Help wanted: ROP is hiring!

Rural Organizing Project (ROP) is a non-partisan statewide organization dedicated to strengthening autonomous, all-volunteer small-town and rural groups committed to creating communities that uphold a standard of human dignity: the belief in the equal worth of all people and the need for equal access to justice. Founded in 1992, ROP has over 60 active member groups in 31 counties across Oregon.

We are seeking a full-time organizer to build the capacity of autonomous human dignity groups to engage in impactful local organizing in several counties across rural and frontier Oregon.

The position includes the following areas of responsibility:

• Relationship Building and Capacity Building: Develop strong working relationships with rural leaders and offer support that builds the capacity of each ROP member group. We define capacity as the ability for a human dignity group to create change through base-building and grassroots organizing. Key support from ROP includes assistance in building and troubleshooting the core structures needed for a strong group, including a named leadership team, a growing base of supporters, communications systems to communicate with supporters, and an action plan.
• Organizing: Work closely with the entire staff team to develop, communicate, and support local groups to identify local campaign opportunities, objectives, and targets. Facilitate member groups in developing local strategy, tactics, outreach, and mobilization. Coordinate the program, outreach, and logistics for meetings, actions, and strategic gatherings.
• Communications: Capture and share stories and resources from strategic local organizing. Develop innovative tools and resources with members for distribution across our network and beyond to break rural isolation. Lead and support colleagues in creatively engaging member groups in key program areas through organizational communications systems, media work, conference calls, and webinars.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to use grassroots organizing to build community, develop leadership, and contest for power with leaders who are most impacted by inequity. Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with volunteer leaders over multiple years.
• At least 3 years of community organizing experience. We recognize that rural organizing is desperately underfunded and that the majority of the work is done on a volunteer basis.
• Stellar personal organization skills. If your calendar is always up-to-date, your notes are color-coded, and you find long to-do lists energizing, we want to talk to you! There’s a lot to keep track of in this role, and nothing can fall through the cracks.
• Strong public speaking, written and verbal communication, and group facilitation skills. Staff often present to groups, facilitate strategy sessions, lead workshops and trainings, write up stories about local organizing and action opportunities in email newsletters to our members, and start challenging conversations with our member groups.
• Emotional maturity and humility. ROP organizers need to be masters in the art of understanding the difference between what people say and what they mean. We rely on local leaders to be experts in their communities and ROP organizers need to be able to “read the room” and adapt, recognize unspoken boundaries, intently listen and learn, and understand when it is time to apologize and take accountability.
• Constructive optimism. While we are creating possible solutions to remedy deep structural issues, rural Oregonians are winning incremental victories, sometimes big and sometimes small. We believe that anyone can make meaningful change in their communities and that everyone has something to give to the movement.
• Resourcefulness. Rural Oregonians pride ourselves on being able to patch together solutions from what we find around us, even if that’s baling wire and bubblegum. Successful organizers at ROP are able to identify opportunities and resources to best support our members and aren’t afraid to ask for help from unsuspecting allies.
• Skills and experience proactively setting priorities and goals, self-managing, problem-solving, and working independently to achieve shared organizational goals. Proven ability to complete high-quality work on shared timelines and operate in a fast-paced environment.
• Confidence using word processing, spreadsheet, and Google Suite applications.
• Must be able to drive.

Desired Skills and Qualifications

• Verbal and written fluency in Spanish.
• Staff, intern, or fellow supervision skills and experience.
• Office management skills including volunteer recruitment, training, supervision, and retention.
• Experience with CRMs, Slack, Dropbox, and WordPress.
• Fundraising skills and experience.
• Graphic design and layout skills.

Time Commitment
This position is full-time and exempt, with an average commitment of 40 hours per week required. As exempt, this position is not entitled to overtime pay. This position includes significant and frequent travel to work with local human dignity groups, to participate in regular staff retreats, and to work occasionally out of ROP’s offices around the state. Flexibility in hours is needed to support rural leaders, including night and weekend work as needed. Most travel is planned several weeks in advance and ROP has policies in place to ensure that staff work sustainable hours.

Salary, Benefits, and Staff Resources
Salary is $36,000-48,000 annually based on experience. Excellent benefits including 100% coverage of health and dental premiums, paid sick leave, vacation, holidays, 12-week sabbatical, employer-matched IRA, caregiver travel policies to support staff who are primary caregivers, and staff development budget for training and support. Organizing staff have access to a pool of well-maintained ROP vehicles, provided the technology needed to perform their job duties, and provided a budget to set up an ergonomic home office and/or to rent and establish a field office in their rural community.

To Apply
Applications will be reviewed as we receive them and applicants will be contacted on a rolling basis. To apply, please email a letter of interest, resume, three references, and the following application to jess@rop.org:

1. Why are you interested in working with ROP? What do you hope to learn from working with ROP and our members?
2. What experience do you have with community organizing? What organizations have you been involved with and what was your role?
3. What do you feel you can bring to the work with rural Oregonians and why?
4. Please give two concrete examples from your organizing experience that demonstrate your approach, philosophy, or beliefs about organizing with communities facing inequity.
5. How do you feel you meet the Skills and Qualifications criteria? What strengths do you most have to offer to ROP as part of our staff team?
6. What systems and tools do you use to keep yourself and your work organized?
7. If hired, would you be able to commit to working with ROP for at least two years?

Rural Organizing Project (ROP) is an equal employment opportunity employer. ROP prohibits unlawful discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, age, national origin, genetic characteristics, disability, status as a special disabled veteran or veteran, marital status, sexual orientation, sexual identity, or any other basis prohibited by law.

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