Job Title: Community Organiser

Salary: £31,479 per annum

Hours: 37.5 hours per week (flexibility available and some unsociable hours required)

Contract: Two Year Fixed Term Contract

Deadline: 25 November 2021 at 10am

interview Date: TBC

Based: Birmingham

The role is full-time, spending three days as a Community Organiser on the ‘Pathways to Enterprising Futures’ Programme, and the remaining two days as a Community Organiser within the Birmingham chapter.

Citizens UK

Citizens UK organises communities to act together for power, social justice and the common good. We are the home of broad-based community organising in the UK, with a growing number of diverse civil society alliances across England and Wales. We build powerful alliances that develop the leadership capacity of our members so they can hold politicians and other decision-makers to account on the issues that matter to them. Citizens UK also creates systemic change through projects such as the Living Wage Foundation, PACT and Sponsor Refugees. Please visit our website at: www.citizensuk.org 

About Pathways to Enterprising Futures

Pathways to Enterprising Futures (PEF) is an innovative approach to opening pathways and supporting enterprise skills for ethnic minority communities in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP (GBS LEP) area, blending cutting edge research and outstanding links with diverse communities and building on work with highly credible intermediaries who are leaders in their field in a co-created programme of support.

The project will work with three partners, Aston University, ACH and Punch Records to deliver outreach activities to engage with people from diverse backgrounds, in ‘hard-to-reach’ communities, and ensure they have the opportunity and know how to start a business, helping them move closer to self-employment or employment and improving diversity and representation in GBS LEP’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

This will be achieved through a number of diverse activities including identifying economically inactive or unemployed people in ethnic minority communities who are open to building their skills and engaging in enterprise activity, listening, and consulting with them about their interests, skills, opportunities and barriers and offering them a range of support services. The support services will include one-to-one support, ‘boot camps’ delivered in communities and online, peer networks.

The project will be underpinned by an action research framework and will provide research evidence to policy makers about the skills and business support needs of especially women entrepreneurs, and a template for operating accessible support and networks for women from ethnic minority communities who face barriers to enterprise and entrepreneurship.

Purpose

Community Organiser for the Pathways to Enterprising Futures Programme

As a Community Organiser, you will be responsible for meeting the Citizens UK objectives and outputs of this programme by working with member institutions, partners, and other stakeholders to engage with people who are identified as economically inactive or unemployed from diverse ethnic minority communities. You will plan and deliver activities and actions which enable them to attain skills, secure employment or become an entrepreneur.

Community Organiser for the Birmingham Chapter

A Community Organiser is responsible for the day-to-day development or maintenance of a Citizens alliance or small chapter. Supported by a more experienced Organiser, they have considerable independence and responsibility for external political and media relationships. They take responsibility for financial issues and staff training; and may oversee a budget or manage a colleague. A Community Organiser is a practitioner of the craft of broad-based community organising methodology, and focuses on the building of relational power, the recruitment and retention of dues-paying institutions, the development of leaders, the strengthening of member institutions, leader-led public actions, and the winning of systemic change.

Main Responsibilities

Working as a Community Organiser on the Pathways to Enterprising Futures Programme your main responsibilities will include:

Project Setup, Management and Delivery:

• Manage and support the delivery of the project including, outreach activities, events and workshops, assistance to beneficiaries, and mitigating risks/issues

• Be responsible for spending budgets in line with agreed ESF budget ensuring compliant procurement processes

• Complete quarterly claims in conjunction with the ESF Project Accountant within Aston University’s finance team

• Meet project objectives and achieve outputs and results in line with the forecast

• Attend monthly Operations Team meetings for the project and contribute to reports for the quarterly Steering Group meetings

• Work closely with the academic lead and the action researcher involved in the project

Marketing and Communications:

• Manage the promotion of the project including producing a range of marketing materials and devising and implementing a marketing plan in adherence to ESIF guidelines

• Build an external reputation of the projects with key partners, referral organisations and within existing entrepreneur support networks

• Ensure the quality of communications with the project teams, partners and all external and internal stakeholders

Working as a Community Organiser in Birmingham for Citizens UK your main responsibilities will include:

Build relational power to further the goals of CUK:

• Develop a comprehensive power analysis for Birmingham

• Develop and grow a substantial network of key influencers at a local level, including journalists; taking the initiative to establish new relationships as required

• Conduct at least 3 one-to-ones a day in order to develop relationships with leaders; ensuring a deep understanding of their concerns.

