Are you looking for meaningful full-time work? Are you passionate about social and economic justice? Would you rather work in the community instead of an office all day? Do you thrive in an energetic and grassroots environment?
If YES then we invite you to join the ACORN team of community organizers!
Job Description *Apply With A Cover Letter*:
- Direct community outreach in low and moderate income neighbourhoods. Identifying community concerns and connecting issues like high rent, bad landlords and expensive bills to the need for collective action. Motivate residents to join/form local groups to exercise their rights and advocate for change.
- Develop low income residents' skills to facilitate meetings, speak to the media, lead direct actions and speak to their local representatives.
- Work with professional organizers on a day to day basis to learn how to create building and neighbourhood-wide campaigns through base-building activities, corporate research, mass communications, fundraising, project management skills and more.
- 42 hours per week - working in afternoons and evenings between 12-9pm. Salary with benefits, transit/phone reimbursements, sick days and paid vacation.
- Attends out of city staff trainings and meetings (sometimes outside of Canada) approximately 3-5 times a year.
Qualifications and Skills
- No paid experience required; professional organizer training is provided
- Strong desire to work with people
- Ability to work independently and in a team
- Multilingual candidates are encouraged to apply
- Ability to listen in order to identify issues that are affecting our people
- An interest in social justice and able to explain that in a brief cover letter
What is ACORN?
ACORN Canada is a local and national community union of low and moderate income people fighting for social justice. We are a membership based organization that is independent from the governments, corporations and banks we seek to hold accountable. We are 180,000 members strong across 30 neighbourhood chapters in 10 regions across 6 provinces.
ACORN’s purpose is to give low-to-moderate income people the power needed to have their voices effectively heard at the highest levels in the country. ACORN is able to be both a local-based union winning local campaigns, as well as a large-scale organization combining forces to fight national corporations and governments that are at the root of most of our problems.
We are a tenants’ union. We are a disability action union. We are a worker’s union. We are a consumer's union. We are whatever our members are. Our members pay dues so that the organization can be sustainable and not dependent on outside funding from government and corporations. Each dues member has a vote, and only members speak for the organization. Our members get elected to our board of directors and set our policy and help determine the tactics.
Some of our major victories include:
- $10/month internet for 220,000 low income families through the federal Connecting Families program & some social housing providers
- Stricter regulations and lowered interest rates on payday loan companies like Money Mart
- $15 million/year in the city budget for affordable housing since 2019
- Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of repairs into our members' units and apartments
- Stopping our members' evictions and AGIs (Above the guideline rent increases)
- AND MORE!
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: $42,000.00-$44,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Commuter benefits
- Company events
- Dental care
- Extended health care
- Life insurance
- Mileage reimbursement
- On-site parking
- Paid time off
- RRSP match
- Vision care
Flexible language requirement:
- French not required
Schedule:
- 8 hour shift
- Day shift
- Evening shift
Ability to commute/relocate:
- OTTAWA, ON: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Application question(s):
- Do you consider yourself to be a people person?
- Did you provide a brief cover letter outlining your interest in social justice and why you think you'd be a good fit for this position? This is required for consideration.
Work Location: In person
