Energy & Climate Justice Organizer

THE POSITION

*This is a Living document and subject to flow & transformation

Job Title: Energy & Climate Justice Organizer

Job Location: Open to multiple options within Kentucky, prioritizing candidates from Lexington, Louisville, and Northern KY

Reporting Relationship: Supervised by an Organizing Co-Director or Lead Organizer

Employment Type: Full Time

Who We Are

KFTC is a grassroots organization with thousands of members and a dozen chapters across Kentucky organizing for racial, social, healing, and economic justice, a healthy environment, and an honest democracy. We believe in the power of community organizing – people working together to achieve common goals. KFTC members and staff use a range of organizing strategies to build grassroots power and make change, including leadership development, strategic communications, art and culture, integrated voter engagement, grassroots fundraising, alliance building, and we’re open to new, effective, and innovative ways centered in love, care, and collective growth & action as well.

KFTC’s leadership adopted the following vision and goal to guide our work through 2031:

Vivid Description: Kentuckians For The Commonwealth is a collective light, leading the way to a thriving, joyful, intergenerational, multi-cultural society where people are free from oppression and where equity, health care, and racial, economic, and social justice exist for everyone. We are a beloved community, where all people are connected and affirmed through healthy relationships, and dedicated to achieving mutual liberation.

Audacious Goal: Guided by Black, Indigenous, People of Color and impacted communities, we will recruit, equip, and activate a network of 100,000 members and partners across all 120 counties to dismantle racism and all systems of oppression, to develop a robust democracy and transform the future of Kentucky.

What You’ll Do

KFTC is seeking to hire experienced organizers who are highly motivated, self-aware, creative, committed to lifelong learning and transforming the future of Kentucky while seeking to achieve mutual liberation for all. Working under the supervision of an Organizing Director or Lead Organizer, this organizer will also collaborate closely with our Rural Energy & Climate Justice Organizer.

We are especially interested in hiring Organizers to:

• Do strong, anti-racist, anti-colonial organizing in specific regions of our state; preferably with a focus in and around Lexington and Central KY, and/or Louisville and Northern KY areas. Could also include other areas across the state.
• Bring skills and experience doing and leading organizing movements for mutual liberation, grassroots fundraising, campaigns, membership building, door-to-door canvassing, 1:1s and more.

You will:

• Recruit, support, and activate a growing, diverse, skilled, informed, and value aligned set of grassroots leaders in Kentucky whose lived experiences and values motivate them to work for racial, economic and environmental justice; energy, land, and climate justice; and Just Transition.
• Support KFTC’s New Energy and Transition Committee, members, and allies to advance a visionary, anti-racist, anti-colonial policy agenda related to energy, land, and climate justice; as well as Just Transition.
• Support implementation of organizing campaigns and strategies related to energy, land, and climate justice; and Just Transition. Current priorities include campaigns aimed at: speeding a just transition to clean energy by Kentucky’s monopoly utilities; transforming governance practices and clean energy programs offered by Kentucky’s rural electric cooperatives; pushing local governments to invest in equitable clean energy programs to benefit communities of color and low-income residents; shaping decisions about utility rates and Kentucky’s energy future at the KY Public Service Commission; winning transformative federal climate and just transition policies; opposing the build-out of false climate solutions; and shaping public narratives about the climate crisis, jobs, and justice.
• Create opportunities for thousands of Kentuckians to grow as energy, land, and climate justice leaders, which can look like: designing and facilitating workshops; providing one-to-one and small group coaching; planning high-quality webinars, conferences, and community meetings; lifting and supporting the perspectives & experiences of Black, Indigenous, and people of culture residing in KY; creating clear and compelling written materials; organizing door-to-door canvassing; creating opportunities for people to take collective action and demonstrate solidarity; and supporting people to take on various leadership roles.
• Represent KFTC within several key just transition, energy, land, and climate justice alliances, and cultivate strong and healthy relationships that will lead to greater alignment, resources, and shared strategies among allies at local, state, regional, national, and global levels.
• Contribute to important organizational goals and priorities, including by centering anti-racist & anti-colonial principles and practices, building a strong and effective staff team, helping to raise resources through grassroots and foundation fundraising, and more.

Who You Are

In this section we ask if you might see yourself in some of these descriptions? And, if you're not seeing yourself in some of these descriptions yet, that’s ok too. At KFTC we seek to lean into learning and growing together while embracing our individual & interwoven journeys with open hearts & open minds.

