Posting: Regional Energy Democracy Coordinator - Soulardarity
May 30, 2023
POSITION: Regional Energy Democracy Coordinator
JOB TYPE: Part Time, Hybrid Remote
WORK SCHEDULE: Mon - Fri, 10am - 4pm with willingness to be flexible. Occasional nights and weekends to attend meetings and events as required.
CLASSIFICATION: Non-exempt Employee
SALARY RANGE: Annual Base Salary Range $20,624 - $30,000 commensurate with experience
BENEFITS: Up to $506.25 monthly stipend, access to Extended Advance Program; Professional Development opportunities; paid holiday time off, and a paid time off policy.
REPORTS TO: Program Director
LOCATION: Detroit Metro Area. Required travel to staff meetings, membership gatherings, campaigns, and events as needed.
WHO WE ARE...SOULARDARITY BACKGROUND
Soulardarity started out of necessity, when Highland Park residents were left in the dark by DTE Energy’s repossession of over 1,000 streetlights in 2011. When we came together, it was with the simple goal of restoring light to the darkness. 10 years later, we have become a locally and nationally recognized leader in energy democracy. Soulardarity has achieved significant impact in Highland Park and Detroit with minimal resources since 2012, including restoring 17 streetlights, deploying $30,000 of solar lighting and emergency generation, growing community initiatives, conducting education projects,
advocating for energy democracy, and co-authoring a national policy proposal for Community Ownership of Power Administration. Soulardarity's staff team has more than doubled in size in the past two years, and the current hiring process aims to increase operational capacity and supportive infrastructure for frontline staff and solidify capacity for the Executive Director to lead the transition towards a just energy democracy. The following section outlines the essential skills and experience for the position, but Soulardarity encourages applicants with diverse strengths and talents who share the vision and enthusiasm for the role and organization to apply.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Energy Democracy (also referred to as EnDem) work is not static, it is always evolving along with campaign outcomes and energy policies coming from local, state and federal legislation. Applicants must have the ability to navigate municipal and legislative energy policy. Without necessarily having prior experience, applicants should possess the ability to navigate spaces with stakeholders who either develop or implement energy policy. The Regional Energy Democracy Coordinator will work with Soulardarity's Program Director to develop and have a successful Energy Democracy Program through education and advocacy on behalf of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), and low-income communities, seeking affordability, health, and community ownership of clean and renewable energy. This is currently a hybrid remote role that requires working from home and in-person meetings as needed. You will need to have your own computer and internet access to work from home, as well as the ability to travel for in-person meetings and events. Soulardarity offers an all inclusive monthly stipend to assist with payment for health care, technology and transportation needs for eligible employees.
WHO YOU ARE...
Enjoy facilitating and organizing coalition and community spaces to gain understanding of community needs. Have experience with maintaining partnerships and establishing new relationships in coalition and community spaces while representing the organization's mission. Possess a strong willingness to learn navigating policy decision-making spaces.
The Regional Energy Democracy Coordinator is expected to work across diverse teams and workstyles, and help the organization design and administer systems that make workflow more efficient. The candidate should care deeply about Soulardarity’s mission, commitment to consensus-building and strong facilitation of coalitions, and enjoy strategy and systems. Prior experience in working with environmental justice, frontline grassroots, and energy democracy organizations is highly desirable.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES may include, but are not limited to...
These tasks represent baseline responsibilities for this position. As Soulardarity takes on new projects and grows, there will be possibilities (and sometimes the need to) move into new accountabilities and areas of work. The Regional Energy Democracy Coordinator will contribute to creating and implementing a strategy to build Soulardarity’s presence, and to represent its mission in Energy Democracy coalition spaces:
- Energy Democracy Program Management & Training
- Assist in developing and creating Energy Democracy Programs in collaboration with the Program Director and Energy Democracy Coordinator;
- Assist in managing and evaluating Soulardarity Community Organizing Collaborative (SCOC) Organizers, interns, and volunteers at the direction of the Program Director;
- Contribute to development of training processes for SCOC Organizers, interns, and volunteers;
- Assist with managing Energy Democracy budget and tracking system and ensure timely follow up on all requests;
- Plan and communicate training dates, overall calendar timeline, and key benchmarks and coordinate with key partners and stakeholders.
