Lead Organizer

SEIU Local 2015 Job Description

SEIU Local 2015 is California’s Long Term Care workers organization that will unleash the collective power of long-term care workers, their families, and their communities, harness the power of technology, and build a broad movement to disrupt the unjust status quo in order to bring lasting transformational change towards a more just society for all.

SEIU Local 2015 represents 400,000 homecare providers, nursing home workers and assisted living center workers throughout California, making it the largest union of long-term care givers in California and the second largest SEIU local in the nation. For more information please visit, http://seiu2015.org

Position Purpose:

Organizers train, develop and empower workers across the long term-care sector to:

• Form, build, and grow their union.
• Participate in their contract bargaining and enforcement.
• Organize and mobilize workers around key issues, including rights and standards, political, legislative and policy goals.
• Develop their leadership potential.
• Carry out all other programs of the union in the field.

SEIU Local 2015 organizers may be assigned to work with and on behalf of workers who are already in our local, or with and on behalf of workers who are in the process of building a union for the first time.

The core role of the Lead Organizer is to provide leadership, direction and development to staff and members as it relates to carrying out the vision, goals and respective campaigns of the union. The Lead Organizer position is the first level of staff supervision for the organizer job family.

Required Competencies:

• Lead with vision and purpose to inspire staff and members to engage in and lead on key union priorities, including politics, growth and membership.
• Foster equity and inclusion, including cultural competence to work with diverse staff and communities, commitment to building an anti-racist organization.
• Ignite motivation to achieve results, including coach and model, practice active listening and self-reflection, give and receive authentic feedback, and hold oneself and one’s team accountable to commitments and outcomes.
• Build and lead great staff and member teams, including managing goals, roles, processes and relationships, relationship building, and working collaboratively across departments.
• Develop self and others using collective ownership and consistent evaluation and self-reflection, and accountability to outcomes.
• Organize their own work and the work of their team, including creating clear roles and responsibilities, clear communication, organize their time and support staff to do the same, and demonstrate self-motivation.
• Highly effective oral, written and digital communication skills
• Computer and digital literacy relevant to the position

Experience and Education:

• 3+ years of experience in union or community organizing and representation.
• 6+ months of leading and developing at least 2 staff.
• Demonstrated ability to adapt to changing environments and ability to work under pressure.
• Demonstrated ability to develop, execute and evaluate strategic campaign plans and work plans, using sound independent judgment and with minimal supervision.
• Demonstrated ability to lead staff and member teams and hold staff accountable to achieve desired outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to meet goals around membership, COPE, leader development, and building worker organization.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain accurate data on program or campaign area, and use data to guide decisions.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the long-term care industry and labor laws
• Experience leading bargaining, bargaining campaigns and/or growth campaigns.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Independently manage assigned turf and that of their team, including driving outcomes on membership and COPE (Committee on Political Education) recruitment, leader and activist recruitment and development, conduct member trainings and meetings, and build and grow worker organization, including organizing committees, contract action teams, and other teams of workers who take action on our priorities.
• Supervise, train, and coach staff to successfully achieve outcomes; create and execute staff development plans to build skills and competencies.
• Hold staff accountable to outcomes, up to and including disciplinary measures.
• Build and develop staff teams, including hiring and onboarding; coordinate and lead teams of staff and members in developing, implementing, and evaluating programs and campaigns that drive key strategic outcomes.
• Develop and lead campaigns, programs, contract negotiations, elections and strikes across the department or region.
• Support the execution of key pieces of statewide campaigns or programs.
• Work collaboratively with other departments to guide integration of politics, community relationships and organizing support into campaigns, programs, and daily work of staff.
• As part of leadership team, contribute to organizational vision and manage the departments and local’s strategic plans and campaigns.
• Cover for vacation and troubleshoot on particularly difficult staff assignments.
• Make, execute, and evaluate strategic campaign plans and daily, weekly, and monthly work plans for self and with assigned staff, based on assigned goals and objectives.
• Train staff and members on critical skills, competencies and industry knowledge.
• Demonstrate behaviors in line with SEIU Local 2015 Core values: leadership, compassion, empowerment, accountability, transparency and excellence.
• Other tasks and duties as assigned.

Scope and Nature of Supervision:

• Lead Organizers will report to their assigned Coordinator, Deputy Director or Director.

Working Conditions:

• Willingness and ability to work long, irregular hours, including weekends and holidays.
• Must have a valid California driver’s license, reliable use of car for work, and required automobile insurance.
• Willingness and ability to travel.
• Work is generally performed in the field with members and outside constituents.

Job descriptions are not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of every activity or responsibility that is required for each role.

SEIU Local 2015 is an equal employment opportunity employer committed to recruiting and hiring without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.