ABOUT THE ROLE
Contextual Note:
Under Our Time To Act’s commitment to housing justice there are three teams: Eliminating Exclusionary Zoning, Enacting Social Housing, and Ending Youth Homelessness. Elimination of Exclusionary Zoning and Enacting Social Housing teams must utilize grassroots organizing to achieve their goals, and the staff on these teams will be primarily focused on building skills in organizing. Ending Youth Homelessness team members will primarily utilize skills in research and advocacy to achieve their goals, but may also be expected to learn a more diverse skill set to assist other teams. For more information about the responsibilities of each of the Housing Justice Teams, please see this chart.
In your application, please rank the different projects in the final response box before your signature and submission. Through your application and interview process, you will be selected to direct one of these teams.
Job Summary:
Housing Justice Directors will build and practice skills related to organizing, mobilizing, and advocating for housing justice at the grassroots level and leading their teams in strategizing for and executing these efforts. This will be achieved with peer-to-peer learning and leadership opportunities. Housing Justice Directors will lead their teams in strategizing weekly, monthly, and yearly goals for their focus area, planning events, campaigns, and actions, and delegating necessary tasks to their direct reports. Additionally, they will communicate frequently with the other Housing Justice Directors, the full OTTA Director team, and the Executive Director. You will be primarily responsible for managing your direct team members and your focus area.
Job Details:
Plan, attend, and lead weekly working and check-in meetings with the Housing Justice Team Members on your project team.
Attend monthly full-team meetings with all Housing Justice Teams.
Attend all additional meetings and events determined mandatory by your project team.
Attend all relevant meetings and events for Our Time To Act as determined by the Office of the Executive Director.
Be prepared to research and become familiar with topics related to housing, transportation, and land-use policy.
Be prepared to learn, grow, and practice skills of grassroots organizing.
Strategize for and co-create educational materials, campaigns, direct actions, etc.
Lead in planning, preparation, and execution of community events, tabling, and other direct actions.
Practice successful active communication with colleagues, direct reports, and supervisors and timely completion of assigned tasks and expectations.
Communicate our mission, and project focus area effectively and professionally with community members and the press.
Participate in grant-writing for project or focus area related proposals.
Manage direct reports through consistent and regular communication, providing feedback utilizing radical candor, and proper task delegation.
Provide other assistance as needed.
Bring your full self and your passion to your work, and actively contribute to the Housing Justice and Our Time To Act team with authentic leadership.
Hours Per Week:
Approximately 15-25 hours per week. These hours are mostly flexible except for required weekly meetings. During specific campaigns or running up to events, hours may increase and become less flexible. You are not expected to work late hours, and some weekends may be required, especially for some events. A director position does require additional capacity and comes with an expectation of greater consistency in organizational activities internally and externally.
Pay Rate:
No Pay Rate, Volunteer Position
Benefits:
This position is on a volunteer basis. There is no monetary compensation for this position at this time. Our Time To Act deeply values the potential for personal and career development and strives to uplift its team members to best position them for their bright futures. Non-monetary benefits include:
Tailored work experience and growth to fit your desired career path
Informal and formal training and mentorship
Letters of recommendation
Certified Volunteer Hours, if requested
A tight-knit team and community of fellow change-makers
Desired Start Date:
As soon as possible. Priority is given to applicants who can start before July 1st, 2024.
REQUIREMENTS
Required Qualifications:
Youth, 15 - 24 years old
Existing knowledge of how to use Google Drive applications (Gmail, Docs, Forms, Calendar, Slides, Sheets, etc.). Google Drive applications are used frequently.
Basic knowledge of Slack, the communications platform.
Attention to detail and deadlines.
Ability to communicate well with others, including fellow team members and the public.
Ability to work successfully with a team.
Ability to communicate feedback effectively and with care.
Ability to be flexible and adaptable to evolving situations.
Ability to maintain confidentiality.
Ability to problem-solve quickly when issues arise.
Ability to attend in-person events when necessary, weekly meetings may be attended via Zoom if necessary but most work may be required on-site.
Preferred Qualifications:
Please note that these are not required, but would be helpful for this role.
Grassroots organizing experience.
Research experience.
Lobbying and advocacy experience.
Existing policy knowledge related to housing, transportation, and land use.
Experience with coalition building and spaces.
Experience giving public comments.
Experience with different writing styles (i.e. press releases, opinion pieces, policy memos, FAQ’s, etc.)
Experience communicating with the press.
Experience working with volunteers.
Experience with giving detailed feedback on proposals.
Lived experience with housing insecurity.
Experience on the Housing Justice Team.
Prior volunteer leadership or management experience.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
WORK MODALITY & LOCATION
The work modality of this role is in-person, and occasionally hybrid. Events, actions, and meetings will occur throughout the San Diego area.
Our Time To Act is a youth-founded, youth-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the mission to organize powerful youth for an inclusive, equitable, and sustainable future.
Our Time To Act values authenticity and passion. We play the role of coalition builders and mentors within our communities, sharing knowledge, resources, credit, and impact. And as a justice-oriented, impact-driven, and people-centered organization, our perspective grounds us with who we serve and the work we do while advancing our mission.
Applications are a two-way street. We make our values as an organization clear to you to make sure our team is the right fit—and we hope we are! Here are some things to keep in mind:
Our team values flexibility and taking initiative over structure and top-down delegation. This philosophy is not a good fit for all, so we want to be clear upfront. If you thrive in dynamic, open environments, this is the place for you.
We value meaningful impact and support. We seek to authentically serve both our audience and our team members alike.
We are committed to being an inclusive and diverse group of people. These values are reflected in our hiring practices, decision-making, and programs.
Our team and organization are growth-minded and development-focused. We always have room to improve, at all levels of our organization!
Our organization promotes honesty, communication, and integrity. These values allow us to be an effective team.
We praise creativity and ingenuity. Nothing is more exciting than thinking outside of the box or challenging the status quo.
We prefer personability over professionalism, at least in internal settings.