Associate Organizing Director

Who We Are

COPAL, Communities Organizing Latine Power and Action, is a member-based organization established in 2018 to improve the quality of life of Latine families. Grounded in the Principles of Jemez, COPAL is committed to continue building meaningful relationships that transcend both identity and geographical boundaries. COPAL envisions a Minnesota where everyone lives with dignity and respect.

Why You'll Love Working Here

Our greatest asset is the dedication and commitment of our board, staff, members, and interns, as well as our valued volunteers, partners, coalition members, and leaders of the Latine community. With a clear mission and vision of a better future for all, we can mobilize people to bring about transformation and lead social, political, and economic change.

Wages

$68,000 - $70,000 annual salary range

Benefits

Generous Paid Time Off (PTO), plus nine paid holidays per year and two floating holidays; competitive health plan with BlueCross, BlueShield of MN, dental, and vision insurance offerings: Health Savings Account (HSA). There is employer paid basic life insurance with the option for additional coverage paid by the employees. The employer pays the premiums for Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) and long-term disability insurance. COPAL sponsors a retirement plan with 6% employer contribution after 90 days of service and immediate vesting.

Schedule

This position works during normal business hours and may include evening and/or weekend hours. This position also requires travel to and from community settings, shelters, and the homes of program participants and their families (with a reliable personal vehicle).

Job Summary

COPAL is hiring an Associate Organizing Director (AOD) to coordinate efforts toward building Latine power across the state of Minnesota. The AOD position requires strategic engagement with all of COPAL's departments, including but not limited to public policy, senior management, worker center, voter engagement and communications.

Responsibilities

• Providing strategic leadership for COPAL's organizing campaigns, including issue-based, base-building, and civic engagement efforts.
• Designing and overseeing organizing strategies, tactics, and timelines to achieve programmatic and organizational goals.
• Developing leadership pathways for members and volunteer leaders aligned with COPAL's mission and long-term power-building strategy.
• Representing COPAL in public advocacy spaces, coalitions, and strategic partnerships as assigned.
• Guiding the integration of organizing efforts with COPAL's public policy agenda.
• Evaluating campaign effectiveness and making data-informed adjustments to strategy.
• Setting and coordinating COPAL's strategic involvement in local, statewide, and transnational coalitions, including representing the organization in meetings and events as needed.
• Overseeing the 501(c)(3) organizing budget.
• Supervising, coaching, and evaluating Organizing staff, including setting performance expectations and monitoring outcomes.
• Co-managing the Organizing Department programs, workflows, and internal systems in collaboration with the Organizing Director.
• Exercising independent judgment in assigning work, prioritizing departmental initiatives, and resolving operational challenges.
• Training organizers in organizing methodologies, campaign strategy, leadership development, and data practices.
• Utilizing accountability and performance management tools, including goals tracking, CRM data, and progress reviews.
• Providing input and recommendations related to hiring, performance evaluations, professional development, and corrective action.
• Aligning staff work plans with departmental and organizational objectives.
• Providing strategic leadership and oversight for COPAL's School of Organizing and Community Engagement in alignment with organizational goals, power-building strategy, and community priorities.
• Designing, implementing, and continuously improving the School of Organizing's curriculum, structure, and learning outcomes using organizing theory, leadership development, and popular education practices.
• Exercising independent judgment in determining training priorities, instructional methods, and resource allocation for community education programs.
• Supervising and coordinating contracted trainers, facilitators, and guest instructors supporting the School of Organizing.
• Developing systems to identify, recruit, and advance community members into leadership roles through structured engagement and training pathways.
• Evaluating program effectiveness using qualitative and quantitative data and preparing reports and recommendations for leadership and funders.
• Building and maintaining relationships with community partners, coalitions, and stakeholders to expand participation and impact.
• Collaborating cross-departmentally to integrate School of Organizing outcomes into campaigns, civic engagement, and policy initiatives.

Who You Are

• You hold a degree in environmental justice or a related field, or you bring an equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• You possess knowledge of environmental justice, climate change, and social justice issues, including cumulative impacts, forced climate migration, green jobs, and just energy transition as they affect the Latinx community.
• You are bilingual in Spanish and English and demonstrate strong cultural competency.
• You are committed to advancing COPAL's goals and priorities in compliance with organizational policies and procedures and are deeply invested in a shared agenda for change.
• You have experience supervising staff and contractors.
• You have experience with budget planning and financial oversight.
• You demonstrate excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• You have the ability to make sound decisions quickly and exercise strong judgment.
• You are creative and flexible in responding to changing priorities and emerging needs.
• You have the ability to manage time effectively, prioritize work, and consistently meet deadlines.
• You have the ability to work independently with limited supervision while remaining accountable to team goals.
• You are highly detail-oriented and organized.
• You have the ability to maintain staff and organizational confidentiality.
• You bring strong analytical and management skills.
• You are a relational leader and collaborative team player who works effectively with staff, grassroots leaders, and coalition partners and motivates diverse groups of people.
• You think strategically with the ability to help lead teams toward shared goals.
• You are proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• You have a valid driver's license, access to reliable transportation, and the ability to meet COPAL's driving record requirements. Please note that if the license was not issued in the state of Minnesota, you have 60 days after becoming a Minnesota resident in which to apply for your Minnesota driver's license or permit (not applicable for new hires living out of state).

Diversity and open expression are fundamental to the work of COPAL. We are passionate about building and sustaining an inclusive and equitable working environment where everyone can belong. Every member of our team enriches our work by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design, and deliver solutions. We welcome everyone to apply, especially those individuals who are underrepresented in our sector: individuals who identify as BIPOC, Indigenous or people of culture, LGBTQI+ and gender fluid or gender nonconforming, individuals with disabilities (both seen and unseen), veterans, people of any age or family status. We encourage you to apply even if you feel like you don't fit 100% of the technical requirements. Equal Opportunity Employer: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, ancestry, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, familial status, disability, age, marital status, membership or activity in a local human rights commission, status with regard to public assistance, criminal history (justice-impacted status), housing or homelessness status, height, or weight.

Our organization has a partnership with Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities (MACC) to provide administrative services including management of the hiring process. If you apply for this position, you may see references to MACC in some online materials.