You are deeply committed to KFTC’s vision and values, as well as grassroots organizing as an approach to change. Key attributes & guiding principles include, and are not limited to:

• Bringing a visionary spirit to the work and culture of the organization via brave imagination, innovative thought and creativity
• Persistently seeks understanding the specific experiences of historically marginalized groups in the U.S., particularly Black and Indigenous groups.
• Employs anti-racist & anti-colonial values, practices, and principles to your personal & professional life.
• Direct anti-racism and anti-colonial experience (e.g. direct experience in and/or with Black & Indigenous led justice movements, etc.).
• Is committed to being a lifelong learner who is open to flow and change, and capable of being open to giving, receiving, & applying Loving critique.
• Understands the importance and potential of building authentic solidarity between BIPOC folks and low income white folks historically, presently, and as a guiding light. Has experience cultivating these relationships.
• Deep alignment with values, interests, principles and policies related to Just Transition and Black & Indigenous led energy, land, and climate justice movements.
• Experience with grassroots organizing campaigns and fundraising, preferably ones centered around Just Transition, energy, land, and climate justice through an anti-racist & anti-colonial lens.
• Prioritizes self-care for the purpose of collective care, as it is intrinsically tied to the energy infused in the work.
• Has and seeks to hone a conscious awareness of themselves and the people and environments they engage with

Ideally, you have 3 or more years experience in a similar role (volunteer experience is relevant). You have experience working with groups and developing other people as leaders, and be able to relate to Kentuckians from all walks of life and move people to action.

Strong interpersonal communication, group facilitation, and listening skills are essential. You are organized, strategic, able to cope with changing and uncertain circumstances, collaborative, courageous, and compassionate. What does it look like when we intentionally center healing, collective grief practices, and joy in our work & lives?

Strong, ever-growing, and intricate knowledge of self. Introspective and committed lifelong learner. Where are you currently located on your own personal healing journey, and how does it weave into your work?

You’ll need to work well independently; this job is very self-directed. We also need you to be skilled at working collaboratively in teams with volunteers and co-workers. Be comfortable using (and/or learning to use) technology, including Google platforms, databases, email and Slack communication, and various social media platforms.

Additional desired, yet not necessary, qualities and experiences include:

• Broadly familiar with Kentucky’s political, economic, and energy landscape.
• Familiar with local, state, and federal political institutions relevant to climate and just transition policy in Kentucky.
• Has some knowledge, familiarity, direct experience, and/or willingness to learn about Black & Indigenous led environmental justice movements like Climate Justice Alliance, Land Back and the Red, Black & Green New Deal etc.
• Familiar with KFTC and our allies in the Just Transition, Energy, Land, and Climate Justice movement.
• Experience with spokesperson development and media relations.

Finally, you excel in and are guided by these concepts & principles:

1. Commitment, creativity, and skills that pull yourself and us all toward liberation & Love.
2. Critical consciousness, analysis, thinking, and planning skills.
3. Self-direction, reliability, and resilience.
4. Wholistic self, interpersonal, and community building skills, meaning you come to this work as your whole and authentic self regardless of space, place, and/or circumstance, with an alignment of mind, body, spirit & energy towards a vision of mutual liberation for all.

What Else You Should Know

1. This position will be open until filled; ideal start date is during July or August 2024.
2. These positions require a full-time, flexible, 40-hour/week schedule with frequent in-state travel, some overnight travel, and some work on nights and weekends. A valid driver’s license and a vehicle that can be used for work are also required.
3. KFTC has offices in Louisville, Lexington, Covington, Bowling Green, Prestonsburg, and London, KY. Because this position focuses on investor owned and municipal owned utilities, we will prioritize candidates from Lexington, Louisville, and Northern Kentucky. KFTC staff work either mostly from home or some hybrid between home and office depending on their schedule and responsibilities.
4. All employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and comply with safety policies and procedures, like masking and social distancing. Employees in need of an exemption from this policy due to a medical reason or because of a sincerely held religious belief must submit a completed Request for Accommodation.
5. Salary is based on prior relevant experience. An Organizer with no experience would start at $46,440. 5 years of relevant experience would mean starting at $53,667. A successful candidate who brings additional experience will have a higher starting salary.
6. Generally, KFTC’s staff receive an annual cost of living pay adjustment plus an additional across the board yearly pay raise.
7. KFTC currently provides free full family health, dental, and vision coverage. We have a compensation time policy, 15 paid vacation days, 9 paid sick days, 3 paid personal days, and 11 paid holidays as well as 5 days of closure time at year’s end. We offer 40 days of paid parental leave for the birth or adoption of a child, and 20 days of paid family care leave. All staff are eligible for a month paid sabbatical after 5 years. KFTC contributes to a Simplified Employee Pension plan after 3 years of employment.
8. This position is in the bargaining unit of the staff union, which is represented by Chicago-Midwest Regional Joint Board, Workers United, an affiliate of SEIU.
9. KFTC is an equal opportunity employer, and does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, religion, color, marital status, veteran status, national origin, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical size or weight, status as parent or caregiver, pregnancy status, ancestry, or physical or mental disability that can be reasonably accommodated without undue hardship.

Our equal employment opportunity philosophy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, training, promotion, transfer, job benefits, pay, and dismissal.

KFTC aims to be guided by people most-impacted by the issues at the center of our work. People of color, people from working class backgrounds, women and LGBTQIA2S+ people are encouraged to apply.