Community Organizer

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Sacred Heart Community Service, located in San Jose, CA, is looking for a Community Organizer to develop the leadership capacity and grassroots activism of low-income communities and build a diverse base of allies.

We believe that for too long economic, political and cultural systems have served to empower some while oppressing many. We seek a world in which all people have power of self-determination. To achieve this long-term goal we believe there are two essential steps. First, we must tap into the values people use to make decisions. Second, we must change who is involved in decision making.

Our work is anchored in relationships, bound together through our common values of a community united, social justice learning, and leadership development.

For 60 years, SHCS has been one of the leading institutions addressing poverty in Santa Clara County through a strategy that combines meeting basic needs and offering tools for self-sufficiency while building power together to push for systemic change. In the 15 years that SHCS has been organizing, our committees have won local campaigns almost every year, including stopping a new Santa Clara County jail from being built, strengthening protections for renters from further displacement, and making our immigration protections among the strongest in the country. The Organizer will maintain that tradition, playing a key role in planning and implementing policy campaigns and developing a sustained and democratic organizing committee.

Position Summary

The Community Organizer supports SHCS’ efforts to change people and policies and fulfill our vision of a community united to ensure that every child and adult is free from poverty. A member of SHCS’ Power and Organizing team, this position is responsible for growing, implementing, and tracking SHCS’ efforts to develop the skills, consciousness, and involvement of grassroots neighborhood leaders; develop the political consciousness of potential allie