Healing Justice Organizer

The Opportunity 

Restore Oakland Inc. (ROI) is seeking a bright, dedicated individual with a passion for racial, economic, and gender justice. This is an excellent opportunity for an abolitionist-aligned, creative, community organizer who is eager to empower our community toward a future rooted in healing justice.

About Restore Oakland, Inc.

Based in Oakland’s Fruitvale District, Restore Oakland Inc. creates community-centered spaces where those harmed by structural inequities and systemic racism have the power to heal and create a shared vision for safety and economic empowerment without relying on criminalization, punishment, extraction, or exclusion. We bring residents and organizations together to find humanity in each other and cultivate participatory practices that advance freedom and belonging for all.

Position Overview

The Healing Justice Campaigner will be responsible for co-leading our base-building work with care workers and justice-involved individuals, advancing our abolitionist political campaigns, and developing ROI’s political education offerings–that support the movement to decarcerate our jails and win investments in life-affirming resources and services in Alameda County. We are a healing justice organization that integrates restorative justice and circle practice in our organizing methodologies. 

The primary Healing Justice campaign we’re currently organizing is with Care First Community Coalition (CFCC), where ROI is a leading member–providing strategic direction, media and campaign support, and rotating facilitation support. The Healing Justice Campaigner would serve as Restore Oakland Inc.’s lead staff person in the Care First Community Coalition and other advocacy arenas. Our work centers on the experiences and leadership of those directly impacted by the criminal legal system. We define "directly impacted" as anyone who is formerly or currently incarcerated and their loved ones. 

The ideal candidate is a relationship builder, a strategic thinker who understands the need for short-term and long-term goals, practices solutions-oriented approaches to dealing with conflicts, and is a strong team player. We are looking for a candidate with experience in restorative justice, healing justice, and/or transformative justice.

Duties and Responsibilities

Political Education & Leadership Development (40%)

1. Grow an organizing membership container for care workers and systems-impacted individuals to heal, learn, organize, and mobilize for decarceration and abolitionist solutions. 
2. Develop workshops and curriculum to educate community members and stakeholders about ROI’s Healing Justice framework, the political landscape we live in, priority policy topics, and our political agenda.
3. Work with community leaders and members to deepen understanding of local and relevant policy, build advocacy skills, and shape local advocacy around the issue.
4. Work with the ROI team and our allies to facilitate public testimony and lift up the lived experiences and priorities of systems-impacted and marginalized communities in policy-making and public forums.
5. Work with ROI staff and our allies to develop policy recommendations and proposals to inform decisions for our local campaigns.
6. Work with ROI communications staff to identify key messaging and social media engagement, develop community narratives for potential media pieces, and support systems-impacted people on developing spokespersoning skills.

Campaign Organizing & Coalition Building (20%)

1. Research and develop campaign political strategy, goals & activities that advance decarceration of Santa Rita Jail and invest in life-affirming solutions in Alameda County. in collaboration with RO staff and CFCC members. 
2. Research and develop behavioral health transformative justice analysis in support of care worker leadership development
3. Develop and execute specific strategies to recruit, engage, and develop the leadership of directly impacted individuals to join CFCC and advance our campaigns. 
4. Develop/Implement a local alliance-building strategy to move campaigns toward a common vision.
5. Build relationships with local organizations, community leaders, allies, and unlikely allies to advance our policy priorities.
6. Execute and assist in administrative and operational duties for ROI’s healing justice organizing materials organized and tech needs met.
7. Analyze emerging local advocacy proposals and make recommendations, in conjunction with the ROI team and allies, around our organizing goals and agendas. 
8. Meet with policymakers and stakeholders, serve as a spokesperson on technical and policy issues, and represent ROI at various public forums and events.
9. Advocate for ROI’s policy agenda with legislative and administrative bodies, and non-governmental organizations, prepare legislative comments and testimony, and represent ROI before the media and public.
10. Represent ROI’s policy priorities in local groups and political arenas to ensure equitable implementation that increases benefits for Alameda County’s marginalized communities, as needed.

 Facilitate and Support HOPE Healing Justice Programs (20%)

1. Collaborate with ROI staff to plan and facilitate regular community-building circles for/with systems-impacted people and mental healthcare workers. 
2. Collaborate with ROI staff to facilitate restorative/transformative justice processes for community conflicts through ROI’s PATH Program.
3. Co-lead strategic planning of HOPE with ROI staff.
4. Support collaborative healing justice workshops and programs with ROI Restorative Economics staff, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and cooperatives to advance community safety practices.

Restore Oakland Organizational Responsibilities (20%)

1. Strategy and Planning: Contribute to overall organizational coordination and planning processes, including strategic planning, yearly work plan and budgeting, board + staff meetings, bi-weekly staff meetings, and trainings
2. Organizational Culture: Contribute to the ROI culture of team-building, emotional intelligence, feminism, and leadership development
3. Community Engagement: Support organizing community events out of our building with RO team members
4. Fund Development: Engage in grassroots and/or foundation fundraising, as needed
5. Communications: Act as a spokesperson and engage with communications narrative framework
6. Cross Area Support: Support various areas of organizational work, events, or campaigns as identified and participate in organizational committees and teams as needed
7. Supervision: Manage volunteers and interns as needed

 Desired Qualifications

We do not expect anyone to meet all of the following qualifications but would like to see a mix of the following:

Experience:

• Lived experience being directly impacted by the criminal legal system
• Experience in restorative justice, healing justice, and/or transformative justice.
• Experience working in and/or leading coalitions
• Experience leading campaigns related to criminalization, incarceration, or detention
• Experience in developing political education workshops, trainings, and/or written material

Skills and expertise:

• Demonstrated success in growing and developing an organized base of members, constituents, or community members
• Knowledge of issues related to criminalization, incarceration, and reentry, including current challenges and best practices
• Knowledge of Alameda County’s political and economic landscape
• Ability to cultivate relationships with likely and unlikely allies, including policymakers and community members
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent time management skills
• Excellent computer skills, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc 
• Multilingual with Spanish and English

Work-Related Physical Activities:

While the following is a typical list of physical requirements for this position, Restore Oakland is committed to creating accommodations to the best of our ability to support the needs of all team members. Some examples include:

• Attending multi-hour meetings in person and online
• Attending multi-day meetings in person and online
• Use of computers and online systems for work completion
• Collective care of physical office location
• Occasional ground and air travel

They will serve as a member of the Program team, reporting to the Executive Director, and they will supervise interns and volunteers, as needed. This is a full-time non-exempt position. 

• Hours and Compensation: $68,000-$74,000 annual salary (at 100% FTE, based on experience); generous paid-time-off & benefits package.
• Desired start date: August 2024
• Location: This is a hybrid remote/in-person position based in Oakland, with the understanding that RO programs are generally performed in an office setting and some duties may sometimes require working at external events with members and other partner organizations.

How to Apply

Please submit application materials to (bamboo link) Complete applications must include:

1. A cover letter including a description of your interest in the position and qualifications.
2. A resume
3. A writing sample relevant to the role of an Organizer

Deadline: Submit application materials by July 10th. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The position is open until filled.

Equal Employment Opportunity

People of color, LGBTQ+ people, and people with past involvement in the criminal legal system or who have loved ones currently or formerly in the system are strongly encouraged to apply. We do not run background checks.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.