Bay Area, California

Just Transition Organizer, Justice Funders

The Organization

Justice Funders is a partner and guide for philanthropy in reimagining practices that advance a thriving and just world. We believe that such a world cannot be achieved if institutional philanthropy is constrained by its ingrained practices that uphold the accumulation of wealth and power, while perpetuating systemic social and economic inequality. Responding to the needs of both movements and the philanthropic sector, Justice Funders’ programs support individual, organizational, and field-wide transformation in philanthropy. We are guided by the Just Transition principles that build political and economic power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy. More information is available at: http://www.justicefunders.org

Position Overview

SUMMARY
FTE: 100%
Location: Bay Area
Position reports to: Executive Director
Application deadline: Oct. 30, 2020
Ideal start date: On or before Jan. 4, 2021
Salary: $80,000

About the Position: 
The Just Transition Organizer is a new position for the organization, and reflects an expansion of our work to re-orient philanthropic resources to be aligned with social justice movement priorities. From 2015-2019, Justice Funders coordinated two Community and Funder Collaboratives to successfully move more than $1.5 million in grants to Bay Rising and Lift Up Contra Costa, two regional civic engagement alliances comprised of frontline groups that are organizing and building power in marginalized communities to advance systemic change for racial and economic justice.

With the growing number of social justice groups and alliances that are situating their organizing work within the Just Transition framework, there are new opportunities for aligning philanthropic resources to support local, place-based projects that are experimenting with true alternatives to our extractive, capitalist economic system by building local, regenerative economies that transfer wealth and economic power to low-income communities of color. One such formation is the Richmond Our Power Coalition (ROPC), with whom Justice Funders is partnering to promote Just Transition vision, values and projects to philanthropic communities in the Bay Area and nationally.

Through support from the Chorus Foundation and other philanthropies, Justice Funders has secured funding for the first year to advance this work. Sustaining this work in subsequent years will require this position to fundraise for their salary & programmatic expenses. There are a few responsibilities of this position that will require interfacing with the Chorus Foundation and their network officers in other regions. Specifically, this role will be responsible for (1) amplifying the vision and values of the Just Transition framework within philanthropy; (2) elevating the priorities of the Richmond Our Power Coalition within philanthropy; (3) aligning philanthropic resources with the strategy set forward by ROPC; (4) facilitating participatory/democratic grantmaking processes of resources stewarded by the ROPC; and (5) working with Justice Funders Development team to ensure that the Just Transition Organizer’s work can be sustained.

The Just Transition Organizer will join a staff team of 9 people based in the Bay Area and 1 person based on the East Coast. The location for this role would be in the Bay Area. This position will be accountable to co-created work plans that they develop with the ROPC, work in coordination with the Chorus Foundation’s network organizers, and report to the Executive Director of Justice Funders.

Job Responsibilities:
ORGANIZE PHILANTHROPY TO SUPPORT JUST TRANSITION PROJECTS (50%)
● Build deep relationships with the leaders and organizations of the Richmond Our Power Coalition to better understand their work and collective strategies.
● In partnership with the Richmond Our Power Coalition, co-create a strategy and resulting workplan for amplifying and elevating their priorities to philanthropic communities with the goal of securing resources for their Just Transition projects.
● Establish regular check-ins with the ROPC coordinator and develop a process for how this position engages with and remains accountable to the coalition and its members.
● Develop materials articulating the strategies and priorities of the ROPC for a philanthropic audience.
● Build relationships with philanthropies whose issue or geographic focus mirrors the Richmond Our Power Coalition’s priorities and work to secure resources for their Just Transition projects.
● Identify and explore opportunities for funders and field practitioners to build relationships, and for philanthropy to learn more about the vision for Just Transition that groups are advancing, as well as the ground conditions that they are facing.
● Introduce the work of the Richmond Our Power Coalition and their member organizations to donors and staff of philanthropic organizations.

