Community Organizer

Tailor Your Resume for this Job

Is social justice a passion of yours? Are you tired of just talking about change and are ready to take action?

Then we want YOU to join the Toronto ACORN organizing team!

What is ACORN?

ACORN Canada, the nationwide community union of low-to-moderate income people, is expanding our organizing in Toronto. Our purpose is to give low-to-moderate income people the power needed to have their voices effectively heard at the highest levels in the country.

Current Campaigns:

Affordable and livable housing, stop no-fault evictions, end financialized housing, climate justice, retrofits for renters, fair banking, internet for all, better social assistance and more.

How do we win?

Organizers do direct outreach, listen to community residents’ concerns, and connect what they want to see changed to effective mass-based action. Organizing protests, developing campaigns, coordinating communications and research, and, most important, building powerful local groups all across Toronto!

ACORN is a multi-issue, mass based union of low-to-moderate income people. ACORN is able to be both a local-based union winning local campaigns, as well as a large-scale organization combining forces to fight national corporations and governments that are at the root of most of our problems.

We are a tenants’ union. We are a disability action union. We are a worker’s union. We are a consumer’s union. We are whatever our members are. Our members pay dues so that the organization can be sustainable and not dependent on outside funding from government and corporations. Each dues member has a vote, and only members speak for the organization. Our members get elected to our board of directors and set our policy and help determine the tactics.

Job Description:

• Building/expanding neighbourhood groups by being directly in the communities we’re organizing.
• Develop building, neighbourhood, and municipal campaigns with the current ACORN leadership and new leaders from the community that you help develop.
• Are responsible for your own projects such as organizing neighbourhood meetings, press conferences, townhalls, protests, sit-in’s and other direct actions. This includes all of the strategic planning, logistics, leadership development, media relations, communications and outreach.
• Represent the organization in the neighbourhoods, as well as with our leadership at external meetings or events (allies or targets).
• Work with our Toronto Lead Organizer on a day to day basis to learn the basics of ACORN’s organizing methods and techniques.
• Fundraising and asking for money is a fundamental part of ACORN staffs’ jobs. We are structured like a union: ACORN members pay membership dues. While this is not the entire job, it’s fundamental that organizers sign up members and can ask for dues and donations.

Perks of the Job:

• Salary with benefits, mileage/phone reimbursements, sick days and paid vacation.
• Paid training/travel opportunities across Canada (usually 3-4 times a year).
• Lot’s of opportunity for growth. Organizers are advanced quickly who do a good job.
• Making a meaningful impact in your community and across the country.
• Working with and learning from like-minded people dedicated to social change.

Qualifications and Skills

• No paid experience required.
• Be willing to work in the afternoons/evenings between 12-9pm.
• Have strong social and people skills.
• Be self driven.
• Have the ability to work both independently but also follow direction.
• Ability to listen in order to identify issues that are affecting our people.
• Must be able to handle multiple tasks in the same day – flexibility and resilience are keys to success.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: $43,000.00-$45,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Casual dress
• Company events
• Dental care
• Mileage reimbursement
• Paid time off
• RRSP match
• Vision care

Application question(s):

• Do you live in Toronto? If yes, what part of the city?
• Are you returning to school? If yes, when?
• Please outline (using examples when possible) how you have an enthusiasm for knocking on doors and talking to strangers year-round.
• Describe your passion for fairness, equality and social/economic justice.
• How do you feel about membership dues as a model for sustaining an independent community union?
• SITUATIONAL QUESTION: You’ve been planning a protest for the last month against a local landlord who has mistreated an ACORN member. Half an hour before it’s due to start, the member calls you to say that she can’t attend the protest because she thinks the landlord will respond by increasing her rent as a punishment. What would you say to the member to persuade her to change her mind?
• SITUATIONAL QUESTION: A member you recruited recently attends your chapter meeting. He begins to speak over other members and is not willing to listen to others who have a different opinion. You can see that some members are getting uncomfortable or frustrated. What do you do to defuse the situation?
• Did you use ChatGPT or AI to answer any of these questions?
• Adaptability and resilience are key to successful organizing. How do you handle unexpected changes, differing perspectives or challenging conversations while staying focused on your goal?

Work Location: In person