The Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane engages everyday people to build a just and nonviolent world through community organizing and grassroots leadership development for peace, racial equity, economic justice, and human rights. We are an independent, multi-issue membership-based organization founded in Spokane in 1975. PJALS 2020 strategic priorities are our Young Activist Leaders program; ending mass incarceration and systemic racism in our regional criminal system; building power with targeted communities to advance the rights of immigrants, religious minorities, and LGBTQ people; countering white nationalist escalation and white supremacy; and activist education on racial justice, grassroots organizing, and world issues. Come be part of our team to organize for change!

In our PJALS community, we believe everyday people can accomplish extraordinary things together. We strive to draw from our differences to increase and enhance effective action to build a just and nonviolent world. Our values ask us to honor and respect our web of different life experience to work collaboratively, sharing power and decision-making. Our work is guided by leadership of people directly impacted by the problems we seek to address, both among our PJALS community and in our broader community and world. We recognize our shared humanity and commit in the following ways to neither harm a member nor see a member harmed:

  • Use an intersectional racial equity lens in all of our work.
  • Call each other in, not out, when we make mistakes.
  • Use decision making processes that engage our diverse community.

Organizer Duties may include

  • Recruiting, building relationships with, and involving member volunteers to develop skills, leadership, and capacity of our Peace & Justice Action League of Spokane community.
  • Researching, developing, implementing, and adapting campaign plans.
  • Hands-on organizing such as gathering signatures, recruiting and training volunteers, and organizing small and large mobilizations and events.
  • Planning, facilitating, and/or participating in campaign/project meetings, as well as follow up communication.
  • Communications: developing communications strategy and messaging; creating social media graphics/posts, videos, flyers, brochures, fact sheets, newsletter articles, impact reports, website content, and emails; updating our website and social media.
  • Media work: media strategy, events, releases, announcements, and op eds; and development of media contacts, as assigned.
  • Fundraising: participating in activities including membership recruitment & renewals, donor visits, grant writing, and events, as assigned.
  • Representing PJALS: in collaborative efforts with partners, in the broader community, at public events and in communication with local, regional and national partners as assigned.
  • Excellent work habits: Develop and use week-by-week workplans to accomplish campaign objectives and organizational priorities and to track progress on multiple projects with multiple deadlines. Produce monthly staff reports to Steering Committee.
  • Timely responses to phone calls, emails, and other requests for information and referral.
  • Staffing the PJALS office and attending meetings (including membership committees) and events as assigned.
  • Coordinating and assisting with events, mailings, and other projects as needed.

Qualifications:

Applicants must demonstrate a strong commitment to social justice and enthusiasm for the long haul of movement-building for collective power. Applicants must also be willing and able to work some evenings and weekends when necessary. Applicants must be able to work independently as well as contribute to team success. Skills required include:

  • Organizing or coordination experience with strong follow-through.
  • Ability to identify short-term steps to advance long-term values and goals.
  • Strong written and verbal communications skills.
  • Ability to build respectful relationships with people unlike oneself and support relationship-building across race/ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, faith, and other identities to increase recognition of mutual interest, shared values, and sense of community.
  • Proven ability to apply intersectional racial equity lens.
  • Collaboration skills.
  • Excellent time management, ability to advance more than one project at a time with varying degrees of urgency and long-term importance.
  • Thriving on variety and change while able to maintain steadiness: able to work under pressure with grace and creativity, be able to change direction quickly and adjust/adapt a plan, be comfortable with rapid response, and nurture strong relationships while always keeping your eye on the prize, core approaches to change, and long term goals and values
  • Technology comfort & skills: Zoom, graphic design, database management, word processing, spreadsheets, desktop publishing, and email management.
  • Growth mindset: Desire to sharpen skills and analysis, receive feedback, and contribute to organizational success.
  • Sense of humor!

Preferred skills and experience:

  • Directly impacted by issues we work on.
  • Familiarity with Marshall Ganz and/or Midwest Academy organizing models and with nonviolence skills and analysis.
  • Facilitation skills for coalition meetings and skills-training workshops.
  • Anti-racism training experience and familiarity with racial affinity groups.
  • Communications strategy based on Race-Class Narrative research; WordPress skills; video creation and editing.
  • Phone/ text banking, canvass experience; creating scripts for phone banking, text banking, and/or canvassing.
  • Curriculum development for political education and skill-building.

PJALS Culture:

PJALS’ work culture is open and based on trusting, respectful, authentic relationships. We honor and respect each other’s lived experience, not just professional experience. We care about the community and world, our organization, members, and mission; we care about the work, the issues, and impacted people. We are fueled by love and outrage! Our organizational culture is based on these shared beliefs and values:

  • Change is fundamental.
  • We have an expectation for learning and progress.
  • We take risks in service of our values.
  • We share losses and victories.
  • We do not have internal competition.
  • We have strong relationships and a strong team.
  • We support self-care.
  • We enact conscious use of self.

To learn more about PJALS:

PJALS staff are working remotely; all events and meetings take place via video or phone. We are not organizing or participating in events that are not explicitly maintaining masking and physical distancing. Currently our plan is to continue this practice into Spring 2021, with potential exceptions based on emergency mobilizations such as fascism. PJALS is closed on Mondays to support work-life balance.

Organizer reports to the Director; position is full time, hourly. Target start date Nov 2020.

Compensation range: $38,000-40,000. Benefits include dental coverage; 100% employer-paid healthcare with a Kaiser Permanente Gold Plan including vision; work expense reimbursement; 10 paid holidays, and 12 paid leave days annually.

To apply: Please send resume and cover letter with 3 references, with subject line “Application: PJALS Organizer” to [email protected]. Application deadline: Oct 26. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

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