The Georgia Conservation Voters family of organizations includes the Georgia Conservation Voters, Inc., the Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund, and the Georgia Conservation Voters Action Fund. The Georgia Conservation Voters' (GCV) mission is to advocate for public policies that advance a more just and sustainable future, campaign for candidates who prioritize climate and environmental justice, and hold elected officials accountable for their actions and votes. The Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund (GCVEF) mobilizes Georgians to advance climate and environmental justice through education, advocacy, and other forms of civic engagement. The Georgia Conservation Voters Action Fund (GCVAF) campaigns for climate champions. These complimentary organizations hold Georgia legislators and policymakers accountable for their actions on climate and environmental justice.
The Organizing Director is an executive-level leadership role responsible for growing and leading a team of experienced organizers in building and implementing issue-organizing campaigns grounded in a community-centered theory of change focused on the climate and environmental justice priorities of the GCV Education Fund. The ideal candidate has extensive experience in advocacy campaign management, base building, and leadership development. This person must be able to manage a dynamic team and be responsive to shifts in organizing goals, strategies, and tactics as new challenges and opportunities arise within our work. An ideal candidate can work closely with directors, board members, other GCV team members, and consultants to maximize outcomes. The qualified candidate can demonstrate knowledge about environmental and climate justice issues; has extensive experience in managing teams; is knowledgeable about organizing and campaigns; is a strategic thinker; analyzes data and measures progress; is proactive and able to chart a path forward; and is process-driven and detail-oriented.
Develop, implement, and evaluate issue-organizing campaigns that have clear wins, effective strategies and tactics, and that build a strong base of active volunteers and community leaders.
Manage, mentor, and develop a team of staff organizers; create individualized and detailed goals and work plans for organizers; establish weekly meetings to check in on assignments and goal progress.
Ensure organizers and community leaders understand organizing best practices and approaches to designing and implementing successful issue-organizing campaigns, including goal-setting, theory of change, power mapping, spectrum of allies, leadership development ladders, etc.
Ensure organizers are adequately trained and supported to implement grassroots community organizing tactics, such as phone banking, door-to-door canvassing, house parties, press & media engagement, digital organizing, etc.
Develop and test new and proven organizing strategies, tactics, and tools to increase engagement with our target communities and leaders and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our campaigns.
Develop tracking systems, tools, and structures to provide clarity and accountability for organizers.
Establish, track, and analyze progress toward goals and produce accurate reports and dashboards to track goal progress.
Work with the communications team to grow the number and quality of contacts in our EveryAction database, helping to increase our overall audience size and expand our reach within our target audience.
Work with the Communications team to implement creative art, culture, and storytelling tactics into organizing and campaign efforts.
Work closely with the Partnerships & Coalition manager to build coalitions and establish effective partnerships with local organizations (e.g., cross-movement organizations, faith-based groups, environmental justice groups, etc.).
Work with the Development Director to produce grant applications and reports, cultivate donors and foundations, and participate in fundraising activities as needed to increase financial resources for organizing programs and campaigns.
Ability to quickly learn GCVEF’s programs, campaigns, and priority issues to manage and communicate about our organizing campaigns effectively.
Work Experience: 10 or more years of experience working in community, environmental, labor, or other progressive organizing, electoral, or movement-building efforts, including several years of direct management experience; experience training and developing staff and volunteer leadership is required. The ideal candidate has experience in campaigns focused on mobilizing young people, women, and communities of color and working within coalitions and partnerships.
People management skills: Demonstrates exceptional supervision and coaching skills, including managing staff. The ideal candidate has years of experience working with a team to determine and prioritize projects and tasks, establish expectations for their delivery and performance, delegate rather than micro-manage tasks, and support their team to achieve their goals and implement their work plans.
Critical and strategic thinking: The ideal candidate will demonstrate a high propensity for reading, understanding, and analyzing information. The organizing director will receive a large volume of written materials, and they will frequently have to thoroughly review and analyze the data to determine our organizing goals, strategies, objectives, and tactics.
Communication skills: Excellent verbal, reading, and writing skills are critical for this position. The qualified candidate can also effectively speak about or work and represent GCV Education Fund to various audiences and mediums.
Industry knowledge: Qualified candidates have experience developing and overseeing issue campaigns driven by community organizing, including campaign planning, accountability measures, and tracking progress. Demonstrated understanding of political dynamics, movement building, and the ability to write and implement training curricula is a plus. The ideal candidate has demonstrated experience with organizing around clean energy and environmental justice issues. Familiarity with the IRS rules regarding 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations is a strong plus.
Cultural Competencies: Demonstrated awareness of one’s cultural identity, views about differences, and the ability to learn and build on varying cultural and community norms. A complex understanding of racial justice and the urgency of confronting institutional racism and inequity in climate and environmental work is a strong plus. The ideal candidate will demonstrate commitment to equity and inclusion as an organizational practice and culture. A proven track record of successfully working across lines of race, immigration status, ethnicity, language, class, gender, and other identities and experiences is required. Familiarity with Georgia and in-state communities is preferred.
Technical skills: Must have experience with or be willing to learn to use EveryAction (our constituent resource management system, a.k.a. people database) and Asana (project management system). The candidate must demonstrate a high proficiency with Google Workspace applications (ex., Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google Groups, etc.) and Zoom.
Ability to travel: Must be willing to travel extensively for events, staff retreats, other meetings, and professional development opportunities; expect frequent local travel (2-3 times per week), in state at least 1-3 times a month, and out of state every 4-6 months.
The salary range for this position is posted at the top of this job description. The salary is commensurate with similarly situated nonprofit advocacy organizations, and the final amount will depend upon experience and qualifications.
Georgia Conservation Voters provides paid vacation and sick leave, health, vision, and dental insurance, and a 401(k) retirement plan. GCV also supports a healthy work-life balance by offering flexible working practices, including flexible working locations and hours, extensive time off, professional development support, and support for holistic health, including therapy reimbursement.