North Carolina Field Organizer

Position Title: North Carolina Field Organizer

Tier / Category: Tier 2 / Organizer II

Supervised by: Assistant Director

Reports to: SURJ’s Political Consultant

Employment Status: Full time, Temporary, 7/31/24 - 11/27/24

FLSA: Non-exempt

Location: Near Asheville, North Carolina

NLRA: Bargaining Unit Member

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is a national organization that brings white people into fights for racial and economic justice. We work to undermine the power of the Far Right and build the white flank of multiracial majorities fighting for the things all communities need. We organize white people by engaging their shared interest-- what they stand to gain by joining alongside people of color. We do this through 150+ local chapters across the US and Canada, a National Membership base, and local base building projects in the South.

Summary of Position:

SURJ is seeking a North Carolina Field Organizer to lead SURJ’s work going door to door to talk to residents of rural and suburban areas of North Carolina for the 2024 election cycle. This position will lead and participate in volunteer canvasses, train people in the script and in the use of Minivan, and hold debriefs at the end of each shift. The goal of this work is to support growth in the overall number of volunteers taking action with SURJ.

A successful person in this role will have previous canvassing experience and be excited about having long-form conversations with residents on the doors about both issues and candidates. This role will be supervised by the Assistant Director, but will report to SURJ’s Political Consultant. The position will begin on July 31, 2024. Canvassers will participate in a paid all day virtual and/or in-person training when they start and canvass until election day, remaining employed until November 27, 2024.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES — Essential duties and responsibilities may include, but are not limited to the following:

Priority 1: Outreach (60%)

● Manage volunteer canvasses that scale up over time. Monitoring opportunities to improve and implement changes with input and approval from the supervisor.

● Utilize SURJ’s unique Mutual Interest Canvassing model which focuses on deep listening in poor and working class white communities in both suburban and rural areas.

● Recruit, develop and train volunteers as canvassers and local leaders.

● Launch at least 16 canvasses over the terms of the employment with volunteers knocking doors and lead debriefs after each canvass to learn about volunteers’ experiences, voter opinions, and make improvements for future canvasses.

● Cut and assign turf to effectively meet canvassing goals using SURJ’s voter universe and local knowledge.

● Identify and cooperate with other local community groups with similar values and goals.

● Engage in group canvassing activities and assist with statewide phone banking efforts on a regular basis that scales up over time.

● Execute an effective Get Out The Vote program as defined by the Political Consultant in the weeks prior to the 2024 elections.

Priority 2: Base Building (20%)

● Train field organizers who will identify, develop, and train volunteer leaders on the ground.

● Plan and hold weekly organizational meetings to develop supporters into volunteers and expand volunteers' political education and analysis.

● Build a community and culture that reflects SURJ’s values and programmatic goals.

● Plan and execute events for community building and relational organizing.

Priority 3: Program Management (20%)

● Execute work in a way that shows an understanding of the long term goals of the program to bring white people into organizing efforts either locally or with the national organization, the phases, and how we scale up.

● Work to effectively manage in a way that grows participation and retention of the supporters and volunteers in your area.

● Track your metrics daily, input data accurately, and understand where you stand on your progress as it relates to your goals weekly.

● Be prepared to speak weekly with your supervisor about what’s working well and how we can enhance our efforts.

● Work daily with your peers in other regions to share ideas and creatively grow the program.

QUALIFICATIONS:

● Minimum two years of community organizing and/or electoral organizing experience

● At least two election cycles of canvassing experience required.

● There is no formal education requirement for this position.

● Ability to get to canvassing locations multiple times per week, frequently work outdoors in hot/cold/wet/dry conditions for canvassing purposes, frequently ascend and descend stairs to access tenant units, regularly canvass from door to door for up to 4 hours at a time, frequently travel over uneven surfaces to door knock, and occasionally transport up to 20 lbs to set up for meetings and events.

● Flexible schedule, but weekends and evenings required along with some overnight stays in some locations.

● SURJ policy requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, subject to reasonable accommodation under federal, state, and local law.

● Accommodations may not be possible for positions that require in-person contact with other staff or members of the public.

KNOWLEDGE:

● Experience organizing on issues of racial justice

● Strong commitment to racial, economic, and social justice.

● Comfortable sharing stories about your own experiences.

● Knowledge of MiniVan, Microsoft Word, Excel, and EveryAction

SKILLS:

● Excellent relational and verbal communication skills

● Excellent interpersonal skills and capacity to work with people across a wide range of differences.

● Capacity to listen without judgment.

● Excellent listening and communication skills, such as the ability to ask multiple follow up questions and elicit stories

● Ability to capture stories to share with SURJ that help us explain our work in the area.

● Empathetic and motivational in conversation.

● Solid time management skills

● Strong written communication skills

● Strong attention to detail

ABILITIES:

● Ability to work with a team and independently.

● Ability to record data and enter information into tracking systems.

● Ability to find common ground with people who have different opinions.

● Ability to work with a wide range of individuals and personalities, and to establish and maintain effective working relationships.

● Flexible - open to new ways of doing things and experimentation

● Reliable - follows through on what they said they are going to do

● Demonstrated ability to work both independently and as part of a team