Mankato/St. Peter Organizing Fellow

Isaiah Church; Mankato (MN); On-site; USD 50,000 - 61,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid holidays

Sick time

Floating holiday

Cell phone reimbursement

Job summary

ISAIAH seeks an Organizing Fellow to build leadership in Mankato-St. Peter communities, including manufactured homes and faith congregations. The role splits time between communities and advances racial and economic justice through grassroots campaigns with staff organizers.

The Fellow will run petition drives, host community conversations, organize candidate forums, and expand church networks. A driver’s license and car are required.

Qualifications

• Grit and perseverance when facing challenging work or initial setbacks.
• Self-motivation with the ability to set and chase personal goals.
• Strong listening skills and ability to connect with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Willingness to learn quickly and develop leadership abilities.
• Ability to build trust-based relationships across race, faith, and class.
• Comfort navigating diverse cultural settings to relate to stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Engage staff and leaders to build strong relationships and shared goals.
• Lead public actions and meetings with elected leaders to advance dignity and affordability.
• Recruit and train volunteer leaders for in-person and virtual meetings.
• Develop voter education and engagement campaigns with community leaders.
• Attend organizing and narrative-building trainings.
• Partake in weekly development sessions under supervision.

Skills

Grit

Self-starter

Listening skills

Fast learner

Relationship building

Cultural sensitivity

Job description

Mankato/St. Peter Organizing Fellow ISAIAH Exempt (from overtime), full-time, 6-month temporary position Pay is based on a $55,000 annual salary

POSITION AT A GLANCE

• The Organizing Fellow relates to and organizes people in manufactured home communities and congregations to develop leadership and shared power across race, class, and geography. They will evenly split their time between both communities.
• We work in pursuit of a just economy and a democracy that honors the dignity and worth of people across race, faith, and class
• Our ideal candidates can explain why they are interested in the needs of people and communities and have demonstrated “grit” when faced with challenging work or a lack of initial success
• This position reports to a lead organizer and regularly works with a team of other organizers. The ideal starting date for this position is early fall
• This position involves meeting with people when they are available. Organizing fellows will often have meetings and events on evenings and weekends.

WHY THIS POSITION IS IMPORTANT:

Organizing Fellows will work with ISAIAH staff organizers to build and lead an organizing program to develop the capacity and leadership of everyday Minnesotans and develop a series of racial, economic, housing and climate justice campaigns with community and ISAIAH leaders.

The Organizing Fellow will lead people in faith-based and manufactured home communities in the Mankato-St. Peter area.

The Manufactured Home Resident Organizing Fellow will be responsible for the following work.

General organizing:

• Engaging staff and leaders to build powerful relationships based on trust and a well-defined understanding of each other’s desires and interests
• Leading public actions and meetings with elected leaders to build a politics rooted in dignity and affordability for everyone.
• Recruiting and training volunteer leaders to do in-person and virtual meetings with friends, family, and members of their community.
• Developing a voter education and engagement campaign with core resident leaders to support champions of our affordability and dignity agenda
• Attending organizing and narrative building training
• Participating in weekly development sessions with supervision from a lead organizer

Manufactured Homes organizing:

• Running a petition drive (door knocking) to gather support for the Save Our Homes Campaign and the Manufactured Home Residents Bill of Rights, and to build relationships with residents
• Hosting a series of community conversations in manufactured home communities, such as initial info session for residents, candidate forums, and additional community engagement sessions to invite them into our organizing effort
• Facilitating candidate forums between residents and the candidates seeking to represent them specifically about issues impacting manufactured home residents

Congregational organizing:

• Working with staff and leaders to implement an organizing program that engages leaders from 15-20 churches.
• Expanding the network of churches and church teams through canvassing, one on ones, community meetings, house meetings, congregational forums, and other leadership development tactics.

Over 6 months, organizing fellows receive paid holidays, sick time, a floating paid holiday, and a cell phone reimbursement. A driver’s license and car is required for this position. Organizing fellows often have meetings and events on evenings and weekends.

About ISAIAH and Faith in Minnesota

ISAIAH, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, is a vehicle for multi-racial, multi-faith coalitions across Minnesota to act collectively and powerfully towards racial and economic equity in MN by addressing both local and regional community issues. Faith in Minnesota is our 501(c)4 organization that gives us a platform to organize and advocate directly in our state’s elections and political process.

Together, we have more than 250 member and partner churches and mosques, more than 25 barbershops, and more than 200 childcare centers who work to promote a caring economy and a multi-racial democracy that honors every person’s dignity. We do this work through intentional, intensive leadership development, collective action, and deep partnerships with grassroots organizations and public servants.

HOW WILL YOU KNOW IF YOU’RE A GOOD CANDIDATE?

• You can be great for this role if you are someone who is:
• Able to act with integrity, has a strong work ethic, “grit”, and willingness to persevere until you succeed
• A self-starter who can independently set goals and use them to guide daily actions
• A good listener and capable of establishing rapport with people from different backgrounds
• A quick learner eager to develop their leadership and help others do the same
• Open to evaluation and direction from their supervisor and peers
• Unafraid of being pushed and challenged by their peers and supervisor in order to more deeply reflect on and address personal barriers to leadership development
• Can navigate different cultural settings to relate to people across race, class, age, and religion

HOW WE KNOW IF YOU’RE A GOOD CANDIDATE?

• Can articulate how working for social justice and grassroots organizing is connected to their personal motivation or self-interest rather than a desire to “serve” or “save” others
• Have demonstrated independent decision-making, management of multiple priorities in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, and sound judgment on when to seek advice and support from team members
• Can share examples of achieving success when straightforward solutions aren’t available through problem-solving and applying flexible thinking
• Can speak to their ability to effectively work with diverse faith communities, racial groups, and diverse stakeholders
• Have a self-interest in the needs of people and communities
• Is comfortable using a range of technology, such as Google Workspace or Microsoft Office, WhatsApp, and other common software and apps
• Have a valid driver’s license and regular access to a reliable car

Our Statement Regarding Being an Equal Opportunity Employer

ISAIAH believes that a team with diverse experiences and backgrounds, working in an inclusive and safe work environment, generates richer discussions and more nuanced thinking. We are an equal-opportunity employer and actively encourage people whose identities and backgrounds reflect the rich diversity of our community and who are traditionally underrepresented in nonprofits to apply to our positions.