Youth Organizing Board Member
About Swing Left
Swing Left is a national grassroots organization working to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. We make it possible for anyone to make a big impact on the elections that determine the balance of power in our country, by volunteering and donating in key races. Since our founding in 2017, the Swing Left community has raised $38 million directly for Democratic candidates and civic organizations, and completed 35 million volunteer-driven voter contact actions, including door knocking, phone calls, and letter writing.
Overview
Swing Left is the premier nationwide grassroots organizing group able to coordinate directly with Democratic campaigns and ensure that volunteers are successfully integrated in the lead up to the 2022 elections. Swing Left is seeking excellent candidates to serve on its Youth Organizing Board (YOB). This is a part-time contract position that will support the work of our amazing local volunteer leaders in a region. YOB members will build strong relationships with volunteers and teams in their assigned regions to provide coaching, support, and connection to Swing Left priorities and resources. They will also help identify and recruit existing progressive groups with similar goals who would benefit from Swing Left support and resources.
YOB members work closely with the Swing Left Grassroots Community Organizing Team, and will support volunteers, candidates and groups in one of seven regions: California, Midwest, New England, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest.
NOTE: Currently there are currently two open positions on the Youth Organizing Board (Midwest and New England regions). Preferred candidates live in the region they apply for and/or have a strong familiarity with it.
Responsibilities
- Ensure existing groups in assigned turf achieve and maintain top levels of alignment to Swing Left priorities and grassroots strength
- Conduct quarterly one on one conversations with each volunteer leader in your turf to identify their needs and capacities
- Recruit a minimum of three new or newly aligned local grassroots groups in assigned turf
- Provide bi-weekly reports that accurately track regional volunteer capacity and provide insights for organizing staff
- Provide a minimum of two virtual training events to that teach volunteer leaders how to effectively deploy Swing Left’s organizing toolkit, based on the needs or gaps you identify from those leaders
- Provide a consistent point of contact for volunteers to Swing Left from now through Nov 15, 2021 (with the possibility to extend)
- In coordination with Swing Left's Political Team, maintain relationships between candidates' and statewide electoral entities' organizing teams to ensure Swing Left volunteers can access the most impactful volunteer actions during the 2022 election
- Represent Swing Left to the press and help recruit other press volunteers
- Consult with Swing Left staff on program content, messaging, and resources
- Maintain accurate data and tracking systems
Successful Youth Organizing Board candidates will have:
- A passion for Swing Left’s mission to elect a more progressive, more representative, and more just government by supporting Democratic candidates in the most competitive races.
- A demonstrated ability to build and maintain volunteer structures, either in a campaign or a grassroots organizing capacity.
- Aptitude for connecting with people, forming and maintaining new relationships, and asking folks to step up.
- Comfort in a rapidly changing campaign environment.
- High level of comfort with using technology to support organizing (Zoom, Slack, email platforms, social media platforms, etc). Experience with digital organizing is not required but is preferred.
- Strong written and oral communication skills, and consistent reporting habits.
Working at Swing Left
This contract includes an expected commitment through Nov 15, 2021 with the possibility to extend. Swing Left will provide a payment of $300 a month, reimburse approved expenses, and offer comprehensive training and tools.
We are an equal opportunity employer and seek applications from all qualified candidates who are eligible to work in the United States. However, we are not able to sponsor visas at this time.
We believe that the GOP's bad behavior disproportionately hurts the most marginalized people in society — including people of color, people from working-class backgrounds, people with disabilities, women and LGBTQ people. As we seek to build both a political system and organization that represents and uplifts these voices, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities and members of other marginalized communities.