Community Organiser - Thames Valley Citizens

We are looking for a Community Organiser to join the Thames Valley Citizens team in Reading, building the power of local communities.  The role will work across the whole city and will support existing member institutions, as well as focus on recruiting new ones, particularly ‘anchor institutions’ such as schools/colleges, faith institutions, and unions. Primary responsibilities will include recruiting new members; developing core teams in member institutions and supporting community leaders to take action on issues of shared concern.

With your passion, energy, and commitment to democracy, you will support communities to build the power they need to win justice and make a real and lasting impact.  Join us in the fight for a wealthier, healthier and fairer Reading.

A Community Organiser is responsible for the day-to-day development or maintenance of a Citizens alliance or small chapter. Supported by a more experienced Organiser, they have considerable independence and responsibility for external political and media relationships. They take responsibility for financial issues and staff and community training; and may oversee a budget or manage a colleague. A Community Organiser is a practitioner of the craft of broad-based community organising methodology, and focuses on the building of relational power, the recruitment and retention of dues-paying institutions, the development of leaders, the strengthening of member institutions, leader-led public actions, and the winning of systemic change.

Citizens UK

Citizens UK is a people power alliance of diverse local communities working together for the common good. Our mission is to develop leaders, strengthen civic organisations and make change. Our 550 member communities are deeply rooted in their local areas and connect every day to the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Through the method of community organising we enable people experiencing powerlessness to develop their leadership and come together with the power and strategy to make change. 

This leads to hundreds of neighbourhood improvements - from zebra crossings outside primary schools to renovated public toilets in cemeteries. And it leads to some of the biggest campaign impacts in the UK, such as winning over £2 billion of wages through the UK Living Wage campaign, securing a legal cap on the cost of credit to control exploitative lending, and ending the detention of children for immigration purposes. We enable local campaigns to grow into large-scale social change projects such as the Living Wage Foundation, Parent Action, Sponsor Refugees, and Refugees for Justice, that form an integral part of our theory of change. The most prominent of these is the rapidly growing Living Wage Foundation with a network of over 13,000 accredited Living Wage Employers across the UK.

Thames Valley Citizens is a chapter of Citizens UK comprising Citizens MK (in Milton Keynes), Reading Citizens, and Oxford Citizens). Reading Citizens is one of Citizens UK’s newest Alliances, launched in 2023. It is a leader-led alliance. In Reading, we are currently focusing on growing the Alliance’s foundations by recruiting more civil society institutions to join existing members. We are building the power of civil society by developing a broad alliance of institutions, strengthening community leadership, and supporting people to take action on what matters most to them.

Main Responsibilities

Working as a Thames Valley Citizens Community Organiser in Reading, reporting to a Regional Supervisor, your main responsibilities will include:

Community Organiser for Reading Citizens:

• Work as part of a team of organisers across Thames Valley and across the South East of England (Thames Valley, Essex, and Sussex)

• Recruit civil society institutions into the alliance

• Support existing institutions across Reading Citizens to focus upon institutional development and strengthen civil society.

• Build relationships and support our strategic partnerships with Reading University and the Students’ Union.

Build relational power to further the goals of CUK:

• Develop a comprehensive power analysis for Reading Citizens

• Develop and grow a substantial network of key influencers at a local level, including journalists; taking the initiative to establish new relationships as required

• Conduct at least 3 121s a day in order to develop relationships with leaders; ensuring a deep understanding of their concerns.

