Position:

Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT) seeks a digital organizer to cultivate an online organizing environment while engaging Texas public school employees across the state. The person in this role will help develop and execute high-impact digital strategies to engage current and potential members, while helping Texas AFT fight and win issue and political campaigns.

Applicants should have a working knowledge of unions and a commitment to the labor movement. Some organizing experience is a plus, but not a requirement.

About This Position:

We are building a new and robust labor movement for the 21st century, and to do so, we need a phenomenal team to engage workers in new ways. The digital organizer position is part of the Texas AFT organizing department and will be responsible primarily for supporting strategic statewide digital campaigns — through email, social media, texting, and more.

We think of digital strategy through an organizing lens. While we may be using marketing and communications tools and ideas, our team members are organizers above all else. This role is not just about sharing information effectively online; it’s about how to use that information to move public school employees to action. This is not a standard 9-5 job. A successful digital organizer will be someone who can work independently and is able to succeed in a remote environment. In this political climate, we are often working in rapid-response moments, and we’re looking for someone who can navigate that environment and thrive.

This role will work with organizing, campaign, and communication staff, along with members across the state. Our job is as big as Texas, and sometimes it is difficult. But we want you to find a home here and have the support you need to succeed — for yourself and for public education in Texas. We are trying to foster a culture of experimentation, and our digital organizer should feel empowered to propose big, bold, and even wacky ideas to engage members and potential members. Sometimes those ideas will fail, and sometimes they’ll succeed. At Texas AFT, we learn and continue the work.

Duties:

• Write compelling emails, petitions, and social media appeals to tell the story of our work in a meaningful way and builds our movement
• Manage day-to-day online organizing efforts to identify potential members, follow up on organizing conversations, and connect organizing leads with local unions and regional organizers
• Work with our Lead Digital Organizer and other staff to develop and manage an ongoing online organizing plan and campaigns calendar
• Implement strategies and tactics to grow our social media followers, email list, and digital activists
• Work with the Lead Digital Organizer to create and manage online community spaces that advance our issue campaigns and develop digital leaders
• Conduct, analyze, and share findings of regular testing to identify the most effective strategies and messaging
• Stay up to date with new technologies, platforms, and best practices and use analytics to improve the impact of our digital organizing efforts
• Keep projects on track and communicate regularly with team members
• Additional digital campaigning responsibilities as assigned
• Some travel (post-COVID-19) may be required

Qualifications:

We understand that some great candidates will not meet every qualification on this list.

We encourage those interested in the position — particularly those from marginalized communities — to apply, even if you’re missing some of the items mentioned below.

• You have 1-2 years digital campaigning experience (labor, political, or other activism) with demonstrated experience in email or web copy writing.
• You have experience working on campaigns and conducting organizing conversations.
• You are interested in how to tell stories that move people, and you keep up with the best practices in doing so.
• You have experience with social media management with a special focus on creating and growing communities on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
• You can keep a level head in high-stress moments and deploy timely content during rapid-response scenarios.
• You can prioritize when faced with dozens of moving pieces and competing deadlines and goals without sacrificing attention to detail.
• You understand issues facing public education employees and working families.
• You are willing to work varied hours including some nights, weekends, and holidays.

If you have any of the following skills, be sure to mention it in your cover letter:

• Working knowledge of AP style
• Experience with paid social media or other forms of digital advertising
• Awareness of digital accessibility best practices
• Proficiency or fluency in Spanish

Starting salary for this position is based on the collective bargaining agreement with the staff union. In addition to base salary, the position offers a wide range of benefits including:

• Benefits of a union contract
• Monthly cell phone and car stipend
• Fully paid health and dental insurance for the employee and one dependent
• Fully paid disability income insurance for the employee and $50,000 term life insurance
• Paid sick and vacation leave per year
• Paid maternity and paternity leave
• Retirement contribution

Equal Opportunity Employer and all are encouraged to apply. 

JOB CODE: Cy-FairAFT