Senior Organizing Manager

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Title: Senior Organizing Manager
Department: Programs
Unit: Grassroots Power Building
Location: Western Region/Remote home office
Reports to: Regional Organizing Director
Supervises: Organizers


Context: At the Sierra Club, we believe in the power of togetherness. Together, we remain committed to the fight for a healthy climate built on a foundation of environmental, racial, economic, and gender justice – a future where all people benefit from a healthy, thriving planet and a direct connection to nature. As the climate crisis and deeply entrenched systemic racism all fuel inequity, we will continue to fight for a bold, transformational agenda that recognizes the interconnectedness between our planet, our humanity, and our democracy. By recognizing that our destinies are tied, we continue to name that all things are fundamentally connected, and the overlap between ecology, race, gender, and representative government will move to either advance our collective humanity or to oppress it.

Sierra Club is staffed across the country and a network of local chapters that support our grassroots engagement. We are also proud to be a unionized employer, with two labor unions representing more than half of our employees.


Scope: The Senior Manager is responsible for supporting organizers to achieve organizing objectives and to grow as individuals within the Sierra Club, including demonstrating a commitment to self-transformation and the transformation of our organizing work. The Senior Manager supports, coaches and develops each staff organizer in focusing their work to achieve concrete campaign successes while building long term power centered in equity and justice rooted in the Jemez Principles and our organizational Equity Values. The Senior Manager coaches and supports staff organizers in growing community involvement and power, effective volunteer leadership and strong community partnerships to achieve collective goals. The Senior Manager works with organizing staff and team members to identify, respectfully enter and map communities in which we seek to organize. The Senior Manager works with organizers, campaign team members and community members to establish objectives that give life to a community vision, build power and movement, accomplish campaign goals and create structural and cultural change.

The Senior Manager works with organizing staff and volunteer leaders to determine and implement strategies to build the number of supporters in the community and develop key partnerships with community leaders, government officials, donors and volunteer leadership. The Senior Manager works with Chapter staff and leaders to ensure effective collaboration within a state or region working within our matrix management system to ensure collaboration. When appropriate, acts as a Sierra Club liaison with leaders of organizations within the communities. Ensures that programmatic commitments and objectives are met, that financial, operational and legal compliance standards are met regarding all activities in assigned campaigns and programs. Supports organizers in pursuing Sierra Club’s goals of building grassroots power and a movement to achieve concrete victories and create structural and cultural change. The Senior Manager provides leadership within the Organizing Department through leading priority teams, mentoring other managers and leading collaboration efforts with other departments and capacities. Working with organizers and campaign team members the Senior Manager supports identifying communities in which we will organize and to establish organizing objectives and goals while working collaboratively within the organization to achieve alignment, solve problems, set, and meet goals.


Job responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Skill Development and Organizer Support:

  • Effectively manages, guides and coaches staff to maximize skills, abilities and effectiveness, and supports individual professional development. Works with organizers to establish performance objectives and to evaluate accomplishments and effectiveness. Takes appropriate disciplinary action when needed, makes hiring and termination recommendations.
  • Works with organizers, campaign and community teams to establish organizing priorities; coaches organizers in developing strategic organizing plans to achieve campaign objectives, build grassroots power and create structural and cultural change. Coaches and supports organizers in centering equity, justice and inclusion in their work.
  • Supports and coaches organizers in building power through engaging community volunteers, supporting leadership development and building partner relationships. Ensures organizers are properly trained and use VAN and other data systems effectively to capture, evaluate and adjust power building efforts.
  • Support, as appropriate, junior managers through mentoring to support supervisory skills development and improve organizational performance.

Effective Coordination and Collaboration:

  • Provides Leadership in fostering collaboration among all Sierra Club staff and volunteers working in a given state or team.
  • Supports organizers in working with campaign team members and together utilizing our communication, digital, legal capacities to build transformative power and achieve campaign goals; supports the development and execution of media and public outreach communications and strategies; supports organizing engagement with our legal efforts.
  • Ensures good communication with local chapters and groups and engagement of Chapter and Group volunteers in organizing activities, where possible. Provides guidance and support to volunteer leaders and chapter staff in building the strength and influence of the Sierra Club within the communities. Supports the alignment between national programs and chapter priorities.
  • Supports the Advancement Department in the development of effective relationships with donors and foundations within or with an interest in the assigned communities, and in the development of organizing objectives and strategies as part of grant projects and proposals.
  • In support of the National Political Program, identifies opportunities to advance the Sierra Club’s conservation priorities through relationships with elected officials and via electoral campaigns. Assists the National Political Program in allocating resources for targeted campaigns and in developing organizing strategies to reach political program objectives. Assures compliance with election laws and regulations.

