Grassroots Collaborative

Coalition Coordinator for the Illinois Green New Deal

Based in Chicago, IL

 

The Coalition Coordinator will staff the Illinois Green New Deal Coalition – a statewide multi-racial coalition of environmental justice, labor and community organizers fighting for solutions to the intertwined crises of climate crisis, housing insecurity, and racial injustice by investing in climate, jobs, care, and justice through a Green New Deal for Social Housing campaign and the Green New Deal for Schools Campaign.

You should apply if you are an organizer who…

• Loves building power amongst a group of multi-racial environmental justice, labor, and community organizers by fostering spaces of trust, vision, radical hope and strategic campaigns.
• You want to fight back against environmental racism, climate crisis, white supremacy, austerity, and the housing crisis.
• You want to win a Green New Deal for Social Housing and a Green New Deal for Schools

Responsibilities:

• Coalition Building and Facilitation – Facilitating general coalition, steering committee, and other committee meetings that keep our coalition’s campaign on track to victory. Maintain communication with coalition partners, lead strategic grassroots campaign development including digital, legislative and street actions.
• Strategy Development – Work with the campaign director and steering committee to develop long-term campaign strategy.
• Political Education & Leadership Development – Help to design and conduct workshops and presentations that educate coalition partners and community members about the origins of our climate, racial and fiscal crises and prepare members to lead elements of the campaign.
• Communications – Coordination of internal communications. Supporting the coalition’s work to achieve strategic narratives shifts in the general public; serving as point person for IL GND.
• Direct Action – Develop and execute coalition-led actions that leverage our targets to move our campaign objectives forward.
• Legislative – Implement grassroots lobbying strategies to educate legislators on campaign demands and policy solutions.
• Other roles: Collaboratively work with IL GND Regional leads and the national Green New Deal Network. Participate on the Grassroots Collaborative staff team and other organization-wide meetings and activities.

Requirements:

• Deep experience organizing labor and/or community with a track record of coordinating complex coalitions.
• An energetic commitment to dismantling white supremacy and racial capitalism through fighting for environmental, racial, and economic justice within an anti-oppression framework.
• Ability to facilitate space to build trusted relationships amongst organizations with clear and empathetic communication, and restorative justice based conflict resolution skills.
• Strong organizational and leadership skills, with a demonstrated ability to troubleshoot issues as they arise, make contingency plans, and adapt plans as needed.

Nice to Have:

• Spanish fluency.
• Proficient in Zoom, Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Google Suite, Slack, Asana.
• Understanding of legislative dynamics of Illinois General Assembly, Chicago City Council, and/or IL Congressional Delegation.
• Understanding of housing, climate policy and environmental justice issues.
• Experience working with labor unions.
• Experience working on a statewide campaign.

Work Environment:

• This position is based in Chicago with some travel in the metro area, central and downstate Illinois.
• COVID-19: Grassroots Collaborative has made shifts to address the continuing difficulty of the pandemic on our emotional and physical health.
  • We are working hybrid with periodic in-person meetings while we plan a safe return to our offices.
  • For the duration of the pandemic, we are implementing a 4 day work week, with Full Time Employment defined as 32+ hours, with Fridays off. (There will be exceptions, where more working hours are required, including on Fridays or over the weekend.

Compensation:
The salary for this position ranges from $55,000 – $73,000 based on our Thriving Equity pay scale.

Benefits include:

• Medical, vision, and dental insurance
• Professional development and work tools
• 14 days of paid vacation
• 15 holidays
• 11 sick days

Supervises: Some supervisory responsibility over interns
Salary/hourly, exempt or nonexempt: Salaried, Exempt, Full-time position

About us:
Grassroots Collaborative (501c3) is a person of color led, BIPOC-centered coalition that builds power with working families through strategic community-labor organizing, grassroots leadership development, civic engagement, and research in Chicago and Peoria, IL. We aim to create bold change through building united fronts to win progressive policies and transformative systems-change centered on low-to-moderate income residents and communities of color. We utilize popular education to build consciousness, and build a coalition that unites residents to create transformative change for a more just society. Our affiliated 501c4, Grassroots Illinois Action, works to build community political power through issue advocacy and electoral strategies. We have a strong record of leading cutting edge campaigns that shift the narrative of white supremacy, austerity and corporate power. Currently our campaigns focus on taxing the rich, defunding the police, and winning a Green New Deal.

To Apply:
Please send résumé and cover letter prompt (see below) to: hiring@thegrassrootscollaborative.org, with COALITION COORDINATOR in the subject line by April 9, 2023.
Cover letter prompts (please choose one of the following and respond in one page):

1. Please describe your experience working with or leading a multi-sectoral coalition to build power with a multi-racial working class?
2. What strategic considerations would you make to connect organizing for a local demand with state and federal demands?

Grassroots Collaborative is an equal-opportunity employer. Black, Indigenous, Latine and People of Color, LGBTQ, trans and gender expansive people are strongly encouraged to apply.