Arena Careers

About The People’s Lobby

The People’s Lobby is a membership-driven organization devoted to organizing widespread support for public policies and candidates – including people from our communities – that put racial justice and the needs of people and the planet before the interests of big corporations and the very rich. We train leaders to build bases of people and money power in our communities, organize support for progressive legislation, endorse candidates and take direct action to pressure elected officials and other powerful people to put the interests of people and the planet first.

About the Healthcare Near West Suburban Organizer Position

At The People’s Lobby, organizers hold primary responsibility for building power around one issue and in at least one geographic area.

The “north star” of People’s Lobby’s Healthcare Team is universal care through an improved Medicare for All program. Our current focus is building our membership to identify and win a short and medium term corporate campaign or state legislation that would move us closer to universal healthcare, like strengthening state regulation of for-profit insurance corporations or expanding Medicaid coverage. The organizer would grow and develop the capacity of the team of leaders dedicated to healthcare reform. Health care team members would come from the near west suburbs and from other organizers working in other geographies.

The organizer would also spend significant time building relationships with people in Chicago’s near west suburbs to become members of The People’s Lobby, working directly with people who are interested in health care justice and inviting people interested in other aspects of our work (climate and environmental justice, criminal justice reform, and the gig economy) to be organized by other staff.

Areas of responsibility:

• Overall healthcare campaign leadership - Working with other staff and leaders to develop a specific issue cut (key reforms and stepping stone legislation toward the goal of universal healthcare); developing a power analysis and strategy to win the issue cut; and building relationships with allies, including elected officials, other community organizations and stakeholders. The organizer will also manage The People’s Lobby’s participation in People’s Action’s National Care Over Cost Campaign.
• Base building - Talking directly with poor and working class people, especially in immigrant communities and communities of color, about what they need; identifying people with leadership potential and propositioning them into owning parts of the campaign work. The organizer will have the ability to negotiate with the Executive Director and Organizing Director precisely where and whom to organize that meets alignment of their self-interest, the organization's priority areas for growth and what we might win.
• Understanding state and federal healthcare policy - Gaining a deep enough level of knowledge to work with leaders to cut big, but ultimately winnable, policy issues that will bring improvements in one or more aspects of healthcare.
• Training and political education of our members - Developing the ability of our members to move other people into action (including eventually conducting leadership training on our organizing methodology); ensuring our leaders understand, own and execute parts of the campaign strategy and develop and hold relationships with political power-players.
• Building and maintaining grass-tops relationships - Understanding the political landscape and working directly with elected officials to advance our shared self-interests.
• Fundraising - Building our dues-paying membership within the base as a part of the overall organization’s membership drive and supporting the Executive Director in raising money from foundations and wealthy individuals.
• Other - support TPL’s other work and campaigns as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated success in relational organizing and in working with people from diverse race and gender identities, different levels of education and income, and different ages.
• Demonstrated success in working with volunteers to plan, execute, and complete group projects (as opposed to doing the important / challenging work of figuring out a plan or strategy yourself, then bringing volunteers in to execute a plan).
• Demonstrated success – and excitement for – the work of developing other people & their leadership (as opposed to being the person in front of a room or leading a meeting).
• Demonstrated success using a combination of tactics (canvassing, community meetings, social media or other) to bring new people into an issue or electoral campaign or as organization members.

Additional optional qualifications:

• Fluency in Spanish.
• A personal impact story about the healthcare system.

Qualities Sought:

• Angry about injustice in the world and committed to effectiveness.
• Willingness to work within The People’s Lobby’s organizing methodology, including a focus on self-interest, negotiation and agitation.
• Enjoys working with people and is capable of negotiating clearly with members, coworkers and the supervisor about how we do the work.
• Willingness to take risks and do things outside of personal comfort zone.
• Attentive to details, which is often the difference between an average organizer and a highly effective organizer. Examples include keeping a busy calendar and the ability (or willingness to learn) how to think through the steps of managing meetings or events involving groups (sometimes large groups) of people.
• The ability to take multiple perspectives, even at times seemingly competing perspectives, and see what might be true (partial truths) in each of them.
• Kind, but direct. Able to give and receive feedback.

The People’s Lobby is committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. We believe that a diverse team enriches our work and strengthens our mission. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds who are passionate about social justice and who share our commitment to equity and inclusion.

Benefits

Employer-paid health and dental plans, technology and transportation stipends, and 5% retirement contribution. The People’s Lobby offers generous paid time off, including 10 sick days per year and 10 days of paid time off for the first year of employment. The following holidays are observed by the organization: New Year's Day, Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Indigenous People's Day, and Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday. In addition to the holidays officially observed by the organization, permanent, regular employees are entitled to five (5) paid floating holidays, to be used for the observance of other civic holidays, religious holidays, or other days of personal significance. Additionally, offices will be closed for the last ten business days of each year.