Project Management:

  • Responsible for good fiscal management, fiscal controls and administrative practices in all aspects of assigned operations. Ensures compliance with Sierra Club financial, employment and operations policies and with external regulations in all aspects of assigned operations.
  • Provides leadership on an Organizing Department team or teams focused upon supporting and developing organizing work across the department.
  • Seeks to improve effectiveness with an ongoing strategic mission-driven focus (i.e. prioritizes work, monitors progress, and evaluates the results.) and work efficiency to use resources (i.e. financial, time, effort, etc.) in a matrix organization environment.
  • Provides creative solutions to solve challenges effectively, timely, transparently, and consistently, consulting and seeking input from others. Performs administrative and miscellaneous duties as assigned.
  • Managing a high level of confidential information about Sierra Club business, budget, personnel, and partners. A background check will be required upon job acceptance.
  • Extensive travel and flexible work schedule required.

The successful candidate must have the following skills and experience:

  • In-depth knowledge of the craft of grassroots organizing, including substantial experience leading community organizing campaigns. Experience developing strategies to create policy change as well as to create structural and ideological change.
  • Strong leadership and management experience that demonstrates the ability to develop, train, and coach employees and work with teams, with substantial experience supervising staff preferred.
  • Experience using data to inform strategy (targeting, mapping, modeling, dashboards, key performance indicators), measure goals and increase effectiveness. Demonstrated commitment to fostering a values driven/data informed approach. Understanding of media use in campaign and organizing strategy.
  • Excellent oral communication skills and effective written communication skills. Ability to communicate effectively across diverse identities, communities and audiences.
  • Operationalizing Equity. You model effective equity analysis and practice and demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of how group dynamics impact supervisory relationships, organizational culture, partnerships, campaigns and coalition work. Your decision-making is consistent, intentional, and committed to creating equitable outcomes at all levels. You have led high-performing and leaderful teams across group identities. You intervene when challenging group dynamics play out, in ways that build understanding, trust, and deeper self-awareness of team members.
  • Skillful at managing individuals and leading teams with a diversity of identities and skill sets to contribute at their highest level. Proficient at proactively surfacing and navigating conflict in a generative, equitable way.

The strongest candidates will also demonstrate the following experience, skills and competencies:

  • Experience with business operations, budget management, project management, the development of grant proposals and raising funds from individual donors and foundations.
  • Understanding of environmental, climate, and social justice issues and how they relate to each other. Demonstrated ability to design and implement strategies that operate at the intersections of the environment and marginalized communities (e.g. race, gender, and class.) Experience cultivating and maintaining just, accountable partnerships, especially with organizations led by those most impacted by the crises we seek to remedy.
  • Demonstrated ability to plan and execute effective campaigns within multiple communities.
  • An emotionally intelligent, values and results-driven leader who can inspire staff and volunteers at all levels, collaborate within and across departments, and provide feedback and coaching to support the achievement of our complex goals. Understanding of how power, privilege, and oppression manifest at the individual, interpersonal, institutional, and cultural levels. Personal commitment to transformational learning and practicing Sierra Club’s equity values and principles.

Depending on location and responsibilities, valid driver’s license, satisfactory driving record, and proof of auto insurance is required.


Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $79,000-$87,000 based upon region/location.

The Sierra Club offers a competitive salary package commensurate with skills and experience plus excellent benefits that include medical, dental, and vision coverage, and a retirement savings 401(k) plan.

This is a category 3 exempt, non-represented, managerial position.

Sierra Club is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. Sierra Club employees are not eligible to participate in the Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.

Sierra Club values the expertise and talents of foreign nationals. Sierra Club sponsors both nonimmigrant and immigrant visas when certain criteria are met, based on immigration laws and organizational needs. Such sponsorship is at the discretion of the Department Head and Sierra Club Human Resources in consultation with the employee’s manager. The Sierra Club cannot guarantee the approval of a visa petition. The Sierra Club is an equal opportunity employer committed to workforce diversity.


To Apply

This position does not have an undergraduate education requirement. If you choose to include your education history, please remove your schools from your resume. You may leave your degree (e.g., “B.A. Philosophy”), but please remove any undergraduate and graduate school names.

This anonymous process is aimed at opening this opportunity to more candidates, reviewing applicants on performance assessments and mitigating bias in the decision-making process.

Lastly, we are intentionally not asking for a cover letter, so please do not send one in with your application.

Explore, enjoy and protect the planet.