Job Title: Senior Organiser, South London Citizens

Grade, Salary: £40,127 + £3,000 London Weighting per annum

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

Contract: 14 months (parental leave cover May 22 – July 23)

Based: London (some remote working)

Citizens UK

Citizens UK is a people power alliance of diverse local communities working together for the common good. Our mission is to develop leaders, strengthen civic organisations and make change. Our 550 member communities are deeply rooted in their local areas and connect every day to the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Through the method of community organising we enable people experiencing powerlessness to develop their leadership and come together with the power and strategy to make change. 

This leads to hundreds of neighbourhood improvements - from zebra crossings outside primary schools to renovated public toilets in cemeteries. And it leads to some of the biggest campaign impacts in the UK, such as winning over £1.5 billion of wages through the UK Living Wage campaign, securing a legal cap on the cost of credit to control exploitative lending, and ending the detention of children for immigration purposes. We enable local campaigns to grow into large-scale social change projects such as the Living Wage Foundation, Parents and Communities Together (PACT), and Sponsor Refugees, that form an integral part of our theory of change. The most prominent of these is the rapidly growing Living Wage Foundation with a network of nearly 9,000 accredited Living Wage Employers across the UK. 

South London Citizens (SLC)

South London Citizens is the largest Citizens UK chapter with 13 professional community organisers and project managers and over 110 member organisations. We have strategic partnerships with King’s College London, South London and Maudsley NHS trust, Ark Start and The Brilliant Club and we are currently running campaigns on issues including housing, immigration status, temporary accommodation, and mental health.

Purpose

The Senior Organiser will work closely with the Lead Organiser to develop a strategy to build power and create change in South London. They will be responsible for line managing community organisers, working with community leaders to develop campaign plans, recruiting new member organisations, working with strategic partners, and delivering community organising training.

The ideal candidate would be excited about the prospect of building the power of civil society and working with faith, education, and community organisations. They will have confidence in developing the skills and leadership of professional staff and community leaders. They will have an anger for injustice and experience of working on campaigns as well as significant management experience. Experience of organising is desirable, but we are open to candidates with a passion for democracy with transferable skills.

Main Responsibilities

Working as the Senior Organiser in South London Citizens your main responsibilities will include:

Manage SLC Community Organisers:

• Line manage and oversee the professional development of 3-4 Community Organisers providing them with coaching, pastoral, and professional support  

• Arrange collective training opportunities for staff

Oversee the organising strategy of a SLC Strategic Partner:

• Work with colleagues to develop and oversee the organising strategy with one of South London Citizens’ Strategic partners

Work with SLC Leadership Team:

• Arrange quarterly meetings of the SLC Leadership Team

• Send monthly updates to the SLC Leadership Team

Build relational power to further CUK goals:

• Develop a comprehensive power analysis for South London

• Develop and grow strong working relationships with power players at a regional level or sector, incl. journalists; taking the initiative to establish new relationships as required

• Conduct 1-2-1s to develop relationships with leaders; demonstrating timely and effective agitation to stimulate action

• Work effectively with local journalists and media outlets to further Citizen UK’s goals

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

• Work with and learn from the best veteran leaders on key actions

• Play a central role in the development of primary leaders; creating plans with them that are carried out

• Nominate 10 leaders for Regional training and 5 leaders for National Training per annum

Strengthen institutions and develop BBOs:

• Organise a diverse alliance to work together at chapter level

• Develop a leadership team of representatives from several institutions at chapter level or a regional/national campaign that is successful in combining action with growth

• Design organising strategies that combine internal and external action

Support leaders through the Cycle of Action to create change:

• Take the staff lead on chapter-wide actions and campaigns; aiming to achieve significant wins at chapter/campaign level

• Facilitate Issues Workshops and Delegates Assemblies.

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

• Support actions, ensuring publicity, and facilitating high level 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

• Recruit and work with large organisations; ensuring that they invest into the alliance and not solely internal delivery

• Contribute to fundraising by securing £75k-£90k pa overall, at least half to be ‘hard money’ from retention and recruitment of member institutions and strategic partners.

Contribute to effective teamwork:

• Attract and help recruit new Community Organisers

• Lead other Organisers in a manner that supports high performance by providing clear expectations and providing proactive coaching, support, and accountability.

• Teach the community organising  curriculum on National or Regional Training successfully; acting as a ‘Track Captain’ by providing meaningful feedback and support to other trainers

• Deliver sessions at a Guild Day

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

Contribute to the Craft of Community Organising:

• 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 to the preparation, delivery and evaluation of Citizens UK National Community Leadership Training;

• Contribute to the leadership of 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

Requirements

(E) Essential

(D) Desirable

QUALIFICATIONS

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

EXPERIENCE

• At least three-years employment track record of successful Organising (D)

• Demonstrated ability to lead a team; including motivating and developing more junior staff (E)

• Experience of risk taking to create a project/ situation/event that illustrates your values (E)

• Experience of successful fundraising (E)

• Ability to manage complex projects on time and to standard (E)

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

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

  Skills & Knowledge:

• 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 (E)

• 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 undertaken on a 3-year cycle.

Guidance for answering sift questions

We are not interested in how well you can write — we are interested in the stories you have (whether professional or personal/ informal roles) that demonstrate you have something to offer. If you feel you have something to offer us, even if you're not sure you tick every box, please do reach out and we'd love to talk about whether the role is right for you