Update

This position has been filled. Thank you for your interest in working at WSCO! Check our job openings page for any future opportunities.

Who we are

The West Side Community Organization (WSCO) organizes the people of St. Paul's West Side to build collective power, and advance justice and racial equity in our neighborhood. We envision a just, united, self-reliant West Side where all of our people are connected, safe, healthy and successful. We are a nonprofit organization that also serves as the planning council for Saint Paul District 3.  At WSCO, we find ourselves in a season of organizational growth that will allow us to deepen our impact as we organize for housing justice, equity in land use & development, health and environmental justice, and community care. 

The opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity to join one of the most powerful neighborhood organizations in the country. We’ve just won the strongest rent stabilization policy in the country as part of the Housing Equity Now coalition. This year, we’ve set our sights on organizing a tenant’s union and moving towards  more dignified, equitable, accessible housing. We want to address the root causes of housing inequities by pursuing cooperative ownership models, working with land trusts, and researching other models. We’re looking for an experienced organizer to bring this bold vision for the future of our neighborhood to life. Our Lead Organizer will have the opportunity to guide our community organizers into the next level of building power with our base and transforming unjust systems that harm our neighborhood into a vision of a self-reliant and prospering West Side for all its people.  If you are an experienced organizer seeking to support a team of rising leaders and new organizers succeed in building our base’s power and leadership, we look forward to hearing from you.

Position summary 

The Lead Organizer supervises our team of community organizers working across the areas of Housing justice, Health and Environmental Justice, Community care, and works closely with the WS Land Use & Equitable Development Organizer,  The Lead Organizer designs and leads staff training, project planning, execution, and evaluation. 

• Role: This is a management-level position that reports to the Executive Director. The Lead Organizer supervises about 3-5 community organizers, who work directly with our base.
• Compensation: $57,000 annually, plus benefits (full health, vacation and sick). In addition to vacation time, all staff get two weeks paid time off at the end of the year when our office is closed.
• Schedule:  full time, salaried, exempt, 40 hours per week, some evenings and weekends required
• Location: Hybrid (both remote and in-person). Applicants should  live in the Twin Cities metro area, and be able to attend in-person meetings, events, etc. on St. Paul’s West Side)

Application process

• This position has been filled and we are no longer accepting applications.

Who we’re looking for 

Required experience & skills 

• At least 3 years of experience as a community organizer, including base building and leadership development. 
• At least 2 years professional experience managing teams of three or more people, including staff training and supervision.
• A demonstrated commitment to racial and economic justice and an understanding of the intersections of racial, gender, and economic justice.
• Leading teams through processes of work planning, execution, and evaluation. 
• Designing and facilitating meetings, training, and/or group gatherings that move people to action. 
• Technical experience with (or ability to learn) Zoom and Google apps (Gmail, Google Drive, etc.)
• A relational leader and team player, able to work with staff, grassroots leaders, and coalition members; able to motivate diverse groups of people; accountability to the team and the work
• Excellent communications skills through a variety of channels, including written and oral.
• Enthusiastic about connecting with West Siders door-to-door and on the phones.
• Ability to meet deadlines and manage multiple tasks 
• This position requires frequent travel across St. Paul’s West Side neighborhood and occasional travel within the Twin Cities metro. Reliable transportation is required (whether by public transport, biking, etc), but is preferably via a personal vehicle with a valid driver’s license.

Desired experience (not required)

• Experience with an organizing database (WSCO uses Nationbuilder)
• Experience organizing around housing justice, or related housing experience
• Bilingual in Spanish, Hmong, Somali, Oromo, or other language(s) significant to the West Side

There is no minimum education requirement for this position.

What you’ll do

Supervision, Strategy Development, Research, and Planning 

• Build and manage a powerful core team of organizers who are committed to the leadership development of West Siders:
• Facilitate weekly 1:1s with each organizer, team meetings, quarterly work plan reviews, and annual performance evaluations
• Support and ensure organizers are practicing and utilizing organizing tools (canvassing, door knocking, phone banking, one-to-one’s, powerful asks, etc.) 
• Deepen organizers’ shared analysis and coordinate professional development 
• Support organizers and community leaders in executing grassroots actions as determined by  our base and campaign strategy
• Recognize and strengthen the intersections of the many areas of our work
• Develop strategy (in collaboration with community and WSCO leadership), infrastructure, and materials to support the organizing program
• Ensure that the West Side’s diverse races, ethnicities, cultures, genders, sexual orientations, classes and abilities are represented in organizational planning, activities and decisionmaking 
• Plan and lead effective organizing meetings and trainings 
• Be accountable to co-created goals and prepare organizing reports for the Executive Director
• Generate written documentation of activities, research, policy positions, etc. per long-range strategic plan and annual work plan. 

Organizing and basebuilding around three key action circles (Housing Justice, Health and Environmental Justice, and Community Care)

• Support Organizers in building a base of directly impacted residents on the West Side through outreach and engagement and leadership development
• Hold the vision and strategy for these action circles on the West Side, in collaboration with neighborhood leaders and our base on the West Side, WSCO leadership, and organizers
• Hold, delegate, and oversee the research, exploration and implementation of a West Side Tenants Union as well as cooperative housing and other equitable housing models

Organizational responsibilities

• Enthusiastically promote WSCO’s goals and priorities and have a deep investment in our mission
• Represent WSCO and participate in community events
• Build strategic relationships and alliances with the broader community
• Participate in all-hands-on-deck events (such as monthly Voices Forums and our Annual Meeting) 
• Support the growth and stability of WSCO by helping with fundraising activities
• Compliance with all organizational policies and procedures 

Working environment

Work is performed in both a home office and in-person office environment. Our office is at 209 Page St. West, in Saint Paul. It is ADA accessible and has an elevator; offices are on the main floor. This role may require occasionally lifting articles like file boxes or heavier materials with help from others and/or lifting and carrying light objects frequently. The role requires sitting most of the time with long periods of computer work and phone usage. Occasional walking and standing may be required, such as canvassing neighbors door to door. Occasionally, working hours may fall outside normal business hours, and may include evenings and weekends. Reasonable accommodations will be made for staff as required by law.