Associate Director, Power Building & Organizing

Inclusive Action is seeking an Associate Director of Power Building & Organizing who will help the organization build community power through outreach, mobilization, and leadership development.

Inclusive Action has always prioritized community leadership and expertise. All of our initiatives have originated from community members’ needs. Our advocacy work has also utilized “expert panels” of community members, in partnership with organizational allies. And our micro-lending and real estate initiatives have been shaped by the experiences of the small businesses we support. We believe that constituents who are the most impacted by a program or policy, should not only participate in decision-making processes, they should lead them.

Given Inclusive Action’s comprehensive approach to economic justice – combining legal and policy advocacy with access-to-capital programs like lending, business coaching, and real estate acquisition – the Associate Director will work across the organization to ensure that all of the organization’s work is engaging community members, integrating their perspectives into program design, and building their capacity to advocate for their communities. The Associate Director will be responsible for creating and executing a comprehensive organizing and base-building plan to engage community members (including workers, families, and small business owners) through (1) outreach; (2) mobilization; and (3) leadership development programs.

The Associate Director of Power Building & Organizing is passionate about supporting underinvested communities in Los Angeles, curious, self-directed, and interested in producing and coordinating excellent power-building efforts in service of the communities Inclusive Action is dedicated to. They recognize the urgency of economic justice work and are interested in creating access to capital, community control over land and real estate, and community knowledge in vital services.

The Associate Director is a further investment in a new Organizing & Power Building Department at Inclusive Action which will report to the Vice President and will be expected to manage team members and/or consultants. This role requires a proven leader who is excited to lead this important priority area for the organization. Since this department is integral to all aspects of the organization, they will work collaboratively with all leadership team members.

Program Design & Leadership

Managing the overall implementation of IAC’s Community Engagement Blueprint, including designing and executing multiple new programs to support community engagement, mobilization, and community leadership development; and

Creating and executing a vision and long-term strategy to build IAC’s Organizing & Community Power Department.

Community Engagement

Working closely with existing organizing and community power team members (currently Outreach & Organizing Coordinator) to create a comprehensive community engagement strategy for the organization;

Working closely with the communications team and existing organizing and community power team members (currently Outreach & Organizing Coordinator) to create a comprehensive digital outreach strategy for the organization;

Working closely with existing organizing and community power team members (currently Outreach & Organizing Coordinator) to research and implement community programming at IAC;

Activating the office to effectively share IAC and partner events and resources to community members in a timely, centralized, and accessible manner;

Working with the Access to Capital team to support effective loan outreach strategies;

Leading a cross-department process to collect information and data, via tools like targeted surveys, to better understand and incorporate the perspectives of impacted communities into org programming; and

Organizing IAC’s clients and community members into a political base that identifies policy and programmatic interventions to address the root causes of economic inequity in our communities.

Mobilization

Creating a pipeline and process to support community leaders to engage in policy advocacy opportunities and participate in community led policy forums, including meetings with elected officials, providing public comment, and serving on panels;

Collaborating with the IAC policy team to create and deliver curriculum and training for community members on how to engage in policy processes;

Creating a process to engage and integrate community members in policy coalitions and equipping community members to take action in advocacy campaigns; and

Working with the communications team to create a process and programs to center community expertise in news stories, social media, panels, protests, rallies, and press conferences.

Leadership Development

Working with Inclusive Action’s Policy & Access to Capital teams to integrate community members in advancing policies and programs that serve our communities, and leading that work with data and compassion;

Designing curriculum and implementing a multi-week intensive co-learning academy for a cohort of community members to build awareness and skills in leadership, policy, organizing, and core IAC functions, resulting in community leaders who are equipped and supported to shape and guide IAC programs; and

Designing internal systems and decision-making processes to enable Leadership Academy graduates to step into authentic leadership roles on an IAC Community Advisory Board established to inform all aspects of IAC’s work and build political power for IAC clients.

External Collaboration

Assisting with building relationships, partnerships and collaborations with other leaders and organizations aligned with Inclusive Action’s mission;

Representing IAC in grassroots organizing and power building coalitions;

Facilitating engagement across community members and with organizational partners, as needed, including compiling meeting agendas, meeting materials, and preparing and sending follow-up documents;

Representing Inclusive Action in meetings with partners, stakeholders, and the public at large; and,

Advising internal leadership and organizational partners on important community politics and information.

Project Management & Internal Systems

Creating and implementing a comprehensive tracking system to track client and community engagement and development;

Establishing standardized intake, onboarding, and referral processes for community members engaging with IAC;

Evaluating current outreach tools and strategies across IAC programs and identifying opportunities to streamline and standardize communication platforms with community members;

Driving the work of the outreach and organizing project team via project, task, and team management;

Project managing ongoing IAC programs, such as the Community Public Health Teams (CPHT), with support from the Outreach and Organizing Coordinator.

Working with the Leadership Team to strengthen internal coordination and community engagement skills among all staff;

Managing multiple projects/workstreams from start to finish on time and within budget;

Working in cross-functional teams; and,

Meeting both internal and external deadlines for coalition and partner work;

Other Programmatic Support

Monitoring and evaluating community outreach and organizing efforts;

Supporting Inclusive Action’s communication efforts, by identifying community voices that can share experiences and inform systems change in Los Angeles;

Supporting event coordinating and fundraising activities as necessary; and,

Other assigned duties when necessary.

Staff Management and Leadership

Supervise team members/consultants in outreach and organizing activities; and

Provide both effective feedback and coaching to support the development of direct reports.

Minimum 10 years of relevant experience (e.g. community organizing or development, grassroots policy advocacy, etc);

Minimum 7 years experience in base-building, leadership development, and grassroots organizing

Experience in writing curriculum for, facilitating, and implementing a cohort based leadership development program or project

Strong verbal and written communication skills;

Strong time management skills;

Detail oriented;

Ability to work in hyper-collaborative settings;

High emotional intelligence and ability to communicate clearly and thoughtfully with impacted residents, team members, and organizational partners;

Ability to center the needs of impacted residents in all capacities as advocate and collaborator;

Ability to see the big picture while breaking down concepts into more tangible and actionable steps;

Spanish and English verbal and written fluency;

Positive, upbeat attitude that supports Inclusive Action staff and its organizational partners; and,

Commitment to Inclusive Action’s mission and interest in urban planning and economic development.