Job Description: Citizen Action of Healthcare Co-op Organizer 

Citizen Action of Wisconsin seeks applicants ready to lead healthcare campaigns to achieve the sweeping changes Wisconsin needs to become a just, equitable, and sustainable multiracial democracy.

This position is best suited for creative and effective out-of-the-box thinkers deeply committed not only to being on the right side, but effectively building the grassroots power to make tangible progress on the big challenges  confronting the multiracial working class. 

Description of Work: This is a full-time (40-50 hrs/week on average) salaried position that reports to the Campaigns Director. A successful Healthcare Co-op Organizer will work to advance a democratic membership organizing model pioneered by Citizen Action of Wisconsin known as an Organizing Cooperative (a modernized chapter system). This role involves community organizing and maintaining/growing a critical mass of dues-paying co-op members. 

Together with member-leaders and Citizen Action of Wisconsin staff, the Co-op Organizer will advance issue and electoral campaigns that lead to real impacts in their community and lay the groundwork for large-scale changes in Wisconsin. They will work with other staff to support a campaign to advance healthcare issues such as the defense of the ACA, BadgerCare Expansion and Medicare For All to ensure all Wisconsinites have access to truly affordable quality healthcare. The Healthcare organizer will work with a variety of movements, from the Labor movement to the Disability Rights Movement. See the full Citizen Action of Wisconsin Platform here. 

As the Organizing Co-op Model is unique to Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Co-op organizers are expected to learn new skills on the job and are provided with training and onboarding that may take up to 6 months, while also “jumping in” to the work to gain lived experience. 

Citizen Action of Wisconsin’s COVID-19 policy is tied to county transmission levels, as defined by the CDC. In times of medium or high transmission, co-op organizers conduct their organizing mostly virtually, via phone calls, textbanking, email, social media, and Zoom. Citizen Action of Wisconsin requires that all full time permanent staff be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

Some weekend and evening hours may be required. Frequent in-state and occasional out of state travel is required. Overnight travel may also be required. This is a position based out of the Milwaukee area and currently all Milwaukee staff is on a hybrid schedule. 

 Primary Responsibilities:

• Develop activists into leaders to co-organize Citizen Action of Wisconsin specific healthcare issue and candidate campaigns. 
• Plan and implement community events, fundraising events, earned media events, issue education events, candidate town halls and listening sessions, house parties, rallies, protests, direct actions, and other grassroots activities and events. 
• Recruit Dues Paying Members via direct in-person, phone, digital and virtual asks, relationship building, and other fundraising tactics. Follow up in a timely manner with members when their monthly dues lapse/expire to renew their membership.
• Retain existing dues paying members by building relationships and getting them active in Citizen Action of Wisconsin work via organizing and implementing leadership development activities, training, and events (in collaboration with other staff at times).  
• Create and send daily and weekly email communications, including newsletters, and contribute to the Citizen Action of Wisconsin Weekly Statewide Newsletter.
• Embrace and utilize tech and tools including but not limited to Zoom, EveryAction, and SPOKE (relational text tool) to conduct membership and supporter outreach, community organizing, and to augment in-person organizing. (Our organizational COVID-19 policy limits in-person organizing based on COVID-19 transmission levels defined by the CDC)
• Work with other staff to identify and recruit individuals to run for all levels of office and recruit progressive candidates to become dues paying members. During election season, work directly with local and statewide candidate campaigns and participate in Federal level candidate campaigns to elect Citizen Action of Wisconsin endorsed candidates.  
• Participate in small and large dollar fundraising in collaboration with CAW staff, in and outside of membership recruitment.

Required Qualifications:

• Philosophical commitment to progressive values of economic, gender, racial, anti-oppressive, and environmental justice and equity along with health care freedom for everyone in Wisconsin and America.
• Ability to understand public policy issues and translate them into organizing issues that motivate average people to act, and devise tactics to move the issues or campaigns forward.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce effective flyers, email alerts, and effective social media posts.
• Excellent listening, interpersonal and problem solving skills, strong personal time management skills, organization skills, the ability to work under pressure, and the ability to resolve conflicts while maintaining effective relationships.
• Intermediate computer skills including email, composing documents, designing flyers, working with databases, and social networking (Familiarity with VAN and/or EveryAction, Google Suite, Google Calendar, Google Docs, is preferred as well as familiarity with managing Facebook pages and/or Twitter accounts)
• Ability to periodically travel in Wisconsin and occasionally out-of-state.
• Applicants must have unlimited access to reliable high-speed internet and cellular service at home
• Fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

Desired Experience:

• Experience in labor, community, political or faith-based organizing, experience with or a strong interest in learning relational organizing. 
• Experience working in coalition with a broad array of organizations on issues of social and economic justice.

Desired Qualifications (Not required):

• Experience and aptitude for organizing around healthcare is a plus.
• Experience with designing and implementing strategic legislative and/or electoral issue campaigns. .
• Demonstrated ability to meet fundraising goals.

Salary and Benefits: This is a full-time position which includes health and dental insurance, employer-matched 401K, life insurance, disability insurance, smart phone allowance, and other generous benefits. Base salary rate is $42,000-$45,000 annually based on demonstrated organizing experience. This is a union position, represented by OPEIU Local 9, AFL-CIO. 

To Apply: Email cover letter and resume to Karen Kirsch (Campaigns Director) at Karen.Kirsch@Citizenactionwi.org.  The hiring team will review applications as they come in. Please no phone calls. If you are chosen to participate in the interview process, a Citizen Action hiring team member will reach out to you via email to schedule a pre-interview phone call, and a first interview via Zoom. Women, Bi-racial/People of Color, Members of the LGBTQ+ community, and formerly incarcerated individuals are strongly encouraged to apply.