Organizing Project Director-Massachusetts

The Outreach Team•Boston, MA

19h•$75,000 - $82,200

About The Position

The Outreach Team is a premier national field firm. We partner with organizations working to solve some of the biggest problems facing our society -- from protecting human rights to fighting climate change -- and help them build the resources they need to make an impact. We are a people-powered enterprise; our campaigns are effective because we hire diverse teams of talented people, invest in our staff, and treat them well. We are excited to be working with the Coalition for Healthy Democracy on a campaign to engage members of the community to advocate for a stronger democracy through the All Party Primary Initiative. Across the country, our political system is worse than ever. And Massachusetts is no longer the exception: we have the least competitive elections and the least transparent legislature in the country. This system keeps power in the hands of a few rather than the many. We’re looking for an Organizing Project Director to manage a team of organizers who will engage constituents around democracy reform and action opportunities in their communities. This is a full-time position for an experienced project and people manager who loves working on social change campaigns. At The Outreach Team, Organizing Project Directors are expected to bottomline the development, implementation, evaluation, and overall success of our campaigns. Our Organizing Project Directors develop and maintain relationships with our clients, manage full-time staff, drive campaign timelines and deliverables, oversee administrative systems, and motivate staff and communities for social change along the way. We’re seeking a candidate who has experience managing or coordinating diverse teams, driving goals, and working within coalitions or partner organizations. This job may be for you if you excel at running large-scale, social change campaigns with urgent deadlines Candidates must be based in Massachusetts or able to travel regularly to Massachusetts for site visits and training. Strong preference for candidates with knowledge of the Massachusetts political landscape and for candidates with experience working in diverse communities, including communities of color, immigrant communities, and communities historically underrepresented in the political process. You should expect to work 40-60 hours per week, depending on how close to elections or other deadlines your project is. Travel for site visits will be required.

Requirements

Experience managing a diverse team of organizers in a fast-paced or goals-based environment, especially in paid field campaigns, canvass operations, or field organizing
Experience being a fundamental decision maker on a large or fast-paced organizing project where you were responsible for tracking results and hitting goals to meet benchmarks
Previous participation or work within coalitions, alongside partner organizations or stakeholders
A track record of results in organizing contexts; hitting goals, meeting benchmarks, and developing volunteer leaders
Experience driving recruitment efforts, building volunteer pipelines, and developing leaders within organizing programs
Experience tracking progress to goals, analyzing performance, and ability to tell a narrative around an organizing project. OR. Experience writing grants, proposals, or progress reports.
Experience navigating the legal and HR requirements and obligations of a manager and addressing issues quickly and effectively
Baseline competency and familiarity with tech and computers, including G-Suite or Microsoft Office. Intermediate to advanced skills in Excel/Sheets.
A willingness to perpetually expand your knowledge of equity and justice and apply it to your work

Nice To Haves

Experience reviewing payroll and ensuring organizers are paid on time is a plus
Bilingual in Spanish-English a plus
Previous experience with The Outreach Team a plus
Experience with relevant organizing tools and technologies: Action Network, ThruText, MailChimp, eCRMs like EveryAction, VoteBuilder (VAN), or social media tools (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) is a plus

Responsibilities

Serve as the fundamental decision maker and bottom line for success on assigned organizing projects
Work as a strategic partner with clients in developing and executing field plans and organizing strategy
Keep close attention to project deliverables and proactively identify problems in the program and propose proactive solutions
Develop, review, and adjust campaign metrics often using mathematics and company planning tools for driving the campaign trajectory and achieving goals
Coordinate office and project launch and shutdown logistics, including but not limited to: identifying and renting office space, coordinating staff relocation, securing the purchase and return of office materials and furniture, etc.
Hire and manage a team of full-time organizers, who will in turn recruit, train, and supervise dozens of teams of volunteers, volunteer leaders, and interns or fellows to hit campaign goals
Drive goals on the team to ensure that deliverables are met and exceeded, including recruitment targets, volunteer engagement, and campaign actions
Build and maintain a team culture that centers on diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. Treat organizers with empathy and respect, and ensure the staff you supervise do the same
Maintain high-performance standards and provide ongoing feedback and evaluations
Hold staff accountable and have tough conversations when necessary; coach the managers you supervise to do the same with their staff
Develop and facilitate organizing and leadership training for your team
Get on the ground, completing site visits and leading by example to drive goals when necessary
Drive recruitment efforts to identify, recruit, and train volunteer canvassers and key volunteer leaders for daily and ongoing campaign shifts; oversee weekly volunteer campaign meetings to build a community of leaders and drive campaign deliverables
Approach all work with the priority of “wow-ing” our client through professionalism, integrity, and achieving goals
Interface regularly with clients who work on voter registration, voter contact, issue campaigns, and/or signature gathering
Write and edit daily and weekly project reports to clients
Prepare and run calls including but not limited to: client onboarding calls, weekly check-in calls, debriefing calls
Manage and track project budget and submit accurate expense reports and updates
Ensure payroll is accurate for your team by managing the hours reporting process and reviewing payroll
Nail 100% of all administrative and legal requirements and ensure that organizers do the same
Manage the development of improved systems for tracking organizing work, volunteer engagement, and campaign data, which may include identifying and managing a vendor, testing new features, and providing feedback
Manage and track teams and projects using platforms including, but not limited to: G-Suite, NPG VAN, Action Network, Slack, MiniVan, ADP, ThruText, EveryAction, and more
Tackle Special Projects during slow times or in between projects. These can include but are not limited to: Supporting the recruitment team on materials or hiring preparation, supporting legal and compliance tasks, reworking training materials, testing campaign planning tools, working with the systems team to develop or improve organizing tools.