Grassroots Leadership is seeking a full-time bilingual Deputy Director for its Austin office. The position will ensure that we are strategic, intentional, and aligned with our mission and values to execute our work. An ideal applicant will be able to work in a fast-paced environment, have proven experience with leading organizers, have a clear understanding of policy-making, as well as spearhead successful campaigns. The ideal candidate will have ties to Texas and have a deep knowledge of crimmigration. The Deputy Director will report directly to the Executive Director. This is a full-time, exempt position.

The Deputy Director’s role will be the primary external face of the organization as it pertains to policy, program, and community partnerships. This role is responsible for forming relationships with community members, allies, and elected officials to work towards effective policy transformations in Texas. This role also supports the communications department, organizers, and participatory defense coordinators in increasing base membership to collaboratively develop campaigns. In this role, the Deputy Director will support the leadership and needs of communities most impacted by the social justice system in Texas. The Deputy Director will also support organizers in the planning, creating, and implementing of cross-organizational development and resources.

Essential duties and responsibilities:

• Developing overall political, advocacy, and programmatic strategies and ensuring the metrics necessary to accomplish the organization’s goals.

• Building strategic partnerships and alliances among diverse groups.

• Working collaboratively with the Executive Director to ensure fundraising needs are articulated and the budget reflects the program needs and policy initiatives in any given year.

• Maintaining and identifying potential employee retention opportunities.

• Collaborating with Houston Deputy Director for supervision and coaching of ATX and HTX teams in their locations.

• Overseeing team budgets.

• Collaborating with the development team to provide required data and information for grant reports.

• Monthly expense reports.

• Administrative duties

• Representative of GRL at conferences, seminars, and events.

• Developing and managing systems to support Grassroots Leadership organizers.

• Assessing political education and skill development needs for all programmatic staff and developing corresponding plans for training and mentorship at organizational and individual levels in partnership with managers.

• Guiding campaign strategy, base building, and leadership development plans for campaigns and membership groups.

• Championing a commitment to advancing social justice and undoing institutional racism while ensuring a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.

• Fostering shared leadership, being inclusive, and maintaining positive relationships between the board, staff, organizational funders, and donors.

• Any other tasks assigned by the Executive Director.

Experience, Knowledge, and skills required:

• Knowledge of the criminal justice and immigration systems and their intersection, crimmigration

• Commitment to ending the disproportionate impact of mass incarceration and criminalization on communities of color

• No less than five years of campaign, policy, or political organizing centered around and led by impacted communities

• Passion and strong commitment to social and racial justice change 

• Strong self-awareness, interpersonal, organizational, and presentation skills 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills 

• Critical, analytical,and strategic thinking, as well as problem-solving skills

• Excellent time management and delegation skills 

• Ability to work well with peers, elected officials, allies, teams

• Comfortable with proactively addressing and resolving conflict and promoting accountability in supportive, positive, and non-punitive ways

• Willing to work long and sometimes irregular hours, including weekends and evenings, with comp time policy

• Computer competency 

• Experience leading a team

• Experience leading a successful campaign 

• Exhibit a passion for and dedication to advancing the Grassroots Leadership mission and the community it serves.

• Thinking systemically to identify and address changes and trends in the community

This salaried position will be located in our Austin and Houston offices.

Travel within and outside the city or state will be required. The salary for this position will be $76,000 a year with full benefits. Full-time staff members are automatically enrolled in comprehensive health care plans, have flexible work schedules, and can participate in employee benefits.

It is the policy of Grassroots Leadership not to discriminate in the employment of staff or the selection of volunteers based on race, creed, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran status, financial status or HIV status. Grassroots Leadership works affirmatively to build a staff and board that includes people of different races, classes, genders, physical and mental abilities, ages, and sexual orientations.

