Overview
Reclaim the Block seeks an Outreach Organizer for a full-time position. This individual will support our Path Forward campaign to defund the Minneapolis Police Department and chart a new path for building a safe community.
This person should be excited about reaching out to new people and building new relationships – representing RTB at community events, talking with folks on the street, making phone calls, speaking publicly, and finding ways to connect with people and let them know about the campaign. Creativity welcome: a successful candidate will find creative ways to reach people and experiment with new ways to connect, like art, innovative events, etc. This position also offers opportunities for the organizer to get more training and build new skills.
Reclaim the Block uses a coalition organizing model: we work with organizations — ranging from established non-profits and businesses to small grassroots community groups and crews – to build power, build community, and push for policy change. The Outreach Organizer will focus on building relationships with groups of people directly impacted by policing and people who often get left out of policy conversations.
Candidates should be excited about joining a team amidst significant growth and in the process of developing core structures.
Note: This position will require attending regular in-person events and closely following COVID-19 safety protocols.
About Reclaim the Block
Reclaim the Block works to build a Black-led, multiracial movement empowered to dismantle and defund the Minneapolis Police Department and to move those resources into community driven practices. Reclaim the Block works in close partnership with Black Visions and is made up of a multiracial core team of community members, both staff and volunteer.
About the position
- Compensation: $60,000, full time salaried
- Benefits: This position qualifies for a full and generous benefits package
This position will be supervised and funded by Reclaim the Block and hired through our anchor organization, Black Visions, through their fiscal sponsor, TakeAction Minnesota.
Core Responsibilities
- On the ground outreach, talking with people about their lived experiences and how it connects with the Path Forward campaign:
- Attend community events: table, flyer, and talk with people about the campaign
- Develop outreach plans to reach communities where we need to build more relationships, and coordinate with partners leading field outreach efforts
- Give presentations and speak publicly about safety and the campaign
- Expand the Path Forward coalition by building relationships with new partner organizations (including formal organizations and informal collectives).
- Invite and follow up with new partner organizations
- Help new groups get oriented to the campaign and find ways to plug in
- Identify ways we can support partner orgs and build mutual relationships
- Help organize and implement People’s Movement Assemblies (PMA’s)
- Attend and help facilitate in-person (COVID-safe) and online community assemblies to define safety for Minneapolis
- Support partner organizations with planning, logistics and execution of PMA’s
- Recruit community members and groups to participate in PMA’s
- Event planning for:
- Political education events – abolition 101, community safety planning and skill building events, etc.
- Community art, celebration, and healing events
Preferred Experience
- 2+ years of experience in community organizing
- Experience thinking about or building community-led safety infrastructure a plus
- Experience organizing with BIPOC communities
- Working knowledge of Minneapolis politics and relationships with local BIPOC community members and organizers
Preferred Skills
- Comfort talking with and reaching out to people you do not know
- Relationship-building skills, including ability to navigate tension and conflict.
- Strong meeting facilitation skills and comfort speaking in public
- Ability to build, manage, and follow through on workplans in a self-directed environment
- Ability to multitask and prioritize competing tasks and deadlines in a fast-paced environment
- Ability to say yes and no to tasks, based on priorities the team has set together.
- Experience with Spanish, Hmong, or Somali
- Strong writing and verbal communication skills; experience using Signal, Google Docs, Zoom, and other basic internet-based technology and data entry/management platform
Values
- Commitment to racial, economic, gender, LGBTQIA+, and disability justice.
- Understanding of and commitment to abolitionist principles, including transformative justice, mutual aid and community defense.
- Working in collective or cooperative settings.
- Experience or interest in consensus-based decision-making frameworks.
- Comfort communicating needs and boundaries as they arise.
To Apply
Email reclaimtheblock@gmail.com with a resume and either a cover letter or a 3-5 minute video describing your qualifications. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, with priority consideration going to applications received by June 4. We intend to make a hire by June 25, with a start date of July 7.
Reclaim the Block is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage individuals from, and who have experience working with, Black, indigenous and LGBTQ communities to apply.
