Director Of Training

A little about us…

We are a statewide grassroots movement organization that fights for political, social, racial, economic and environmental justice. We work at the grassroots to give people a sense of their own power. We collaborate with organizations and coalitions in communities throughout New York to address critical issues at the local, state and federal levels.

The Organizing Training Director is responsible for statewide internal training and education needs for Citizen Action. The Director will be responsible for training the organization’s staff organizers and grassroots members in the basics of community organizing skills, community outreach and engagement, organizing strategy, direct action tactics, coalition building, etc. The position will also work with the organization’s organizing staff to continually develop their skills and worldview, and to prepare them to be able to train the members and leaders and volunteers of the organization.

We take pride in hiring staff who share our values & characteristics.

These include:

• Passionate about issues of social, racial, economic and environmental justice
• Ability to think strategically and creatively to solve problems
• A high degree of professionalism and professional maturity
• Strong ability to lead a team; lead multiple projects; to fruition and success
• Collaborative work style and demonstrated ability to work as part of a team and with people from a variety of different racial, ethnic, socio-economic, educational, religious, gender and generational backgrounds
• Collaborative work style and demonstrated ability to work as part of a team and with people from a variety of backgrounds

What you’ll do and the impact you'll make:

• Consistently assess the training needs of the organizers and present a plan to the Organizing Department Heads for training every quarter showing the goals/outcomes and the schedule
• Model and engage in training organizing staff and members by demonstrating skills, doing work shoulder to shoulder, using analysis to give effective feedback in collaboration with Department Heads.
• Support organizers and convey the prioritization of timely data collection, entry of progression of leadership ladder, and metrics by the organizing department
• In collaboration with senior staff team, assess and deliver the training needs at any organizer retreats and annual or bi-annual all-staff meetings.
• Provide or arrange for training and coaching for organizing staff to meet or exceed the specific goals of their role including: field planning, script development, door knocking, membership recruitment, phonebanks, power analysis, campaign planning, leadership development, meeting facilitation, supervision and delegation, time management. and the strategy chart.
• Provide or arrange for training for chapter members and volunteers on various organizing skills and strategic education with a train-the-trainer approach in mind.
• Help organizing staff build strong leadership teams with an active membership that is able to execute strong issues and electoral campaigns.
• Participate in the team responsible for developing the staff performance review system.
• Reinforce organizational standards and organizing expectations.
• Build the training capacity of our staff through train-the-trainer programs.
• Act as a collaborative partner with other departments to ensure that our strategic education and worldview-shifting curricula are available to staff and leaders.
• Responsible for the continued design, update, and delivery of staff training curriculum for new organizers.
• Deliver worldview and strategic education training when necessary.
• Participate/lead the collaborative process for the bi-annual Justice Works conference and/or bi-annual leadership summit and all staff meetings
• Provide a weekly report to the Coordinating team that includes work accomplished to achieve goals, successes, and challenges.
• Ensure each staff’s participation in each training is tracked in BambooHR.
• Work collaboratively with Organizing Department Heads and Deputy Director of Programs to ensure a consistent professional development experience for staff. Document professional development models and systems to ensure consistency and allow for evaluation of those models and systems.

Any other duties as assigned by your supervisor.

Who you are and what you’ve accomplished:

• The Organizing Training Director is first and foremost a good community organizer. Excellent communication, facilitation and training skills are a must.
• Minimum five years of experience with professional community, issue, or electoral organizing. Demonstrated excellence in and the ability to train on organizing skills including: field planning, script development, door knocking, membership recruitment, phonebanks, power analysis, campaign planning, leadership development, meeting facilitation, supervision and delegation, time management. and the strategy chart.
• Preferred experience in leadership position at a power-building organization and/or extensive supervision experience.
• Experience crafting and managing the implementation of issue and electoral campaign plans.
• 5 or more years of experience with leading workshops and training in large and small groups
• Ability and willingness to fully adopt use of Google Drive, EveryAction, Asana, VAN, Slack, Action Network, ThruTalk, Spoke/Relay, and any other tools used by the organizations.
• Superior communication skills, including by telephone, email, and in-person as well as a commitment to follow up.
• Skilled at managing multiple projects simultaneously
• Ability to think critically and proactively and remain effective under pressure.
• Highly functional as both a collaborative team player and a self-motivated independent agent.
• A proven ability to connect and relate to people from diverse backgrounds and a strong commitment to racial, gender, and economic justice and their intersections, both inside and outside the organization.
• Willingness to collaborate with team, staff, leaders, and across departments on organizational goals and plans.
• Skilled at managing their own time, including the ability to be flexible and work with shifting priorities.
• Significant experience with successful facilitation of campaign planning, organizational processes, and meetings.
• Willingness to travel across the upstate regions regularly
• Must have a vehicle and a valid driver’s license
• Must live in upstate New York

Our Benefits:

• Working collaboratively in an organization at the forefront of building power across NYS
• Competitive salary
• 100% paid employee monthly medical and vision premiums
• Access to mental health and dental plans
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Monthly cell phone stipend
• 12 organization-paid holidays, generous vacation
• 2 weeks of organizational 'shut down', one week in December and one week in July
• Summer Fridays in July and August
• Biannual statewide staff meetings

Salary: The salary for this position is $75,000- $80,000, Depending on experience. Relocation stipend available.

The person filling the role must live within a 30 minute radius to Albany. In-person participation in meetings and events may be required at different locations.

This job requires travel across New York State. Overnight and weekend travel may be occasionally required. Travel may include multiple day trips and over weekends.

Please note, all benefits are subject to change.

Citizen Action of NY and The Public Policy and Education Fund are equal opportunity employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable law, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. We are looking for the most passionate people who want to join our team. People of color are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applicants may be entitled to reasonable accommodations under the terms of the ADA and state/local laws. Please let us know if you need assistance participating in the interview process.