Job Posting: Digital Organizer at Pittsburghers for Public Transit
All applications received by 1/10/24 are guaranteed to be reviewed
About Pittsburghers for Public Transit
Pittsburghers for Public Transit is a grassroots union of transit riders, workers and neighbors. Together we organize for an expanded, affordable and accessible public transit system that meets all needs, with no communities left behind.
We are a member-led grassroots union. Our members vote annually for fellow members to join our Board of Directors, which manages our staff and finances. They create and vote to approve our yearly campaign plans. And they put in the volunteer work on our committees to win those campaigns.
We are creating a better transit system for everybody, for our city and our region, by organizing together as poor and working-class people in a multi-racial movement for transit justice – and we need you with us in this fight.
Digital Organizer Position Summary
The PPT Digital Organizer will work with the Digital Organizing Director, the rest of the PPT staff, and the PPT Membership to grow our base and win our campaigns by building out digital infrastructure, online-to-offline organizing funnels, and strategic communications.
This is not an entry-level position; we require applicants to have experience in digital infrastructure-building, systems development, strategic communications, campaign planning, community organizing, and facilitating meetings, trainings, and events. It’s a big broad job, and we work together to support each other so we can win.
PPT has a small paid staff team, and close collaboration is required between all staff positions and our 260 active members. The full-time Digital Organizer will start in mid-February 2024 and work out of our Garfield office, but may work part of their schedule remotely. The Digital Organizer will report to the Digital Organizing Director.
Primary Job Responsibilities
- Membership Program Management: Cultivate a PPT Membership program that builds strong, caring, personal relationships that move people to action. We are a family. We fight for each other and our community. That means we will need you to:
- Grow the number of members – build systems with the team to increase the number of people active in our membership
- Increase engagement – deepen the membership’s involvement in our organizing; including participation in our Board elections, strategic planning, committees, petition drives, rallies, actions and events by implementing tools and systems.
- Develop leadership – bring members up our leadership ladder to take a bigger role in leading our work; including telling their story, public speaking, event facilitation, media relations, running for our board of directors, and other organizing/advocacy/leadership skills
- Revenue – Work with the team to increase the amount of funding that we bring in through our membership program. Strong income from our membership program gives us the autonomy we need to take on rich and powerful interests.
- Digital infrastructure-building: co-create systems to maximize the efficacy of the digital and ‘ol-fashioned community organizing tactics.
- EveryAction! Grow an organizational culture committed to building a powerful EveryAction database and advocacy/communications toolset to win our campaigns
- Email! Help strengthen an email program that builds on our newsletter list (one of our strongest organizational assets) by leveraging timely, tailored, and persuasive personal and bulk emails to share news and drive engagement.
- SMS! Improve our SMS communications strategy to build relationships with existing and potential/future members and contacts by co-developing strategy that makes text outreach easy, engaging, and as personal as possible.
- Leadership ladder! Build digital and person-to-person organizing systems that operationalize our Leadership ladder to bring more and more contacts to higher levels of leadership within the organization
- Website! Assist the Communications Director with turning the PPT website into an organizing powerhouse that brings on new members, drives participation in campaigns, and broadcasts news about our important campaigns.
- Social media! Work with the staff team and membership to establish a social media strategy that incorporates online tactics to build real-life offline engagement.
- Strategic Communications: co-develop and execute communications plans that change the narrative and uplift the power of transit riders and transit workers. Use media outlets of all shapes and forms to spread the good word about PPT locally, statewide, and nationally.
- Tell the story of PPT’s work and transit rider/worker successes in the media that we directly control – our blogs, videos, photos, websites, reports, mailings, online communities, and social media pages.
- Help design a visual brand that is synonymous with transit rider power and has so much love that it’s irresistible for people to join in. Design engaging digital and print pieces for our communications tools, resources, and campaigns.
- Work with reporters at various local, statewide, and national news media outlets to leverage their reach and promote PPT’s organizing. Help manage news media relations, communications, and press strategy
- Develop leaders from PPT campaigns and member-led Communications Committee to take an active role in all aspects of our strategic communications and build more leaders – from writing to speaking, to interviewing, to graphic design, to managing comms tools and strategy.
Qualities We Are Looking For
Versed in Strategic Infrastructure. You have experience building and managing digital infrastructure to strengthen organizations. Systems and tools should be clear, intuitive, and accessible for staff and volunteers to utilize.
Accountability Focused. You are a rigorous systems thinker who can create digital infrastructure to accurately assess our current engagement capacity, identify opportunities for growth, and demonstrate the efficacy of different organizing and communications strategies.
Visionary and Committed. You are an organizer at heart, working towards justice for our communities. You are caring, invested, and accountable to your fellow staff, PPT’s democratically-elected board leadership, and membership.
A Swiss Army Knife. You are resourceful and creative, willing to do what it takes to make a project succeed. You can handle a lot in a fast-paced, multi-faceted work environment
In(ter)dependent. Can work independently, self-managing your time, while maintaining close communication with remote teams. You are flexible and know that changing the world doesn’t always happen between 9 am and 5 pm.
Required Qualifications
- Support Pittsburghers for Public Transit’s mission, vision, and theory of change
- Deep personal investment in the intersectional struggle for transit justice, housing justice, disability justice, racial justice and environmental justice.
- Experience in multi-racial, multicultural settings
- Spreadsheet prowess and admin-level proficiency in 21st-century office tools: Google Suite, Zoom, Asana etc
- 2-3 years of managing digital systems and infrastructure for an organization like CRMs, websites, and tools for digital activism
- 2-3 years of community organizing experience, preferably with grassroots member-led base-building organizations or unions, moving people to volunteer, donate, attend events, or take action for social change
- 2-3 years of experience with strategic communications, creating content that moves people from passive participation to active leadership
- Access to reliable internet, phone, and remote office arrangements. PPT provides a stipend for setting up a home office
Preferred Qualifications
- 1+ years experience in PPT membership, and familiarity with Pittsburghers for Public Transit’s community and organizational culture.
- 1+ years experience in creating training materials and training organizational staff.
- Experience managing an organization’s Every Action CRM and toolset
- Ability to write and speak a second language, preferably Spanish
Location and Travel
Our staff must be willing to work a flexible schedule, including nights and weekends.
The PPT Digital Organizer will work out of our Garfield office but may work part-time remotely. Staff must be willing to travel throughout Allegheny County, and occasionally throughout the state of Pennsylvania.
Although PPT is a public transit advocacy organization, we often work in neighborhoods and with residents who have limited or no access to public transit, so we prefer applicants to have reliable access to a car.
Salary and Benefits
This is a full non-exempt position. Salary is $52,500 a year, and includes high quality, fully-paid family health care, bus pass, 401k retirement contributions, and generous paid leave time. PPT is committed to an access-focused culture centered around Disability Justice principles and believes in a workplace culture with a healthy work-life balance.
How To Apply & Hiring timeline
Please send a resume, cover letter, and writing sample to Dan Yablonsky, PPT’s Digital Organizing Director, at dan@pittsburghforpublictransit.org. To ensure prompt attention make sure to put “PPT Digital Organizer” in the subject line. References will be asked for candidates who advance in the process. Candidates will only be contacted if our hiring team chooses to pursue an interview.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, familial status, sexual orientation, national origin, ability, age, or veteran status.
All applications received by January 10th, 2024 are guaranteed to be reviewed, but the position will be open until filled. PPT’s target start date for the new hire is February 14th.❤️