• Tell a wide range of Community Organising stories effectively to influence others and achieve CUK’s goals

Identify and develop relational leaders prepared to act with others for the common good:

• Identify and discern actual and potential leaders with the passion and ability to drive change

• Achieve significant development of primary and secondary leaders; nominate new leaders for training on the core taster curriculum and for National Training

• Successfully lead training on the core taster curriculum at a local level and teach a variety of sessions on the National Training course

Strengthen institutions and develop BBOs:

• Ensure good understanding of the basic interests and traditions of typical member institutions

• Organise a full local alliance or a large cluster of up to 15 standard member organisations or up to 5 strategic partners to work together on shared issues, including a Leadership Team

• Support pre-existing core teams and create/develop new core teams to provide leadership for multi-institutional campaigns

Run institutional development campaigns in a range of types of organisation

Support leaders through the Cycle of Action to create change

• Take the staff lead on major actions and campaigns at a local level; aiming to achieve multiple large local wins

• Develop and facilitate action planning teams at local level

• Develop strategies for significant local impact; with comprehensive plans and tactics

• Organise and support local actions, ensuring publicity, and facilitating negotiations

• Evaluate the effectiveness of actions; demonstrating ability to incorporate lessons learned into future actions

Contribute to CUK’s financial viability through effective fundraising & financial management

• Recruit new dues paying institutions; negotiating annual membership fees and letters of understanding as required

• Contribute to fundraising by securing £40k-£60k pa overall, at least half of which must be ‘hard money’ from the recruitment and retention of member institutions.

• Manage the budget at Chapter/campaign level, incl. setting/ monitoring of budgets, and ensuring dues are collected in a timely manner

Contribute to effective teamwork

• Be proactive concerning personal professional development and wellbeing; i.e. by reading widely, developing a healthy work-life balance and demonstrating ability to reflect on own organising craft and improve on self-identified weaknesses

• Demonstrate ability to work effectively with colleagues and participate in a team; contribute to the learning of other Organisers

• Lead other Organisers or Associates in a manner that supports high performance by providing clear expectations and providing proactive support, encouragement and mentorship

• Produce all required reports and follow CUK’s procedures on time and to the required standards

Participate in the development of the craft of Community Organising and play a role in the Guild of COs

• Schedule an average of at least 3 1-2-1 relational meetings into your daily schedule as a core part of your professional practice

• ·Commit 10 working days pa (pro rata for part-time staff) to the preparation, delivery and evaluation of Citizens UK National Community Leadership Training;

• Participate in a Guild Team and help it develop as a Community of Practice that enables Organisers across the UK to develop their skills and experience.

 Person Specification (E=Essential, D=Desirable)

 Qualification

• Bachelor’s degree in any subject (D)

• Evidence of further and continuing study including a possible professional qualification (D)

EXPERIENCE

• Proven employment track record of successful Organising (E)

• Experience of carrying out a power analysis and using the results to initiate new relationships (E)

• Experience of successful fundraising (E)

• Experience of setting up a new or consolidating an existing project (E)

• Clear evidence of campaigns won and volunteers developed (E)

KEY SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

• Ability to inspire, motivate and lead (particularly people who are different than you) (E)

• Ability to organise yourself and others and to work responsibly in an unstructured environment (E)

• Financial management skills including ability to set and manage a budget (D)

• Ability to use imaginative strategies to help improve disadvantaged communities (E)

• Ability to plan and organise under pressure (E)

• Ability to work with and relate to all types of people (E)

• Ability to teach and run workshops (E)

• Ability to develop the potential of others (E)

• Ability to communicate well verbally and in writing (E)

PERSONAL QUALITIES & VALUES

• A passion for justice (E)

• A positive enthusiasm for working with faith congregations, trade unions, schools and other community organisations (E)

• An interest in and experience of politics and public life (E)

• Able to work in a team (E)

• Willingness to work within accountable relationships (E)

• Self-motivated and adaptable (E)

The successful applicant will be required to undertake a satisfactory Enhanced DBS check. DBS checks are renewed on a 3-year cycle.