- Events & Meetings
- Represent Soulardarity and Highland Park utility ratepayers in public and media spaces;
- Play a key role in community meetings, including engagement of members in decision-making or input-gathering processes;
- Attend Coalition partners & Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) meetings.
- Leadership & Development
- Assist with envisioning towards mission the ongoing work of the Energy Democracy Program with the Program Director;
- Collaborate with Energy Democracy Program staff;
- Build relationships with coalition key partners and stakeholders;
- Report back to Soulardarity members, staff and stakeholders on the impacts, status, and reflections of the program;
- Work with staff to meet annual priorities including collaborative support to the Highland Park Director as required;
- Identify and make a plan to meet personal leadership development goals for 2023 in relation to Soulardarity work. Utilize all professional development resources.
- Communications
- Frequent and consistent phone, email, Slack, and Asana communication with volunteers, staff, and stakeholders;
- Develop and promote updates in digital platforms and meetings with members, stakeholders, and staff;
- Attend regular meetings with Soulardarity staff, members, elected officials and partners as the program requires to meet job responsibilities.
JOB REQUIREMENTS
Applicants for the Regional Energy Democracy Coordinator position should:
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively from home or other remote location and travel to in-person meetings and events.
- Commitment to Soulardarity’s mission – Possess a commitment to racial equity, energy democracy, social justice, and grassroots organizing.
- Possess strong interpersonal skills, and awareness of interpersonal dynamics to work with a diverse and multigenerational group of colleagues, building support and consensus decision-making around Energy Democracy priorities.
- Invest in understanding the people and spaces that they navigate in, so that they can develop strategies that will promote teamwork amongst a diverse and multigenerational landscape.
- Have strong organizational skills and an ability to deal with many tasks and priorities while being on top of details. Work effectively on a tight schedule and be able to set and meet realistic deadlines.
- Experience as an organizer, campaigner, or in environmental justice is a plus.
- Competency with Google Suite, Slack, CRM’s, Asana, and project management platforms.
- Solid track record of working closely with senior management, and ideally in a BIPOC work environment.
- A demonstrated commitment to environmental, social and racial justice issues and
- understanding of challenges facing low income and BIPOC communities.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
You could be great for this role if:
- Knowledge of and commitment to progressive social change movements and grassroots organizing as the key to building local people power.
- Be able to work in alignment with and have strong knowledge and experience of the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing, and environmental justice principles.
- Communicate clearly and effectively both verbally and written.
- Familiar with work plans, goal setting, and participate in setting priorities and meeting deadlines.
- Detail-oriented and able to manage your time efficiently.
- Possess solid problem-solving skills and know how to give and receive feedback well.
- Highly communicative and good at public speaking/public relations, open to a fast-changing work environment, and a self-starter who can learn independently and quickly on the fly.
- A desire to grow and develop personally, and deepen our collective frameworks. You want to learn from others in an organization committed to movement-building for transformational change and self-determination.
Soulardarity is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics (or those of a family member) or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.
HOW TO APPLY
Interested applicants are asked to email the following with “Regional Energy Democracy Coordinator” written in the subject line to jobs@soulardarity.com:
- Cover letter
- Your cover letter should succinctly describe the skills, community experience, knowledge & workstyle which equip you for this role, and why you are interested in this position.
- Resume
- Three (3) references
OVERVIEW OF HIRING PROCESS
- Immediate hire opportunity to fill this position. We will be considering applicants on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
- A scenario based assessment will be included as part of the interview process.
- For applicants who proceed to an interview, there will be 2-3 rounds of interviews. Applicants can expect a response within a week of submitting an application instructing next steps if applicable. Any changes to this schedule will be communicated to applicants.
- Applicants will be scored and interviewed by the Soulardarity Hiring Committee. Primary contact(s) during the hiring process will be the Human Resources Manager
Please understand that only those whose applications being considered will be contacted. Position is open until filled and incomplete applications will not be considered. Thank you.
We value a strong, diverse team of folks whose lived experience informs their relationship to social and environmental justice work and our collective liberation. Women, trans-and gender-nonconforming folks, queer people, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), individuals with disabilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. We acknowledge this list is incomplete and encourage you to apply if your lived experience informs your desire to be a part of social and environmental justice work.