Commission Shift seeks Organizing Director

Position: Organizing Director
Pay range: $65,000 to $80,000, depending on experience
Benefits: Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement; 401k retirement plan with up to 4% employer match; professional development allowance; 20 days/year paid time off for vacation, sick leave, or other needs; and 12 days/year paid holidays.
Location: Must be located in Texas. Work from home with regular virtual meetings and regular in-person participation at meetings, events, or conferences in Texas. Candidates located in active oil and gas development regions are strongly encouraged to apply.
Travel: 20% – 40%
Hours: Full-time
Application deadline: September 18, 2023 or until the position is filled

About Commission Shift and Commission Shift Action

Commission Shift is a fast-growing Texas-based 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in March 2021. Our mission is to reform oil and gas oversight by building public support to hold the Railroad Commission of Texas accountable to its mission in a shifting energy landscape.

Commission Shift Action, the 501(c)(4) advocacy partner of Commission Shift, mobilizes the public to hold the Railroad Commission of Texas accountable to its mission through legislative involvement and voter education and empowerment.

The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) is one of the most important oil and gas regulators in the world. Contrary to what its name implies, the Railroad Commission has no authority over railroads. Instead, the agency oversees oil and gas development, coal and uranium mining, and gas utility service in Texas, among other functions. Its mission is to serve Texas through stewardship of natural resources and the environment, concern for personal and community safety, and support of enhanced development and economic vitality for the benefit of Texans.

Commission Shift’s goal is to build broad public support from a wide array of stakeholder voices to advance changes at the RRC that improve the agency’s function, transparency, and accountability to people and places impacted by the oil and gas industry. Too often, the Commission has promoted accelerated development of oil and gas over all other parts of its mission — to the detriment of natural resources and the environment, safety, and economic vitality.

Learn more about Commission Shift by visiting our website, www.commissionshift.org.

Position Description

Commission Shift is hiring an Organizing Director to develop, implement, and maintain statewide strategies for building support and mobilizing Texans to transform the Railroad Commission of Texas. The role of the Organizing Director includes managing, mentoring, and motivating a team of organizers that interact with the public on specific campaigns including: oil and gas cleanup, language access, and nonpartisan voter awareness..

The Organizing Director will report to the Executive Director and will collaborate with all the teams to make Commission Shift an integral part of communities in Texas, identify Texans impacted by oil and gas development in Texas, develop community partnerships, conduct outreach to learn and exchange knowledge with those individuals and communities, and generate widespread awareness of opportunities for the public to advocate for themselves, and engage in dialogue with the Railroad Commission of Texas.

The Organizing Director will also be responsible for developing and maintaining the structure that informs the policy team of impacted community members concerns, issues, priorities, and experiences to ensure that Commission Shift’s proposed policy solutions are responsive to community needs and identified problems.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and evaluate an organizing strategic plan in collaboration with all the teams. This should include understanding the needed number of organizers, types of training, and logistical needs for accomplishing the plan and maintaining organizational culture and morale.
• Work with team members to mobilize the public to participate in opportunities for commenting on rule makings or permit applications, testifying or submitting written comments to the Texas Legislature or the Railroad Commission.
• Develop a process and assist community members in meeting with legislators and Railroad Commission staff, and filing pollution complaints with the Railroad Commission.
• Build relationships and collaborate with impacted Texans, community partners, Texas organizers, and organizations that represent relevant stakeholder groups.
• Collaborate with the communications team and policy team to develop and implement strategic digital and in-person campaigns to mobilize public participation on topics including nonpartisan voter mobilization; language access; orphaned wells; carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS); oil and gas waste pits; weatherization of the natural gas supply chain; and energy utility costs.
• Create, maintain, evaluate, and adapt a structure that informs the policy team of impacted community members experiences, priorities, and concerns to develop community-supported solutions.
• Mentor, manage, and direct organizers, language access coordinator, and civic engagement coordinator.
• Develop a group of volunteers through meaningful engagement.
• Track and report lobbying hours as required by state and federal law.
• Identify and support impacted community members in writing blog posts, opinion articles, and letters to the editor.
• Develop metrics to measure campaigns’ effectiveness.
• Work with the organizing team to plan and execute online and in-person events with stakeholders.

Required minimum qualifications

• Six years of professional experience in a relevant field.
• Embraces the mission of Commission Shift.
• Experience building alliances or coalitions, organizing volunteers, working on apolitical campaign, and/or leading public awareness and engagement campaigns for501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4)nonpartisan non-profit organizations to achieve policy changes.
• Enthusiastic, curious, and energized about meeting new people. Respectful and empathetic of individuals and groups coming from a variety of backgrounds and viewpoints (e.g. progressive or conservative; rural or urban; educated or uneducated; across races, ethnicities, and genders).
• Experience managing organizers.
• Proficient using Microsoft Word and Powerpoint and the ability to perform basic math functions in Excel for data analysis. Familiar with Google Workspace applications including Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms.
• Familiarity or Experience with advocacy software like EveryAction, and Voter ActionNetwork (VAN).
• Familiarity with strategic analytical tools such as power mapping or identifying a spectrum of allies.
• Familiarity with public engagement methods such as digital action alerts, public demonstrations, digital organizing, or other creative public support tactics.
• Experience constructing a strategic ladder of engagement for supporters.
• Displays a positive attitude, shows concern for people and community, demonstrates presence, self-confidence, common sense and good listening ability.
• Organized and exhibits both initiative and “follow through” on tasks and goals
• Demonstrated commitment to anti-racism and continuous learning, developing an analysis of power and oppression at interpersonal, institutional, and systemic levels.
• Attention to detail, maintains organized electronic files, and manages time and expectations with respect to deadlines.
• Willingness to learn to use Asana project management software.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Desired qualifications, not required

The ideal candidate will have some combination of the following qualifications, but does not need to meet all of the following criteria.

• Experience planning and executing strategic organizing campaigns.
• Familiarity with the Texas political landscape, or experience working on political campaigns in Texas.
• Knowledge of or experience with issues related to the Railroad Commission of Texas.
• Familiarity with Texas climate change and energy issues.
• Experience at the Texas Legislature or at government agencies in Texas.
• Bachelor’s degree, potentially in political science, public administration, mass communications, or environmental science. Other majors will be considered.
• Experience coordinating direct lobbying, grassroots lobbying, civic engagement, and get-out-the-vote campaigns within the legal boundaries of a 501(c)3 nonprofit.
• Relationships with one or more of the following stakeholder groups: workers rights advocates or labor unions, public education advocates, business leaders, consumer or ratepayer advocates, economic development leaders or entities.
• Written and verbal fluency in Spanish.

Technology Requirements

• Phone and internet access allowing for multiple phone or video calls per day

How to apply

Send a resume (no more than two pages) and cover letter to Dr. Maria Reyes at apply@commissionshift.org with the subject “Organizing Director Application.” Prepare to provide two professional references and a writing sample upon request. The writing sample could be a speech or written testimony, an opinion article or blog post, social media content or other similar documents.

Applicants with a nontraditional career path or gaps in employment are encouraged to share knowledge, strengths, or skills they developed during this nontraditional experience in their cover letter, if desired.

Commitment to Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity

Commission Shift believes that corporate and institutional bad behavior disproportionately hurts the most marginalized people in society — including people of color, people from working class backgrounds, women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and people with disabilities. We believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do. We strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of marginalized communities that are not listed here.

Commission Shift is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.