East St Louis Power Building Fellow

About WEPOWER:

WEPOWER is building a team full of dreamers and doers. Since launching in 2018, we have won $17 million+ in public funding for early childhood education. We have led, supported, and won local and statewide ballot measures that have created dedicated and recurring childcare funding, raised the minimum wage, and mandated paid sick leave. We deployed nearly $1 million in capital and provided coaching and connections to 100+ Black and Latinx businesses. We trained 450+ community members on grassroots organizing, running for office, and designing policy and systems change agendas. We envision a future where systems are accountable to powerful communities that have been historically oppressed and nurture our freedom, well-being, dreams, and joy. We are building a powerful movement led by everyday people, and we have bold plans to get us there. Join us!

Our team is:

• Fun
• Focused
• Values-driven
• Community-centered
• Collaborative
• Innovative
• Creative: Lots of brainstorming and imagining what's possible and then chasing each possibility until it is reality!

Position Summary:

The East St. Louis Power Building Fellow will lead WEPOWER's organizing, coalition development, and campaign strategy for the East St. Louis region. This role strengthens the base of community members, parents, and local leaders committed to improving early childhood outcomes and advancing racial and economic justice. The Fellow co-leads coalition spaces, facilitates leadership development, manages the full organizing cycle, and ensures East St. Louis members are connected, informed, and mobilized. Success in this role includes growing the regional base, building organizing capacity, and advancing policy and funding wins in partnership with the community. This is a 12-month position with the potential to extend based on organizational need and performance.

Responsibilities:

Organizing Cycle & Campaign Execution

Maintain fidelity to the full WEPOWER organizing cycle by driving:

• Base-building activities:
  • Scheduling, planning, and hosting one-on-ones (avg. 15/week)
  • Facilitating house meetings
• Campaign strategy & execution:
  • Forming strategy teams; identifying shared issues; and designing policies
  • Leading power analyses, public actions, and GOTV efforts
  • Hosting campaign meetings and strategy sessions
  • Preparing members for media relations
• Electoral organizing:
  • Managing turf cutting
  • Overseeing VAN data and EveryAction tools
  • Running phone banks, text banks, and canvases
  • Coordinating direct actions that apply pressure to campaign targets
• Collaborating with the WEPOWER team and external partners to develop, refine, and execute campaign strategies year over year, particularly those advancing public funding for childcare .

Communications, Messaging & Storytelling

• Partner with WEPOWER staff and external vendors to develop and deliver messaging that builds public awareness around key initiatives at both local and statewide levels.
• Build coalition members' capacity to serve as effective storytellers and public-facing representatives.
• Prepare members for media interviews and public messaging opportunities.

Operations, Data & Cross-Team Collaboration

• Track data weekly in the CRM, including new contacts, updated information, and ongoing relationship-building and communication efforts.
• Work with the operations team to ensure smooth communications, logistics, and operations for all engagements.
• Coordinate with other changemaker teams (Tomorrow Builders and Chisholm's Chair) to ensure alignment, shared impact, and a cohesive power-building strategy.

Coalition & Community Leadership

• Co-lead and co-facilitate coalition spaces, ensuring strong infrastructure, vision, strategy, and impact.
• Grow the base of supporters through one-on-ones and other relationship-building tactics—including coalition members, organizational allies, and community partners—through continuous engagement and relationship-building.
• Facilitate leadership development experiences that deepen the organizing capacity of members, coalition partners, and campaign supporters, including Power Building Academies, Power Building Bootcamps, and mini-trainings at monthly coalition meetings.
• Partner with WEPOWER staff and external partners to strengthen members' understanding of the ECE system and policy solutions (especially from the ECE Playbook) that address racial disparities.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Two to six years of experience in community organizing, including leading and winning policy advocacy and/or electoral campaigns.
• Experience with designing and iterating leadership development programming, ideally focused on organizing and/or voter engagement.
• Experience coaching and developing high-performing teams.
• Experience leveraging tech platforms such as EveryAction and VAN to drive organizing strategy, base building, and voter engagement.
• Experience working with Black and Latinx communities.
• Demonstrated project management and organizational skills
• Desire to be part of an evolving organization and contribute to its growth/reputation.
• Willingness to work some nights and weekends each month (seasonal, based on programming).

More Information:

Reports to: Senior Director of Organizing and Campaigns

Salary: $50,000-$75,000 based on experience. This is a full-time exempt position.

Benefits include:

• Comprehensive Health Insurance: medical, dental, vision benefits, and affordable family coverage
• 403b Plan: To save for retirement
• Paid Time Off: 10 days of vacation, 8 sick days, 2 weeks off at the end of December, and 8 holidays each year.
• Paid Parental Leave: New parents get this time to spend with their family - 10 weeks if you've been here a year or more
• Child Care Stipend: Stipend to support childcare for children aged 0 to 5.
• Cell Phone Reimbursement Benefits: Up to $50/month reimbursement for use of personal cell phone
• Wellness Stipend: Up to $50/month reimbursement for spending on physical and mental health needs

Process:

The interview process for this role will include a 5-step process, which we expect to take ~1 month after the application deadline.

1. Submit your application
2. 20-30 minute phone interview with WEPOWER Staff
3. Submit a performance task and a leadership and behavioral assessment(candidates who make it to this step will receive compensation for their time)
4. Complete a final interview with the hiring team
5. Reference checks