FACILITATE BROADER UNDERSTANDING OF JUST TRANSITION IN PHILANTHROPY (20%)
● Partner with Just Transition national movement alliances who organize philanthropy to build a broader understanding of Just Transition among donors and staff of philanthropic institutions by participating in funder organizing spaces like funder assemblies.
● Amplify movement and philanthropic efforts working to facilitate a Just Transition to a philanthropic audience through writing, presenting at philanthropic events, and conducting 1:1 meetings with donors and staff of philanthropic organizations.
● Engage funder formations (e.g. philanthropic affinity groups & networks) who explicitly or have the potential to support Just Transition in communications and/or programming that increases the visibility of local, regenerative economies that transfer wealth and economic power to low-income communities of color.
● Work with Justice Funders’ Development team to develop and implement a resource development strategy to sustain this work at Justice Funders.

FACILITATE DEMOCRATIC/PARTICIPATORY GRANTMAKING (15%)
● In partnership with the Richmond Our Power Coalition, facilitate an annual democratic/participatory grantmaking process for the Richmond community in coordination with the Chorus Foundation and local grantmaking partner, the East Bay Community Foundation.

ADMINISTRATIVE (15%)
● This position will be responsible for their own administrative needs, including: booking own travel arrangements, scheduling meetings, preparing materials for amplification.
● Participate in all Justice Funders staff retreats, meetings, and political education sessions.
● Participate in monthly meetings of the Chorus Network Officers.
● Develop and implement an annual professional development plan for yourself.
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Skills, Qualifications, Experience:
● We are seeking an individual who has a deep understanding of the Just Transition Framework and familiarity with the connected strategies of building power and the development of regenerative economies.
● This position will require being adept in translating movement and Just Transition work to a philanthropic audience.
● This position will require previous experience working in philanthropy, and ideally with the design and facilitation of participatory grantmaking processes. The most qualified candidates will have previous experience as a funder organizer and have successfully organized capital and/or the political alignment of others in philanthropy.
● Experience in managing different forms of philanthropic capital is a plus.
● The nature of this position will require someone who is skillful in building and holding multiple relationships of complexity, and has a high degree of personal accountability and integrity to those relationships–rather than an automatic default to positions of power/hierarchy.
● Organizational skills that include project management and time management skills, with the ability to to adapt as needed, self-manage, and to prioritize between and manage multiple demands.
● Strong verbal and written communications skills; the ability to synthesize and clearly articulate ideas verbally and in writing.
● Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite and Google Online Office Tools.

Supervisory Responsibility: 
The Just Transition Organizer does not have any supervisorial responsibilities.

Expected Hours of Work: 
Standard days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Daily schedule is flexible within the proximity of this time frame, and will be decided in consultation with the Executive Director.

Travel: 
Occasional domestic travel may be required for meetings and conferences.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Position Type & Compensation: 
The Just Transition Organizer is a 100% FTE, hourly, non-exempt salaried position. Gross hourly wage is $38.47 (Estimate annual gross wage is $80,000).

Movement Strategy Center (fiscal sponsor)’s 100% FTE benefits package includes:
● 20 days vacation leave per year;
● 12 standard holidays and 2 personal days per year;
● 12 sick days per year;
● 1 week paid MSC family and medical leave after one year of service; an additional week of paid leave for each additional year of service, up to 4 weeks;
● Medical, vision, dental for employees and dependents (requires 30 day waiting period and a per paycheck employee contribution);
● 100% employer sponsored basic life, short-term and long-term disability insurance coverage;
● Access to a 403b retirement plan;
● Access to Flexible Spending Account and Commuter Benefits.
● Additionally, Justice Funders provides each staff member with paid professional development annually.

How To Apply

To apply, send a cover letter, resume, and 3 references to justicefunders@gmail.com with the subject line: Just Transition Organizer. Applications will be reviewed and interviews conducted on a rolling basis. Deadline to apply is October 30, 2020.

Justice Funders is a fiscally-sponsored project of the Movement Strategy Center (MSC). Justice Funders is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or belief, disability, gender, nationality, ethnicity, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by law. People of color, working-class people, differently-abled people, and LGBTQ persons are strongly encouraged to apply.

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