Grassroots Leadership is committed to investing in the leadership of people of color and formerly incarcerated people. People of color, formerly incarcerated people, people who have family in prisons or have been impacted by the immigration enforcement system, women, queer, and trans people are encouraged to apply. We do not discourage or discriminate against people with convictions, and you will not be asked on the application or interview if you have ever been convicted of a crime. Please feel free to mention your experience with the criminal legal and immigration system, as those experiences will be considered an asset in this job.

Please send a letter of introduction, resume/vitae, writing sample relevant to campaigns, and three employment-related references to HR@grassrootsleadership.org with “Deputy Director” in the subject line. Please briefly tell us why this position is of interest to you. Questions about the position should be directed to the same email address.

Grassroots Leadership seeks a Human Resource Practitioner for the organization. The position will be responsible for managing, developing and supporting employees within an organization. They handle all the issues, policies and processes related to people, assisting with the end-to-end recruitment process, training and developing employees and managing performance, compensation and benefits. This position reports directly to the Acting Executive Director.

Essential duties and responsibilities:

• Employee relations - develop policies and practices to ensure we are aligned with our mission, values, and theory of change

• Human resources information software (HRIS)

• Employee enrollment of insurance and healthcare benefit plans, training and compliance.

• Focus on managing and developing best practice tools for future needs to maintain a healthy work environment

• Managing HR infrastructures to support managers

• Supports Executive Director by establishing a recruiting candidate selection and interviewing, onboarding, training employees and conduct exit interviews

• Ensures planning, monitoring, unbiased hearing and resolving employee grievances; and conflict resolution with employees and/or supervisors

• Enforces management guidelines by preparing, updating, and recommending human resource policies and procedures

• Retains historical human resource records by designing a filing and retrieval system and keeping past and current records

• Works with the managers in planning, monitoring and appraising job results through performance evaluations. Works with the managers in planning, monitoring, and appraising job results through performance evaluations

• Prepare reports for managers and Executive Director as needed

• Prepares independent consultant contracts

Experience, Knowledge, and skills required:

• Graduation from an accredited two-year college or university with a bachelor's degree in human resources or a related field is generally preferred. Experience and education may be substituted for one another.

• Technologically savvy with experience selecting and overseeing software installations and managing relationships with software vendors; knowledge of HR and administrative software

• Demonstrated strength in providing clear and efficient communications, ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in written form, internally & externally

• Very detailed oriented

• Ability to work in a supervisory and/or independent capacity

• Ability to work effectively with diverse grassroots staff, allies and constituencies.

• Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously; ability to plan, organize and control large amounts of work

• Ability to maintain the utmost confidentiality and ethical standards

• Ability to work under deadlines, multiple interruptions, high volume and stressful times.

Strong Applicants also have:

• Experience working with nonprofits

• Proven previous human resources function(s)

• Experience working with BIPOC staff and community

• Bilingual: Spanish/English

• Sense of humor

More about the job:

This part-time, salaried position will be located in our Austin, Texas, office, at 7910 Cameron Rd, Austin, TX 78754.

Salary will be starting at $56,000.00 per year. The successful candidate will be trained by the Executive Director.

About the organization:

Founded in 1980, Grassroots Leadership is a nationally recognized civil and human rights organization based in Austin, Texas working for a more just society where prison profiteering, mass incarceration, deportation, and criminalization are things of the past. We work to transform the justice and immigration systems through organizing, research, advocacy, and public education, building bridges between communities to increase the capacity of local leaders and coalitions, and mobilizing those most impacted by incarceration and deportation.

Grassroots Leadership is an equal opportunity employer and does not to discriminate in employing staff, or selection of volunteers, on the basis of race, creed, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, justice involvement or conviction, veteran status, financial status or HIV status. Grassroots Leadership works affirmatively to build a staff and board that includes people of many different races, classes, genders, physical and mental abilities, ages and sexual orientations.

