OAT Rural Strategies Organizer Central Oregon

Job Title:               Rural Strategies Organizer Central / Southeast Oregon
Job Homebase:     Home Office in Oregon or SW Washington
Site requirement: Remote

Reports To:         Strategic Partnerships Manager 

Application Guidelines:

Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis, please apply or share interest promptly

A cover letter is required for consideration.

Who We Are:

Oregon Food Bank (OFB) believes that no one should be hungry. Our mission is to eliminate hunger and its root causes.  We believe that food and health are basic human rights for all. We know that hunger is not just an individual experience; it is also a community-wide symptom of systemic barriers to employment, education, housing and health care such as systemic racism, sexism, and cissexism. That’s why we work systemically to achieve our mission to end hunger: we foster community connections to help people access nutritious food, and we build community power and strengthen networks of support and the safety net to eliminate the root causes of hunger for good.

We build community power to dismantle systems and policies that drive hunger and poverty.

Oregon Food Bank is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we strongly encourage applications from candidates who can increase the diversity of our organization and strengthen our capacity to eliminate hunger. We believe strongly in the power of lived experience — and we actively seek individuals who have experienced hunger and its root causes to join our team. Our organization is stronger because of the leadership of people who have faced food insecurity in their own lives and/or hail from historically under-represented communities. Learn more about our commitment at oregonfoodbank.org/equity. 

Who You Are:

You care deeply about community, about people experiencing hunger and hold them in the center of all that you do. You are committed to apply equity as a process and an outcome of your work to disrupt systemic social patterns that promote hunger such as racism, sexism, and cissexism.  You have a strong affinity with OFB’s 10 Year Vision and are profoundly excited to achieve this vision for and with our community.

Position Summary:

As the Rural Strategies Organizer, you will contribute to the organization’s success through cultivating long-term relationships with community organizations and building an ever growing base of community leaders in rural and small town Oregon.  This role supports OFB’s strategic priority to bridge the rural/urban divide and “build a bigger we” by expanding community power in rural and small-town communities. You will organize community leaders and strategic partners in key regions through increasing levels of commitment and a strategic partnerships continuum respectively.  From recruitment, to political education, non-partisan electoral organizing to leadership development, the Rural Strategies Organizer ensures that we are building political power to advance systems and policy change to end hunger and its root causes.  The organizer works directly with the Strategic Partnerships Manager and in consultation with the Statewide organizing team to contribute to advancing a strategic movement building framework that increases the power of the Food Justice Movement across Oregon. Success in this role will be measured by growth in community leadership, strengthened rural partnerships, and increased participation in organizing and advocacy efforts.

Primary Responsibilities (Essential Functions):

• Develops and cultivates long-term, interdependent relationships with community-based organizations and leaders.

• Build and support a community leadership team that co-creates and implements grassroots and grasstops organizing strategies & tactics in support of our priority policy change campaigns.     

• Engage community members and organizational partners in all aspects of our statewide field organizing program, including Ending Hunger Power Nights, 1 on 1s, Leader Camps, phone banks, relational organizing and other analysis, skills building and action tactics that increase levels of commitment and leadership.  

• Lead and/or participate in programmatic elements of statewide field organizing program such as Ending Hunger Power Nights, community forums, and educational workshops and other community-building events & activities with a focus on building political power. 

• Mobilize people to actions and events through phone banking, texting, canvassing (door-to-door), & digital organizing, etc.

• Participate in and support rapid response organizing efforts aligned with statewide campaigns and coalition priorities.

• Participate in co-leading organizing trainings within OFB, with our organizational partners or with community members.  

• Represents Oregon Food Bank at various coalition spaces and tables aligned with our food justice priorities, including active participation, strategy contribution, and accountability to shared coalition goals.

• Identify leaders who want to participate in sharing their stories and expertise in media, legislative testimony or other communications and advocacy strategies. 

• Based on capacity and as assigned, provide on the ground support to local organizing campaigns & coalitions aligned with our priorities.

• Participate fully in cross-department teams as assigned or as critical to position responsibilities.   

• Participate fully in OFB’s Organizing and Advocacy Team, share leadership across the team in peer to peer collaboration and team development.  

• Participate fully in OFB’s organizational planning processes, data and technology systems, lobbying and finance tracking processes and organizational equity journey.  

• Travel within the region on a regular basis and to Portland and/or Salem 2-3 times per year. 

• Organizational level responsibilities of exempt employees include:

  • To be an ambassador and a leader for OFB’s vision and mission, a cross-departmental collaborator, and an active contributor to building a movement to end hunger for good by addressing the root causes of hunger: systemic oppressions such as racism, xenophobia, sexism, and cisexism. 

  • In consultation and coordination with the supervisor, actively contribute to:

    • cross-departmental efforts

    • work culture activities and programming

    • advisory and consultative groups such as the compensation committee, affinity groups, Equity Ambassadors, Equity Think Tank meetings, among others

    • plan and engage in professional development activities that strengthen your capacity for your specific role as well as your capacity to contribute and advance organizational goals, OFB’s vision and mission.  

• Identify, share, engage in, and collaboratively adjust and make necessary changes to this description of duties according to the inevitable evolution of the role over time.

Skills and Experience Required:

• Deep passion for eliminating hunger and its root causes.

