community organizer job announcement

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COMMON GOOD  JOB ANNOUNCEMENT 

Community Organizer – Full-time in Missoula, Montana

Common Good Missoula is a group of nonpartisan, proactive, everyday people dedicated to making Missoula a  better place for all to live and thrive. We are a broad-based organization rooted in our 20 member  organizations, which are faith congregations, labor unions, neighborhood and community groups. We are currently working to grow our organizing power, create opportunities for just and affordable housing, consider climate, make sure the voices of everyday residents are heard and included in the complete growth policy update and zoning reform process in the City of Missoula, and take steps towards truth and reconciliation with Indigenous  people and communities. We are a non-profit supported by the dues of our member organizations,  individuals, and foundations. We are affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), a coalition of  broad-based community organizing groups across the United States, the UK, Germany, Canada,  Australia, and New Zealand. 

At Common Good, we know that by working together we have the power to change our communities  for the better. We develop the diverse voices and leaders of our community, building relationships across religious,  racial, class, and neighborhood lines. We do more than just sign petitions and protest. We take action.  

Common Good Missoula, in partnership with the City of Missoula, has created an innovative public/government alliance aimed to create a truly inclusive, united vision for the future of Missoula. Citizen engagement is at the heart of this ground-breaking initiative as part of our campaign for a just, equitable, and connected community. 

Since September 2019, Common Good Missoula has been actively engaging individual citizens and working with over 20 member organizations: neighborhood associations, healthcare centers, faith communities, nonprofits, local businesses, and local government to develop an understanding of the unique needs and challenges Missoulians face. This broad-based approach to community organizing led us to the realization that we need to work intimately with the City of Missoula to integrate our residents’ needs into the very fabric of city planning.

The Our Missoula City Growth Policy is the policy document that guides growth and development here in Missoula. The City is preparing to update this policy, inclusive of zoning and code reform. Through our alliance, Common Good Missoula will ensure that a shared vision of a sustainable, livable community, with abundant and affordable housing options, a diversified economy, improved infrastructure, and environmental quality for all, is reflected in every aspect of this citizen-led code reform. 

The Community Organizer is primarily responsible for working on the Common Good Missoula Campaign for a Just, Equitable and Connectected Community through the Our Missoula Project within the structure of Broad-Based Community Organizing as an IAF Affiliate and to work with the Welcoming Neighbors Network as a partner. This is an opening for either a Tryout Organizer or Associate Organizer as typically defined by Industrial Areas Foundation Affiliates.

The Essential Responsibilities of the Community Organizer are to: 

  • Set up and conduct 20 to 30 relational meetings a week.
  • Work with 10 to 20 units at a time and work with a cluster of institutions on the campaign
  • Broker and cultivate a relationship between leaders in their units and the lead organizer and other primary leaders.
  • Clearly understand and articulate the purpose of the organization.
  • Begin developing judgment regarding what a leader looks like.
  • Follow the Iron Rule (don’t do for others what they can do for themselves).
  • Begin to learn how to train leaders and/or bring them into training sessions of Common Good Missoula.
  • Begin to learn how to do a power analysis of an institution and/or community.
  • Begin to generate local action through working with leaders to identify, research, and cut an issue that leads to local action and evaluation.
  • Contribute to the success of larger organizational training or actions and demonstrate the ability to initiate as part of the larger organizing team, including but not limited to Action Research Team meetings, House Meetings, door knocking, accountability sessions, and delegates assemblies.
  • Work with Common Good Missoula-affiliated community organizers to achieve collective goals.
  • Identify and create relationships of trust with leaders and demonstrate the ability to develop them.
  • Identify and create trusting public relationships with key community leaders identified through power analysis.
  • Develop core teams in local units and think/act with them regarding the missions of their institutions and the work of Common Good Missoula.
  • Demonstrate a willingness to learn from supervisor and others; take constructive critiques and show an ability to learn from experience.
  • Write weekly reports for the Lead Organizer that synthesize of what they are doing and learning, complete reading/reflection assignments for organizer meetings, and be an active participant in supervision and organizer meetings.
  • Maintain a consistent work schedule and a healthy personal life; drawing on supervision appropriately to discuss/negotiate tensions.     
  • Take part in IAF National Training.
  • Work with our partner, the Welcoming Neighbors Network.

Ideally, the Community Organizer will also be able to: 

  • Become literate in the mission and social traditions of various units and become useful to key            institutional leaders in thinking about their application;
  • Integrate and use the IAF organizing universals in local training sessions, relational meetings, actions, and organizer meetings;
  • Continue learning and deepening political thinking and be able to do an in-depth power analysis on an issue or on a significant segment of the community; 
  • Generate and gain experience with local training and action, as well as grow in the initiation of and responsibility for organization-wide training and action;                      
  • Begin learning about the fiscal and legal side of the organization and have success  carrying out assignments to help raise money; and          
  • Take part in IAF National Training, IAFNW Regional Initiatives, training and retreats, IEF Professional Development Opportunities.             

Important Qualities for the Organizer to possess are: 

  1. Innate Intelligence – not a specific degree, but the ability to think critically, reflect,  problem solve, communicate, challenge conventional wisdom, make judgments in complicated situations,  and show flexibility 
  2. Cold Anger – not temper that leads to violence but the light burning within people because they recognize and act on what is wrong in the world 
  3. Relationality, Especially Across Race, Culture and Political Ideology – ability to build deep trust with people,  especially people unlike oneself; examples are people of other races, classes, orientations,  faiths, etc. 
  4. A Track Record of Taking Action – evidence in school, the local community, or the workplace of  attempting to relate to people and to respond to situations that seemed to demand responses;  and success in whatever field or career or endeavor has occupied the individual’s time 
  5. Hustle – self-starter, reliable, hard worker, with an appetite for learning and possessing a  mature and healthy-enough ego to sustain accountability and critique 
  6. Expert Communicator - effective, well-honed oral and written communication skills

Requirements: 

  • Demonstrates the important qualities of a Community Organizer 
  • Industrial Areas Foundation regional and national training or commitment to obtain this  training if hired 
  • Computer skills, including Google Suite and Zoom 
  • Ability to work in both in-person and virtual settings
  • Access to a car

 Preferred Qualifications of the Organizer include: 

  • Experience with Common Good Missoula
  • Specific experience in IAF organizing
  • Experience training IAF organizing
  • Experience in leadership development 
  • Experience in providing training in community-based settings 
  • Experience in planning, organizing, and taking action at small and large community events
  • Experience with Nationbuilder
  • Passion for housing issues
  • Passion for neighborhood planning

At Common Good, we practice relational organizing, which means that if you are interested in this work, we want to get to know you. We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every qualification.  

Salary and Benefits: 

  • Salary range for this position: $50,000-$55,000, depending on training and experience
  • Full family insurance (includes health, vision, dental, ad&d and life) 
  • Generous paid  time off for sick, personal, family leave, vacation and holidays 

Equal Employment Opportunity: 

Common Good Montana and Common Good Missoula are equal-opportunity employers, which do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity, or disability. 

Complementary Organizations: 

This position will initially be hired by Common Good Montana, the non-profit organization working in conjunction with Common Good Missoula. A time-share agreement may be entered between organizations for this position.

Date of Opening: 

This position is available beginning immediately. The position will remain open until filled. 

To Apply: 

Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions about the position.

Interested applicants are invited to submit a cover letter by November 12 , 2023 at 11:59pm, outlining relevant experience,  resume, and three references to: [email protected] 


Please use the subject line: 2023 CGM Organizer Application