How to Apply:

Please send to HR@grassrootsleadership.org with “HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTITIONER” POSITION in subject line, in (.doc) or (.pdf) format:

• Letter of introduction

• Current resume/vitae

• Contact information and three professional references

Questions about the position should also be directed to the same email address.

Grassroots Leadership is seeking a full-time Immigration Organizer for our Austin office. The will be responsible for building and coordinating the digital and physical membership base for our immigration program (ML). An ideal applicant will have the ability to work in a fast-paced environment, be a self-starter, and have experience with base-building, organizing and campaigns. Bilingual a must.

Duties of this position include coordinating the advocacy and organizing work of Grassroots Leadership at the federal, regional and local levels. It includes all work related to the campaign on family detention, and the campaign to end police-ICE collaboration in the Travis County region. Someone that is close to the issue either by being directly impacted or in relation with those that are impacted * Note: in relation meaning in direct relationship and holds an understanding of the culture of those most affected.

Supports communications, development and administrative duties as needed, and fulfills other duties as outlined by Grassroots Leadership Immigration Campaign Manager and Executive Director.

Essential duties and responsibilities:

Demonstrated knowledge of and experience in the immigration system and commitment to ending the disproportionate impact of mass incarceration, detention, deportation, and criminalization on communities of color.

• Familiarity with Texas legislative and local government processes.

• Facilitate the building of an organization led by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals and their loved ones.

• Team player, ability to work effectively with diverse grassroots constituencies, coalition partners, and policy-makers.

• Strong ability to manage partner relationships and conflict.

• Ability to adapt to rapidly changing situations in a politically challenging environment, think strategically, and take initiative.

• Coordinate bi-weekly community outreach events to recruit new ML members

• Plan and facilitate meetings, mixers, new member training, and events.

• Develop base-building strategies including canvassing and flyering plans to promote program events.

• In collaboration with organizers, coordinate and manage community hotlines and hotline volunteers.

• Regularly report updates and activities to the team.

• Bring potential campaign opportunities or interventions from the base to the attention of the ATX Campaign Manager.

• Maintains regular communication with Organizers across the organization.

• Maintain ML external and internal communications including regular updates, emails, social media, etc.

• Regularly maintain and use our database (Everyaction), including adding new people to it, gathering information such as in sign-on letters, event registrations, email updates, action alerts, etc. as needed.

• Monthly expense reports

Team budgets

Have and develop an understanding of both political climate and cultures in the communities we choose to engage with so as to be better able to provide an informed analysis and proposal of any campaign we will like to engage in

Support the annual:

• Dancing Away Detention fundraiser Support the Grassroots Leadership individual donor (sustainer) program

• Any other tasks assigned by the Organizing Manager

More about the job:

This salaried position will be located in our Austin office. Some travel within the city and occasional travel outside of the city or state may be required. Salary for this position will be $53,000.00 a year with full benefits. Full-time staff members are automatically enrolled in comprehensive health care plans, have flexible work schedules, and are able to take part in various employee benefits.

It is the policy of Grassroots Leadership not to discriminate in the employment of staff, or in the selection of volunteers, on the basis of race, creed, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran status, financial status or HIV status. Grassroots Leadership works affirmatively to build a staff and board that includes people of many different races, classes, genders, physical and mental abilities, ages and sexual orientations.

Grassroots Leadership is committed to investing in the leadership of people of color and formerly incarcerated people. People of color, formerly incarcerated people, people who have family in prisons or have been impacted by the immigration enforcement system, women, queer, and trans people are encouraged to apply. We do not discourage or discriminate against people with convictions, and you will not be asked if you have ever been convicted of a crime on the application or interview. Please feel free to mention your experience with the criminal justice or immigration system as those experiences will be considered as an asset in this job.

Please send a letter of introduction, resume/vitae, and three employment-related references to HR@grassrootsleadership.org with “IMM ATX Organizer” in the subject line. Please briefly tell us why this position is of interest to you. Questions about the position should be directed to the same email address.