment skills and confidence in talking to strangers about different issues
Willing to work some evenings and weekends
Willing to travel

Nice To Haves

Comfortable using social media platforms for community engagement
Familiarity with the Los Angeles region, specifically the South Bay (Carson, San Pedro and Wilmington)
Facilitation in small to large groups (5 -100 people)
Working with Asian immigrant and refugee communities, particularly Filipino working-class adults and high school aged Filipino youth
Supporting community members in building up their confidence to participate in public processes
Fluency in Tagalog, other Asian dialects and Spanish would be beneficial for the role
Experience working with interpretation and translation
A valid driver’s license and access to a car with valid insurance is required within 1 year of employment

Responsibilities

Basebuilding: Outreach, Transformative Organizing & Leadership Development
Contribute to setting organizing goals and plans for recruitment of our core bases which are Filipino working-class adults and Filipino high school aged youth.
Conduct outreach and various activities to gain new members and new constituencies
Ensure member participation in various leadership development and campaign activities that engages members in the Environmental Justice movement
Contribute to developing organizing systems and methods
Interpret and translate activities and materials or support interpreters/translators to do so
Coordinate & implement logistics for LA organizing events, programming and activities, including providing transportation, arranging childcare, etc.
Data Management: Document & track the participation of members
Supporting general community members across LA and the South Bay Harbor Gateway region and APEN members in accessing necessary resources within the scope of APEN’s work
Support members to develop core skills and organizing competencies (e.g. public speaking, grassroots fundraising, critical thinking & analysis, campaign strategy, electoral phone-banking)
Work with members to deepen political consciousness (e.g. critical analysis of political context; understanding of the importance of transformative organizing; shared commitment to vision; exposure to different social justice issues)
Contribute to culturally relevant and accessible curriculum towards leadership development
Support leaders in developing strong communications and spokespersoning skills
Work with leaders to develop narratives, core messages and create media pieces
Project Development and Management
Conduct research on demographics, our organizing region and community resources
Leverage relationships with existing resources and models
Engage our members in furthering Just Transition strategies
Support projects that create local economic alternatives to advance Just Transition
Campaign & Alliance Building
Support local policy and electoral campaigns, including political strategy development and alliance building
Support on research and analysis of policy/legislative changes as needed
Work with members to identify progressive campaign demands
Support planning and implementing campaign goals and activities
Support members to lead campaign strategy and implementation and serve as potential spokespeople for our campaign work
Build relationships, alliances and coalitions to win campaigns, integrating those relationships with APEN’s membership
Share, learn and exchange with other social justice allies
Organizational Development
Strategy and Planning: Contribute to overall organizational coordination and planning processes, including strategic planning, yearly workplan and budgeting, annual board + staff meeting, bi-weekly staff meetings and component meetings
Organizational Culture: Contribute to the APEN culture of team-building, emotional intelligence, feminisms, and leadership development and mirror this commitment in the LA Organizing Team
Fund Development: Engage in grassroots and/or foundation fundraising as needed
Communications: Act as a spokesperson and engage with communications narrative framework as needed
Cross Component Support: Support various areas of organizational work, events, or campaigns as identified and participate in organizational committees and teams as needed
Supervision: Manage volunteers, fellows, and interns as needed