State Organizer for Arizona and New Mexico

DEPARTMENT:  Organizing and Faith Engagement 

REPORTS TO:  Deputy Director of Organizing/ Faith Engagement

LOCATION:  Remote in Arizona (AZ) or New Mexico (NM)

Bread for the World is a Christian advocacy organization urging U.S. decision makers to do all they can to pursue a world without hunger. Our mission is to educate and equip people to advocate for policies and programs that can help end hunger in the U.S. and around the world.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:  Identify, train and support diverse leaders in our mission to end hunger and poverty in AZ/NM and across the country and world; and to pilot a new state focused advocacy and organizing approach for Bread for the World. This is a three-year pilot program.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES/ACTIVITIES: 

1. Leadership development: identify, develop and support diverse leaders across the state for Bread’s Leadership Team in the state, Congressional District Coordinators and Denominational Ambassadors; train all leaders in basic advocacy and organizing skills while engaging them in realistic yet challenging goals.
2. Building institutional power: Build a statewide, dues paying advocacy network of congregations and institutions, as well as individuals that can serve as a model and inspiration for Bread’s national network.
3. Action on issues to end hunger and poverty: Work with local and national leadership to initiate, develop, lead on statewide issue campaigns that can be leveraged toward Bread’s Federal policy goals, both domestic and international.
4. Utilize and strengthen Bread’s national network: Utilize Bread’s national resources for the purposes of the advancement of local work; work with Bread staff to learn from and build a national model for rebuilding Bread’s grassroots organizing network.

Additional responsibilities/activities:

1. Implement mobilization efforts including resourcing existing activists and Bread teams and churches, delivering results for legislative campaigns and developing financial support for Bread and the Institute. 
2. Engage, educate and motivate a diverse network on hunger-related issues and advocacy.
3. Build grassroots capacity identifying new leaders, building grassroots infrastructure and ensuring that diversity (racial, ethnic, generational, and providing denominational) is an active part of leader recruitment, coordinating work with internal and external partners.
4. Communicate regularly with Bread for the World leaders and members across the state, including providing updates on campaigns and resources.
5. Stay abreast of legislative and organizational developments, building and maintaining knowledge of key Congressional targets as well as direct lobbying with congressmen in assigned regions.
6. Use organization's resources in a manner that demonstrates responsibility and good stewardship, including submitting corporate credit card receipts on time, completing timesheets on time, submitting personnel documents on time, and making choices regarding travel arrangements, meals and lodging that are consistent with Bread's values.
7. Perform other duties as assigned.

SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience
• Minimum of 5 years' organizing experience; professional training preferred. Candidates with 7 or more years of experience and formal organizing training will be considered for a Senior Organizer role.
• Understanding of public policy advocacy, legislative process, international and domestic hunger, and congregational/denominational governance
• Experience working with diverse groups, including ability to reach across racial, ethnic, generational, socioeconomic and denominational lines
• Ability to write and speak English required; Spanish fluency is desirable
• Strong communication skills (written and verbal)
• Ability to work independently as work is monitored at the department level and staff work from home offices (except when traveling).
• Ability to gain new knowledge and apply it to specific situations, researching and performing straightforward analyses of information from varied sources.
• Computer literacy in Microsoft Office, use of the Internet for research and experience with data collection and the importance of databases. 
• Must have be able to conduct training via webinars and conference calls. 

WORK ENVIRONMENT ISSUES:   

• Must be able to work from home. 
• Self-motivated and ability to work independently. 
• Regular travel across assigned state is required, including 2-3 weeks per year in Washington, DC.  
• Valid Driver's License and driving history that is consistent with the ability to be insured at an affordable, “safe driver” rate (Determined at Bread's discretion). 
• Must be responsive to emails and phone calls off-site during evenings, weekends, and holidays to support time-sensitive matters. 
• Bread is a hybrid organization.

CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS: 

Bread is committed to advancing racial equity externally and internally, all staff members play a vital role. In the course of our work, each staff person should work to apply a racial equity lens to their work and practices; and participate in racial equity on-going training. Bread is also committed to being an equal opportunity employer. 

OUR VALUES: 

1. We value our faith. Our faith in Christ is the foundation for our hope, story, mission, and values, and compels us to love our neighbors near and far.
2. We value human flourishing. We believe that every human being, created in the image of God, has inherent dignity that affords an opportunity to be in right relationship with God, self, neighbor, and the environment, and to freely access enough nutritious food for good health.
3. We value justice. We seek to establish effective systems, structures, and policies that affirm equality and advance equity among all human beings and protect people who experience hunger and poverty from oppression.
4. We value courage and prophetic voice. In a spirit of wisdom and love, we will be bold in articulating and pursuing our vision of a world without hunger.
5. We value nonpartisanship. We believe that effective and sustainable public policies are made when, in good faith, we employ a civil and politically unbiased approach to develop and implement laws and programs to achieve our mission.
6. We value collaboration. We believe in working alongside and building community with diverse churches, institutions, and individuals, including people experiencing hunger, to achieve our mission.
7. We value impact. We strive for excellence in our work and hold ourselves and our nation’s leaders accountable in the pursuit of public policies that render measurable results and meaningful change for those affected by hunger.

DISCLAIMER: 

Background and reference checks will be conducted on all final candidates. The information in this job description indicates the general nature and level of work expected of employees in this classification. It is not designed to contain, nor to be interpreted as, a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and objectives required of employees assigned to this job.