OVERVIEW
The Environmental Justice Strategist for Black Visions is responsible for leading the development and coordination of Black Visions’ environmental justice campaigns and programming, alongside members and staff. As a lead strategist, this role will support the development and strategic implementation of equity frameworks, shared policy campaigns, and base building activities that seek to transform Minnesota’s environmental justice movement. The EJ Strategist will work intentionally to build transformative relationships with community members and leaders, maintain healthy partnerships, and support the expansion of Black Visions’ base impacted directly by issues of climate/environmental injustice. In 2021, this role will work to connect environmental/climate justice organizations and leaders to Black Visions’ current campaigns, including the fight for a new model of safety in Minneapolis, helping to shape conversation and policy demands that reflect environmental justice priorities.
For the first year of this role especially, the EJ Strategist will support strategic planning, research, and assessment, to further develop Black Visions’ environmental justice program.
ABOUT BLACK VISIONS COLLECTIVE
Since 2017, Black Visions Collective has been putting into practice the lessons learned from organizations before us, as well as our direct experience in building within the Movement for Black Lives, in order to shape a political home for Black people across Minnesota. Black Visions Collective is our state’s only Black movement-building organization and central to our work is the development of a Black-led ecosystem of arts, politics, and culture. Through our intentional growth process, we aim to center our work in healing and transformative justice principles, intentionally develop our organizations core “DNA” to ensure sustainability and develop Minnesota’s emerging Black leadership to lead powerful campaigns. By building movements from the ground up with an integrated model, we are creating the conditions for long term success and transformation.
Mission: Black Visions is a Black-led, Queer and Trans centering organization whose mission is to organize powerful, connected Black communities and dismantle systems of violence.
Vision: Black Visions believes in a future where all Black people have autonomy, safety is community-led, and we are in right relationship within our ecosystems.
Black Visions Collective is currently in a period of growth, accountability, and development. All prospective applicants must be willing to grow with the organization as we move into our next iteration.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS
Movement Ecosystem Building
- Represent Black Visions in relevant coalition spaces
- Lead within shared campaigns, strategies, and initiatives with BIPOC EJ partners
- Build strategic and deep relationships with partner organizations and staff
- Work with organizing and communications staff to engage coalition partners, share relevant information, and move partners in alignment with work of Black Visions
Power Building
- Leading and supporting base building activities including community events, trainings, and direct community outreach
- Developing strategies to invest and engage new leaders
- Relationship building with Black community members and leaders interested in engaging on climate and environmental justice issues
- Developing relationships with emerging and potential members through 1-1 conversations, direct engagement, and follow up
- Collecting, entering, and managing data
- Supporting development of communications to base and supporters via database/email, social media, and direct phone calls
- Developing and leading working group(s)
Campaign and Project Development
- Leading environmental justice campaigns and overall project management
- Leading strategies to develop Black Visions core campaigns
- Supporting research and writing efforts to develop projects/campaigns and communicate to base, funders, and partners
- Working with organizing team develop trainings and events for members and base to engage in campaigns and projects
- Being a key leader in strategic planning to develop Black Visions environmental justice program and framework; developing key materials to bring others along including: trainings, research papers, proposals, and handouts
- Connecting base and EJ organizations/relationships to current organizational campaigns
Organizational Development
- Supporting strategic planning and development of Black Visions EJ Program
- Supporting resource development activities including: supporting on grants and funder relationships, supporting fundraisers
EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS
- 3+ years experience leading organizing strategies and campaigns, including managing coalitions/networks
- 5+ years experience in the field of environmental and climate justice
- Experience in researching key issues and developing long term policy campaigns
- Experience supporting multiple staff/volunteers in the role of manager
- Experience organizing in Black communities
- Working knowledge of local politics and relationships with local BIPOC leaders
- Strong writing and verbal communication skills; experience using Microsoft Office Suite, basic internet-based technology and data entry/management
- Ability to multitask and prioritize competing tasks and deadlines in a fast-paced environment
- Common sense, flexibility, and teamwork skills with the ability to exercise independent judgment
- Steadfast commitment to collective liberation and ability to speak and unite those behind Black Vision’s mission and vision
- Time and project management skills; ability to pivot to meet current events and organizational needs while maintaining attention to detail
- Comfortable working in collective or cooperative settings
- Creating and building strong foundations for base building strategies
- Developing curricula
- Developing on-going community based programs
- Continuing and/or adapting previously developed programming
- Outgoing, positive, and open personality
- Drivers license and access to transportation
Must be willing and able to:
- Communicate needs and boundaries as they arise
- Delegate tasks to focus on their primary role
- Speak in front of small and large groups (translation provided as necessary)
- Speak to what Abolition is and why it is essential to Black liberation
- Have a drivers license and access to reliable transportation
Salary will be set commensurate with experience and will include a full package of benefits including health and dental insurance, matching retirement, investment in personal development, and an expansive time off policy.
Salary range: $51,000- 55,000 pending experience
To Apply:
Please submit a resume, cover letter, and one work sample demonstrating your campaign and strategy development experience to jobs@blackvisionsmn.org — applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the position will remain open until filled. Qualified candidates will be interviewed beginning the week of March 1st. We hope to fill this position immediately.
Black Visions is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage those with experience working within Black and LGBTQ communities, to apply.