• Tell a wide range of Community Organising stories effectively in order to influence others and achieve CUK’s goals

Identify and develop relational leaders prepared to act with others for the common good:

• Identify and discern actual and potential leaders with the passion and ability to drive change 

• Achieve significant development of primary and secondary leaders; nominate new leaders for training on the core taster curriculum and for National Training 

• Successfully lead training on the core taster curriculum at a local level and teach a variety of sessions on the National Training course

Strengthen institutions and develop BBOs:

• Ensure good understanding of the basic interests and traditions of typical member institutions

• Organise a full local alliance or a large cluster of up to 15 standard member organisations or up to 5 strategic partners to work together on shared issues, including a Leadership Team

• Support pre-existing core teams and create/develop new core teams to provide leadership for multi-institutional campaigns

• Run institutional development campaigns in a range of types of organisation

Support leaders through the Cycle of Action in order to create change:

• Take the staff lead on major actions and campaigns at a local level; aiming to achieve multiple large local wins

• Develop and facilitate action planning teams at local level

• Develop strategies for significant local impact; with comprehensive plans and tactics

• Organise and support local actions, ensuring publicity, and facilitating negotiations 

• Evaluate the effectiveness of actions; demonstrating ability to incorporate lessons learned into future actions

Contribute to CUK’s financial viability through effective fundraising & financial management:

• Recruit new dues paying institutions; negotiating annual membership fees and letters of understanding as required

• Contribute to fundraising by securing £40k-£60k per annum overall, at least half of which must be ‘hard money’ from the recruitment and retention of member institutions. 

• Manage the budget at Alliance/campaign level, incl. setting/ monitoring of budgets, and ensuring dues are collected in a timely manner

Contribute to effective teamwork:

• Be proactive concerning personal professional development and wellbeing, i.e. by reading widely, developing a healthy work-life balance and demonstrating ability to reflect on own organising craft and improve on self-identified weaknesses

• Demonstrate ability to work effectively with colleagues and participate in a team; contribute to the learning of other Organisers

• Lead other Organisers or Associates in a manner that supports high performance by providing clear expectations and providing proactive support, encouragement, and mentorship

• Effective line management of associate organisers 

• Produce all required reports and follow CUK’s procedures on time and to the required standards

Participate in the development of the craft of Community Organising and play a role in the Guild of COs:

• Schedule an average of at least 3 1-2-1 relational meetings into your daily schedule as a core part of your professional practice

• Commit 10 working days pa (pro rata for part-time staff) to the preparation, delivery and evaluation of Citizens UK National Community Leadership Training;

• Participate in a Guild Team and help it develop as a Community of Practice that enables Organisers across the UK to develop their skills and experience.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:

• Displays self-awareness of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion issues and good practice. 

• Considers the impact on chapter and direct reports. 

• Leads and acts within their area of responsibility and influence. 

• Acts as a champion for those who might otherwise be marginalised 

Person Specification:

Essential (E)

Desirable (D)

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s degree in any subject or equivalent (D)

Evidence of further and continuing study including a possible professional qualification (D)

EXPERIENCE

At least one-year employment track record of successful Organising (E)

Experience of carrying out a power analysis and using the results to initiate new relationships (E)

Experience of successful fundraising (E)

Experience of setting up a new or consolidating an existing project (E)

Clear evidence of campaigns won and volunteers developed (E)

KEY SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

Ability to inspire, motivate and lead (particularly people who are different from you) (E)

Ability to organise yourself and others and to work responsibly in an unstructured environment (E)

Financial management skills including ability to set and manage a budget (D)

Ability to use creative strategies to support and develop leaders within unheard and diverse communities. (E)

Ability to plan and organise under pressure (E)

Ability to build trusting relationships and communicate to a wide range of diverse people and institutions (E)

Ability to teach and run workshops (E)

Ability to develop the potential of others (E)

Ability to communicate well verbally and in writing (E)

A good knowledge of Reading and its diverse communities, social dynamics, and challenges (D)

PERSONAL QUALITIES & VALUES

A passion for justice (E)

A positive enthusiasm for working with faith congregations, trade unions, schools and other community organisations (E)

An interest in and experience of politics and public life (E)

Able to work in a team (E)

Willingness to work within accountable relationships (E)

Self-motivated and adaptable (E)

Interview date: 16/01/2025 (subject to change)