Job Description

ACORN is a mass membership organisation: a vehicle for collective action. By taking action on issues, we build the hopes, expectations and experience of our members and the communities they come from. 

Our organising is premised on two simple truths: problems affecting working class communities—from unhealthy, unaffordable and insecure housing, to cuts to public services—stem from a lack of power, and; the most effective means of building power is for people to get organised. 

We know that there are no shortcuts to building an effective, powerful organisation of everyday people, which is why we hire organisers to knock on doors, day in, day out, whatever the weather, to proactively seek out community members to bring together to make positive change in our cities, towns and neighbourhoods. If you are up for putting in the real leg work to build strong, diverse, resilient communities, door by door, street by street, then this might be the job for you!

About the job

As a community organiser with ACORN, you will be responsible for recruiting, supporting and working with members to take action on issues affecting them and the communities they come from. 

ACORN is a union in the community. Like any union our members pay membership dues so that they can have a sustainable independent organisation to fight for their interests.

You will be the organiser for ACORN in Birmingham. Your daily work will involve: 

• Recruiting individual ACORN Members through door-knocking, social media and other means (door-knocking takes up around 50% of our organisers’ time),
• Managing organising drives to build new and maintain existing ACORN branches, groups, and teams,
• Identifying issues of common concern at the neighbourhood and wider level,
• Identifying and supporting potential leaders to enable them to take on leadership roles in the organisation, and
• Supporting elected leaders to enable them to carry out their roles. 

*ACORN is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.*

Qualifications

No formal qualifications are necessary. We’re primarily looking for someone with a strong work ethic with good listening skills and the ability to motivate others. 

Experience, skills and abilities

The successful applicant will have:

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• The ability to recruit dues-paying members to ACORN
• The ability to support the development of groups and teams
• The ability to motivate people
• The ability to work independently and manage a team of volunteers
• The ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment and be detail-oriented
• A willingness to work sometimes long and irregular hours, including evenings and weekends (usual working hours are 8hr/day between 1000-2000 Mon-Fri, including an hour’s unpaid lunchbreak)
• A willingness and enthusiasm for knocking on doors and talking to strangers year-round

In turn, ACORN is committed to investing in the continued professional development of our organising staff. Training and support will include:

• First week: ACORN Foundations of Community Organising training (5 days)
• First 3 months: Weekly 1:1 management supervision; daily recruitment practice with fellow organising staff; weekly group team call; on-call daily management support.
• After 3 months: bi-weekly 1:1 management supervision; daily recruitment practice with fellow organising staff; weekly group team call; on-call daily management support. 
• Ongoing continuing professional development opportunities where identified.

Instructions on how to apply are below (click the button).