Latinas Contra Cancer

Patient Community Organizer

Based in San Jose, CA

 

Latinas Contra Cancer, located in San Jose, CA, is looking for a Patient Community Organizer to develop the leadership capacity and grassroots activism of patient populations, to build a diverse base of allies and to support successful patient-led health justice campaigns.

Health care is a human right.
We understand that the issues that arise from a broken health system affect the Latino/x/é and other underrepresented patient populations the hardest. These injustices are predictable and preventable. The health injustices patients experience are not one-off events. We want to be an organization that not only supports patients to overcome these inequities – we want to hold space for the leadership of impacted patients to eliminate them through power building and systems change.

A qualified candidate must be equally committed to a vision for healthcare and health justice for all. A qualified candidate also must be organized, possess excellent oral and written communication skills, experience in leadership development and advocacy, an ability to work flexibly and creatively, and have a passion for our mission. For 20 years, Latinas Contra Cancer has been one of leading service and advocacy organization for the Latino/x/e around issues of cancer.

Position Summary
The Patient Community Organizer supports Latinas Contra Cancer’s efforts to build the power of patients and impact public policy in order to make the lives of patients better materially. The position is responsible for growing, implementing, and tracking efforts to develop the skills, consciousness, and involvement of grassroots patient leaders; develop the political consciousness of potential allies; and create a culture of organizing and transformation across agency programs. The Organizer plays a key role in planning and implementing policy campaign activities to exercise grassroots power and supports the development of a sustained patient-led organization. The position serves as a liaison between internal programs, patient leaders, and community partners.

Description of Duties

Grassroots Organizing (80 percent)
Basebuilding

• Recruits patient leaders and patient activists through personal visits, social service agency outreach, hospital and clinic outreach, internal program outreach, house meetings, and phoning.
• Plans and coordinates outreach and organizing meetings in order to build an effective, ongoing organization and to promote participation and leadership of grassroots members and allies.
• Develops and maintains outreach and organizing plans, work plans, campaign plans, leadership development plans, communications systems and databases to track leadership development.
• Works with staff, managers and leaders for basebuilding, 1:1s, and campaign development.

Leadership Training

• Collaborates with teammates and leaders to plan and execute an ongoing organizing curriculum joining hard organizing skills with advanced political analysis and an anti-racism and anti-oppression worldview.
  • Trains leaders on a variety of core organizing skills including: member recruitment, facilitation and public speaking, planning, issue analysis, campaign strategy and tactics, advocacy, and organizational development.
  • Develops and implements leadership training on social change theory, power analysis, worldview analysis, ideology and organizing model.
  • Supports the execution and facilitation of the Defensoras Heath Advocacy Training at Latinas Contra Cancer. (Defensoras: Healthcare Advocate Training | Latinas Contra Cancer | San Jose)

Policy Campaigns

• Works with community members to cut policy issues that serve as basis for meaningful personal and systemic change around health and healthcare.
  • Trains and positions leaders to run policy campaigns that recognize intersectional issues and incorporate an anti-racism and anti-oppression worldview.
    • Assists in issue research and analysis.
    • Trains and mentors patient leaders to represent the organization in meetings with policy makers and targets, and to develop press stories/materials and media relationships.
    • Coordinates activities and actions, including the development and implementation of mobilization strategies for public participation in public policy hearings, actions, discussions, etc.
    • Supports leaders to create organizing materials including talking points, marketing collaterals, flyers, fact sheets, etc.
• Supports agency-wide advocacy efforts that align with the mission and vision of Latinas Contra Cancer and result in meaningful and material changes in the lives of patients.

Mutual Support and Community Building

• Work with staff in other program areas to create a culture of organizing and transformation with a broader definition of what it means to build power, including mutual support.
• Participate in training agency staff and leaders/members of program areas to develop organizing skills, political analysis and an anti-racist, anti-oppression worldview and practice.
• Develop joint work plans on specific projects that promote leadership development, base-building, mutual support and meaningful policy change.

Collaboration and Partnership (10 percent)

• Work with executive director and director of programs to set appropriate roles and participation with regional partners.
• Serve as liaison with local and regional health justice advocacy collaborations.
• Identify and build collaborations with key community partners.

General (10 percent)

• Supports the planning and implementation of programs, events, training, and outreach efforts.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Strong commitment to our vision of quality health and healthcare for all people regardless of race, ethnic background, language, income or documentation status.
• Strong commitment to organizing through leadership development and anti-oppression worldview.
• Experience working in community organizing and/or similar grassroots or community leadership experience.
• Ability to motivate patients to take action.
• Demonstrated experience in grassroots leadership development programs, including curricula development, training, and tracking systems.
• Excellent meeting planning and facilitation skills.
• Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills.
• Detail oriented, self-motivated, ability to multi-task, provide quick responses and highly organized.
• Willing to work long hours, evenings and weekends.
• Computer literacy with proficiency in database systems, web-based communications, MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Bilingual and Biliterate in Spanish with ability to translate and interpret.

This is an exempt, salaried position ranging from $61,000 – $70,000 commensurate with experience. Benefits medical insurance for employees, dental insurance, vision insurance, paid holidays and PTO.

To Apply
A cover letter and résumé should be sent to: darcie@latinascontracancer.org.

Visit us at Latinas Contra Cancer | San Jose for more information about our organization.
Position is open until filled.