Work with SIREN

SPARTANBURG INIATITIVE FOR RACIAL EQUITY NOW (SIREN)

COMMUNITY ADVOCACY COORDINATOR

PART-TIME / CONTRACT POSITION

The Spartanburg Initiative for Racial Equity Now (SIREN) is a collective of parents, artists, journalists, neighborhood nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs, activists, and scholars. It was founded in June 2020 to help create a more equitable future through policy research, advocacy, journalism, and direct action.

The objectives of SIREN are as follows:

1. To encourage and elevate a culture of robust, informed discussion, including strongly worded, constructive critique, in shared (public) spaces.
2. To foster the participatory inclusion of greater numbers of people of diverse backgrounds, identities, and life experiences in decision-making in community work.
3. To assert and advocate for the right to housing, thriving neighborhood life, and healthy neighborhoods for all (without uneven toxic load from waste sites, lead, air pollution, or inequitable access to green spaces, parks).
4. To communicate diverse and heterogeneous perspectives and experiences on issue areas for the purposes of informing others and deepening our own understandings of experiences and lives in the community we share.
5. To be a watchdog, keeping an eye on organizations, agencies, and offices, so as to invite, encourage, and expect their accountability to the public they serve.
6. To lower the barriers to participation in civic life by elevating the community care of those at the grassroots, and especially BIPOC individuals, and by onboarding “new-to-the-movement” folks in ways that minimize the burden on BIPOC individuals to educate “new-to-movement” white participants.

COMMUNITY ADVOCACY COORDINATOR

SIREN is seeking to fill a part-time/contract position to help coordinate and participate in advocacy efforts within Spartanburg County. This community advocate will provide advocacy on behalf of Spartanburg’s underserved communities and will lobby for development or change within Black, Hispanic and other underserved neighborhoods. They are responsible for providing information to citizens about public issues that the community might not be aware of, such as racial equity and equality, gentrification, health equity, redistricting, voter turnout, voter education and other political and social issues.

In this part-time position, your duties may include performing a variety of outreach services, such as coordinating public meetings, attending city council and neighborhood events, and meeting with politicians, business owners, and other parties in the community.

Responsibilities include:

1. Using social media to promote issues, events and opportunities to speak out.
2. Working with the board of directors to prepare for board meetings and full-team meetings. Board meetings are once a month, usually the first Thursday at noon. Full-team meetings are once a month, usually the first or second Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
3. Attending and possibly speaking at city, county, school board and legislative meetings as needed, and reporting back.
4. Tracking legislation and local ordinances that impact the BIPOC community.
5. Organize rallies, protests, and demonstrations when directed by the Board.
6. Establish relationships with local media for coverage of events and issues.
7. And general administrative duties.

Requirement:

1. BA Degree in Social or Political Science
2. At least 1 year in community advocacy focusing on BIPOC community
3. Oral and Written skill sets
4. Public speaking
5. Some travel will be required.
6. Ability to write op-eds and blog posts is preferred.

COMPENSTATION:

This is a contract position for 10 hours per week and pays $1,000 per month. This position is currently funded for up to eight months.

Preference will be given to BIPOC candidates.

If you are interested, please send a resume to info@wearesiren.org by March 15, 2023.