Organizing Fellow Opportunities

SPRING TERM 2022

Interviews will be conducted mid February 2022 for an 11-week term beginning March 21.

“The work I am doing with Sister District gives me an opportunity to engage with others who share my goals of electing Democrats and improving the lives of millions of Americans. With each and every phone call, I had a chance to share that opportunity with our volunteers.”

–Michael Davis, Organizing Fellow Spring 2020

GENERAL SUMMARY

At 5.5 hours per week over 11 weeks, Fellows will assist Organizing Department staff in creating new volunteer teams and supporting the continued capacity development of existing teams nationwide. Fellows will learn and hone vital field organizing skills with the support of seasoned campaign operatives with a combined three decades of experience in advocacy and electoral organizing. All work is performed via remote communication using Google Suite, phone, Zoom conference calls, email, and text. Time commitment is 5.5 hours per week, including one 30-minute 1:1 call with staff cohort leader and one 30-minute cohort reporting call each week, both via Zoom. The specific work schedule is flexible. $907.50 stipend.

BACKGROUND

Sister District’s 70+ volunteer teams provide grassroots (usually remote) field and fundraising support to progressive state legislative candidates to build Democratic majorities at the state level. We continue to build robust and effective teams to maximally help elect candidates in 2022. Fellows have a significant role to play.

RESPONSIBILITIES

In collaboration with Organizing Department staff, Fellows will:

• Learn and carry out field-proven best practices for volunteer leader recruitment and team-building
• Draft and edit effective recruitment scripts for phone, text, email
• Recruit new leaders and assist with capacity projects for multiple existing teams
• Develop strategy, goals, and tactics with a focus on creativity, continuous improvement

PROGRAM STRUCTURE

• First week: Orientation, training. As a group, two 60-minute training sessions lead by Head of Organizing to learn and practice recruitment method.
• Organizing weeks: 4.5 hours a week creating/iterating/executing project plans; plus weekly 30-minute group strategy/update calls and weekly 30-minute 1:1 calls with staff cohort leader
• Final week: project wrap-up and handoff, progress-to-goal review, program evaluation

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

This position is focused on organizing through personal connection and conversation. Specific campaign experience is not required – if you are a people person who wants to become an organizer, or an organizer who wants to improve your recruitment and team-building skills, we encourage you to apply. We are seeking applicants who are strong writers and copy-editors, good listeners, enjoy meeting new people, and do well talking on the phone. Applicants should be patient and diligent, and able to deliver compelling messages that are uniquely tailored to each volunteer. Most of all, applicants must be passionate about helping individuals become activists. Must be fluent in Google Suite (e.g., Google Sheets, Google Docs).

TIME COMMITMENT & LOGISTICS

• 5.5 hours per week – Fellows design and keep their own schedule
• Work remotely
• Attend weekly 30-minute call with cohort and staff cohort leader
• Attend weekly 30-minute call with staff cohort leader
• Must have personal computer and phone for calls and texts
• We use the Google Suite to track our work and Slack to communicate
• $907.50 stipend ($453.75 at half way mark, $453.75 at end of the term)

HOW TO APPLY

Please send your resume and cover letter as PDF doc attachments to careers@sisterdistrict.com with subject line “Organizing Fellow.” Format the file titles as follows: firstname_lastname_stateofresidenceabbreviation_cover and firstname_lastname_stateofresidenceabbreviation_resume, e.g. Neal_Morgan_OR_cover & Neal_Morgan_OR_resume. Your cover letter will in itself be a writing sample. Please discuss in your letter:

• Why you are interested in this role
• How you found out about this role
• What experiences indicate your ability to connect with prospective volunteers, make compelling invitations to motivate their engagement, and help them make their way into leadership roles

For other opportunities for groups and individuals, check out Sister District Affiliates, Student Opportunities, and our State Bridges program.

For non-partisan research based opportunities, please check out the Sister District Action Network led by Dr. Mallory Roman!

Sister District values a multicultural, diverse working environment. Applicants of diverse backgrounds are welcomed and encouraged to apply.