Lead Community Organizer

Lead Community Organizer

Are you angry about the injustices your community faces Do you want to learn how to build the people power necessary to fight those injustices and make real local change As a community organizer with Justice Matters youll learn how to bring together our areas diverse faith community to address the root causes of serious community problems.

Justice Matters is a constituentled grassroots organization that brings together faith communities to address the root causes of serious community problems across Douglas County KS.

Justice Matters is part of the Direct Action and Research Training Center (DART) one of the largest faithbased community organizing networks in the country. We believe that fighting for racial and economic justice is fundamental to our identity as people of faith and we know that successfully fighting for justice requires having power in the public arena. A few of Justice Matters victories since its start in 2014 include:

• An affordable housing trust fund which has created 700 affordable homes.
• The implementation of a strategic plan to end chronic homelessness by 2028 which has led to at least 121 people moving from being unhoused to supportive housing.
• Stopping a jail expansion and creating recommendations for reducing the number of individuals who are jailed.
• The Treatment and Recovery Center a mental health crisis center which has served over 1500 unique individuals since opening in 2023.

Primary Responsibilities:

The Lead Community Organizer will direct the organization including hiring and supervising all staff at Justice Matters. The Lead Community Organizer reports directly to the organizations board of directors. Main duties include:

• Building engagement in the community
  • Train grassroots faith leaders how to engage others in the fight for justice & recruit new leaders and congregations into the organization.
• Drive forward campaigns on community problems
  • Train grassroots leaders to identify community problems conduct research and develop action plans for issue campaigns.
  • Organize public actions of over 1000 people.
• Fundraising from local sources
  • Coordinate an annual 68 week fundraising drive with grassroots leaders who fundraise from individuals small businesses and major corporations in the community.
  • Ensure that dues from member congregations are collected.
• Organizational development & management
  • Work with the organizations Board of Directors to map out the strategic direction and development of the organization.
  • Train supervise and evaluate staff.
  • Ensure that the organizations finances are in order. This includes maintaining accurate financial records ensuring that all foundation proposals and reports are submitted in a timely fashion.

Who You Are

Youre excited to direct a nonprofit organization and set the vision for its growth. You have a passion for justice and are energized by the prospect of uniting people around a common cause. You are naturally curious and value strong relationships. You may or may not be personally religious. Either way you have a genuine respect for all faith traditions and are excited about uniting faith communities to live out their call to do justice.

Justice Matters is a diverse coalition that includes communities of color lowtomoderateincome communities and immigrant communities. We strongly encourage people from these backgrounds as well as fluent Spanish speakers to apply.

Qualifications:

• Core passion to win on local justice campaigns
• Excellent relationshipbuilding skills
• Enthusiasm for working with diverse faith communities
• At least three years of professional experience in community organizing advocacy congregational or nonprofit leadership
• Experience leading teams of people
• Possession of a valid drivers license and access to a car
• Ability to travel for training events throughout the year
• This role is based in Lawrence Kansas. We are currently considering candidates that are based in the area or are willing to relocate for this position.

Why Choose DART

DART invests heavily in training and development of our team members. During your first year we provide comprehensive professional development through an initial fiveday classroomstyle training oneonone mentoring from experienced DART consultants and three multiday trainings with organizers across the country. Ongoing professional development continues through individualized coaching and mentoring as well as local regional and national staff trainings.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $63000 to $70000 based on experience. We recognize that highly qualified candidates with more experience may be eligible for a higher salary and we are open to discussing compensation based on individual qualifications and expertise.

Benefits include:

• Justice Matters makes generous retirement contributions of 10 after one year of employment no match required.
• Four weeks of paid vacation
• Sick days 10
• 11 paid holidays
• Healthcare stipend $750/month)
• Parental leave
• Mileage reimbursement for workrelated travel
• Comprehensive onthejob training through the DART Organizers Institute and individual consulting

Justice Matters is an equal opportunity employer.