Senior Organiser

Citizens UK

Citizens UK is a people power alliance of diverse local communities working together for the common good. We aim 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 £2 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, Parent Action, 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 over 14,000 accredited Living Wage Employers across the UK.

Liverpool Citizens

Liverpool Citizens will be one of the newest chapters of Citizens UK. It has a current membership of seventeen diverse civil society organisations who are committed to working together for the common good. The independent alliance will train civil society leaders to run winning campaigns on a range of issues affecting people’s lives. The alliance is yet to agree its priority campaigns but early emerging themes include the cost of living, housing, and transport among others.

Purpose

As a Senior Organiser for Liverpool Citizens, you will bring communities together to drive change. This role will work closely with local civic institutions, such as churches, mosques, synagogues, schools, universities, housing associations, NHS Trusts, and community groups to:

• develop the leadership of people within those organisations - the 'leaders' who lead the campaigns we work on
• help them identify the changes they want to see and create strategies to win those changes
• strengthen organisations’ own abilities to achieve their missions.

This includes listening to members of the community to find common issues and then planning strategy and action to engage decision-makers to hold them to account. All of this work is underpinned by the knowledge that everyday people have the ability to shape the world around them. This work will be rooted locally, but you will be a part of a bigger national drive to make change alongside diverse local alliances across the UK.

Main Responsibilities

Working as the Senior Organiser in Liverpool for Citizens UK your main responsibilities will be to:

• Build strong working relationships with a diverse range of people, from those at the grassroots to senior leaders of member organisations to politicians, journalists and funders
• Support diverse leaders from Liverpool Citizens members to make change, through coaching, training and action
• Develop ambitious winning campaigns for social justice and the common good
• Develop and implement strategy and workplans with a wide range of member organisations like schools, universities, faith communities, charities to enable them to win campaigns together
• Bring new member organisations into the alliance and develop new partnerships with large organisations
• Raise money through membership income and grants from trusts and foundations and manage a budget to ensure the alliance is financially sustainable
• Manage political relationships locally and regionally
• Deliver training in the method of community organising
• Deepen your professional practice in community organising and support the development of others

You will be part of a dynamic and diverse staff team at Citizens UK and we will support you to succeed. Your development in the role will be a priority for us. We will provide consistent line management support and opportunities for learning & development including formal training, shadowing, peer learning, observation and feedback.

Person Specification

Our ideal candidate has high emotional intelligence, is curious about other people, politically astute, and is fundamentally relational. They will have an interest in social justice and track record of making things happen. They will be able to work hard with a high degree of independence, are comfortable with uncertainty, and able to think strategically as well as operationally.  They will be interested in understanding and working with different sectors and types of organisations, as well as engaging with people from a wide range of faiths and cultures which are different to their own. They are an excellent communicator. They will learn and teach the craft of broad-based organising and be interested in receiving feedback to support their own development and growth. They will build and maintain relationships with a large number of leaders across the city region and coach them to take action together on a common agenda.

If you have questions and would like to understand more about the role, we’re available to have an informal conversation. Please contact stefan.baskerville@citizensuk.org with subject line ‘Senior Organiser Liverpool Citizens.’

Please see below for details of the person specification.

(D) Desirable, (E) Essential

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s degree in any subject (D)

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

EXPERIENCE:

• At least 3 years previous campaign/community organising experience (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)
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects on time and to standard (E)
• Clear evidence of campaigns won and people developed (D)

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 (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 self-starter with ability to take initiative and work independently (E)
• A passion for justice (E)
• A positive enthusiasm for working with faith congregations, schools, trade unions, and other community organisations (E)
• An interest in 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.

Interviews are planned to take place on Wednesday, 24th April (subject to change).