• Strong preference for candidates who live in or have deep ties to Central or Southwest Oregon communities.

• Experience living and/or organizing in rural, small town communities.

• Excellent relationship-building skills. Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain values-based relationships with a variety of multicultural and multi-sector partners.

• Experience working in formal and/or informal coalition spaces.  

• 2-3 years experience in community engagement.

• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing with a range of audiences.  

• Fluency in community organizing skills and ability to apply skills in a range of contexts. Demonstrated ability to use these skills to center and elevate the leadership of BIPOC community members.

• Strong public speaking and facilitation skills, including presentations and trainings to a wide range of audiences.

• Self-directed; able to take initiative and maintain a high level of accountability

• Process-minded; excels at managing and improving processes.

• Demonstrated ability to handle sensitive information effectively and confidentially.

• Exceptional interpersonal skills with high degree of emotional intelligence; possess cultural agility skills to work effectively with diverse groups of individuals and communities.

• An unwavering commitment to racial justice.

• Organizational level skills and experience required for exempt employees include:

• Disposition and willingness to maximize multiple perspectives to innovate, problem solve and seek creative solutions.

• Experience in modeling intercultural competence and demonstrated commitment to equity and social justice.

• Demonstrated ability to think strategically, collaborate, take initiative, and to maintain confidentiality.

• Project coordination and organization skills; ability to manage multiple projects with attention to detail; ability to handle interruptions, and produce timely, accurate work.

• Ability to both work independently and as part of a team; comfortable working in an office environment and offsite.

• Ability to thrive in a diverse, creative, responsive, mission-driven, and fast-paced work culture. 

• Experience of successful multicultural immersion working and/or living within OFB's Equity Constituencies: BIPoC, Immigrants & Refugees, Single Mothers, Trans and Gender-Non-Conforming folx.  

  • Multicultural Immersion defined as: Actively integrated in one or more communities, interacting with individuals and groups, and seeking to understand the diversities within and between communities by being there and engaging in daily life activities.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Organizational level preferred qualifications of exempt employees include:

  • Multilingual skills at a minimum professional level of proficiency or greater in English and any additional language/s, defined as being able to speak the languages with sufficient structural accuracy and vocabulary to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations on practical and professional topics.  

  • Multicultural skills of adaptation and integration are strongly preferred.  

    • Adaptation is defined as the capacity to communicate and interact  with people of multiple cultures, backgrounds, and styles by incorporating and adapting to the world view and perspectives of others.

    • Integration is defined as being able to “code-switch” or move in and out of one's worldview and help others understand different cultures, backgrounds, and styles to promote diversity and inclusion.

  • Commitment to continued professional development to strengthen capacity to work through an equity lens for equity and racial justice.

  • Strong capacity to consider multiple perspectives, to pivot to respond to emerging needs and lead through organizational changes.

  • Years of successful multicultural immersion either working with and/or living within one or more of OFB’s Equity Constituencies at the time of hire.  An additional step for at least 10 years above minimum required of successful multicultural immersion working with and/or living within one or more of OFB’s Equity Constituencies at the time of hire.

    • Multicultural Immersion defined as: Actively integrated in one or more communities, interacting with individuals and groups, and seeking to understand the diversities within and between communities by being there and engaging in daily life activities.

The Fine Print:

Work environment:

Work is performed in an office environment while sitting in meetings or at a computer screen for extended periods inside and outside of Oregon Food Bank and will use computers and phones extensively. 

May work outside of general working hours of 8:00 – 5:00 p.m., such as evenings and weekends, and occasional travel out of town may occur.

This role requires travel/personal vehicle use /work outside normal hours. 

Work may require to lift, move and carry objects from 20 to 40 pounds, such as boxes containing office and other supplies. Crouching, bending, kneeling and reaching when filing. Accommodations may be available upon request.

Background Check:

This position doesn’t require a criminal background check.  Criminal background checks may be required for the following reasons:

• Insurance requirement

• Third party contractual requirement/s 

• Job duties requirements include unsupervised administration of cash or other liquid assets. 

• Job duties include unaccompanied work with minors, elders, or anyone legally unable to consent to touch, discipline, or sexual contact.   

A criminal record unrelated to theft, assault, or sexual violence may not make you ineligible to work at Oregon Food Bank. We actively support all our staff in developing relevant skills and capacities to improve job retention and advancement.

Inclement Weather, Service Disruptions and Disaster Response expectations:

OFB is part of the regional disaster response network and, as part of our commitment to our community, we all are expected to report to work as soon as it’s safe to do so and to respond to the disaster, emergency, inclement weather or extended service disruption as needed and as possible.  Work and paid designations are described in OFB’s Inclement Weather Guidelines.  At all times staff is supported to prioritize their safety and those of their dependants, families and loved ones while in communication and coordination with supervisors.

1. Exempt classification refers to employees who earn a salary rather than an hourly rate for the work they do instead of the number of hours they take to complete the task. Exempt employees are not eligible for overtime pay or minimum wage. They; 1) Supervise two or more full-time employees or four part-time employees regularly; 2) Are responsible for managing at least part of a business; 3) Play an important role in the job status of other employees, including hiring and delegating tasks; or 1) Perform office or non-manual work directly related to the business operations or management of an organization and its customers; and 2) Exercise independent judgment and discretion over important business decisions.