Campaign Organizer

Job Title: Campaign Organizer (Temporary)

Department: Illinois Chapter

Location: Positions based throughout Illinois with some local travel required. Applicants must be available for regular in-person work within Illinois.

Reports To: Organizing Director

Duration: 3 months (Approximately 37.5 hours per week)

Number of Openings: 4

Context: At the Sierra Club, we believe in the power of togetherness. Together, we remain committed to the fight for a healthy climate built on a foundation of environmental, racial, economic, and gender justice—a future where all people benefit from a healthy, thriving planet and a direct connection to nature. As the climate crisis and deeply entrenched systemic racism all fuel inequity, we will continue to fight for a bold, transformational agenda that recognizes the interconnectedness between our planet, our humanity, and our democracy.

By recognizing that our destinies are tied, we continue to name that all things are fundamentally connected, and the overlap between ecology, race, gender, and representative government will move to either advance our collective humanity or to oppress it.

Sierra Club Membership: Sierra Club is composed of staff across the country and a network of local chapters that support our grassroots engagement. We are also proud to be a unionized employer, with two labor unions representing more than half of our employees.

Scope: The Temporary Campaign Organizer is responsible for recruiting, engaging, and motivating large numbers of new people to take action on behalf of Sierra Club endorsed candidates. The role involves building volunteer leadership, coordinating grassroots power, and engaging in direct voter contact. The Organizer regularly works outside of the office and without direct supervision to communicate with volunteers and voters, and must be able to travel to relevant communities and locations to implement campaign activities.

• Works independently or with staff to devise and implement campaign activities on behalf of Sierra Club endorsed candidates
• Identifies, recruits, and organizes volunteers both in Sierra Club and other groups around assigned campaign(s). Seeks opportunities to advance the Sierra Club’s diversity initiatives through new partnerships and engagement strategies where appropriate
  • Engages people and develops volunteer leadership in both social and environmental advocacy activities that will create strong environmental communities and build power at the community, state, and national level.
  • Develops and implements a variety of engagement strategies including online and face‑to‑face to develop networks to support Sierra Club goals.
  • Maintains and develops new partnerships with affinity groups who share many common goals and values.
• Works with appropriate staff and volunteer entities to plan and implement visibility, media and community outreach events to generate public support for Sierra Club endorsed candidates and our issue positions
• Identifies and develops volunteers who will work as part of a team and take on the role of team leaders to build grassroots power and networks. Helps those leaders succeed by training and coaching them on how to strategize, organize, inspire and motivate.
• Coordinates and measures success of activities with manager and campaign or program leads to ensure progress towards the campaign's mission and goals.
• Heavier workloads may occur as a result of project deadlines, staff absences and vacancies, and during peak activity periods. Intermittent weekend and/or evening work will be required.

• Excellent verbal communication skills and demonstrated ability to clearly articulate ideas and easily strike up conversation with diverse groups of people. Demonstrated ability and enthusiasm for persuasive communication with individuals on a daily basis, including door‑to‑door, phone, and text contacts
• Strong organizational and problem‑solving skills and ability to work effectively in an action‑oriented office.
• Ability to work independently, cooperatively and effectively with public, staff and volunteers. Strong ability to network, build trust and working relationships.
• Able to travel…