Student Organizer at Public Citizen – Washington, District of Columbia

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Public Citizen seeks an energetic leader with strong organization and interpersonal skills to serve as Student Organizer for our Democracy Campaign. The Student Organizer will report to the Democracy Team Manager and is one of two student-focused staff on the team. They will build a student organizing program with a special consideration towards college campuses (which are currently under attack by the Trump administration).

The program will engage young people in strategic and concerted action to oppose the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine our democracy and the rule of law, target vulnerable populations, undermine essential programs and attack institutions of civil society. The Student Organizer will connect with others in the student-democracy space and work collaboratively. They will develop and run a thoughtful and strategic student focused program that engages young people across the country in resisting the administration’s anti-democratic efforts through the lens of the issues that matter most to them right now.

Public Citizen’s Democracy Campaign works to protect and build a stronger democracy in the United States. Democracy and the rule of law in the United States is under systematic attack by the Trump administration. Big money raised in secret undermines the voice of the people in our elections, the freedom to vote is under assault, and lawlessness by the executive branch is increasing. We are working to mobilize people en masse and on strategic campaigns to protect the foundation of our democracy.

Public Citizen is a national, non-partisan, public interest group with more than one million members and supporters. We hold governments and corporations accountable with campaigns and advocacy before all branches of government on issues including money in politics, open government, financial regulation, the democracy crisis, fair trade, consumer protection, access to justice, workplace safety, drug and medical device safety, and more.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• (25%) Outreach & Recruitment: The Student Organizer will outreach & build relationships and strategic partnerships with youth leaders and campus-based groups in the student democracy/student organizing space. They will assess the landscape and identify areas where our student campaign can be the most supportive. They will travel to recruit new student leaders and help to convene student organizing partners in strategizing and collaborating to resist the Trump administration's attacks on campuses, democracy, and the rule of law.
• (40%) Coaching Student Leaders & Managing Interns: The ideal candidate should understand how to support students, through regular training and coaching, to assertively recruit hundreds of new students into the movement, and how to develop leaders and sustain student engagement semester to semester. The organizer will also play a key role in a summer events program in DC and training programs to energize students to organize their campuses in the fall. Finally, this position will manage a cohort of interns focused on supporting the student program.
• (15%) Communications: The Student Organizer will lead on coordinating digital and traditional communications internally and in coalitions for the campaign. This includes supporting campus-based groups in promoting their organizing to campus/local press and on social media — with the overall goal of showing that students are united in organizing against authoritarian attacks on their rights.
• (20%) Program Development: They will design, plan, and implement a student training & organizing program that engages young people, in ways that are meaningful to them, to organize their schools and communities to oppose the Trump Administration’s attacks on student rights, college funding, and our wider democracy. They will thoughtfully and strategically develop and implement plans to grow young people’s engagement on campuses and elsewhere in the democracy movement at this moment.
• Role and responsibilities may shift over time.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Three or more years of relevant strategic student organizing and mobilizing work.
• Experience running & winning a campus-level campaign around student rights.
• Experience designing and implementing winning student campaigns including planning large mobilizations, ideally across multiple locations, recruiting new students in large numbers on campus and training large numbers of students in mobilizing and strategic organizing.
• Strong organizational, planning and leadership skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Passion for ending the democracy crisis and advancing racial and economic justice.
• Independence and strong self motivation.
• Ability to lead, support, coach and manage other people including interns and campus-based leaders.
• Desire to create a more inclusive movement - approach with love and joy. We actively seek activists and partners we may disagree with, because we know we want to disagree within a democracy.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, balance multiple projects and execute plans while reacting to new developments and maintaining accuracy.
• Collaborative team player
• High energy, enthusiasm and openness to learning new skills and organizing models
• Willingness to travel to visit students on campus regularly, and to work long hours as necessary - balancing our team’s strong commitment to both work life balance and grassroots mobilizing that by necessity happens nights and weekends.
• Is skilled with data management, graphic design, short-form social media videos, grassroots training, and creative action tactics.

Competitive salary and generous benefit package. Below is a list of some of our benefits (please note that some benefits have eligibility requirements). This is a two year position. Salary range: $70,114 to $101,455

Benefits include:

• Great medical and dental coverage, 100% paid by PC, including full coverage for children
• Three weeks paid vacation for new employees, plus five personal days
• 401K plan with a 5% contribution from PC after one year of employment
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave after one year of employment
• Sabbatical after 10 years of employment
• Student loan reimbursement program

TO APPLY:

Please send cover letter and resume to democracy@citizen.org