Organizing Fellow

The mission of The DC Project is to advance economic and environmental justice by creating clean energy careers for people who need them most. The DC Project applies cutting-edge organizing tools and tactics to mobilize community interest in home weatherization, creating economic savings, environmental benefits, and new green jobs.

The DC Project is a "Think+Action Tank", testing and refining community-based demand creation methodology through its anchor program, WeatherizeDC, and developing models that can be replicated in communities across the nation to ignite the home energy efficiency market and move closer towards an equitable green economy.

WeatherizeDC, the anchor program of The DC Project, works with hundreds of D.C. residents to mobilize one of America's greatest assets, community leadership, to unlock the promise of the home energy efficiency industry for creating environmental benefits and good green jobs. WeatherizeDC recruits, develops, and trains community leaders and volunteers from neighborhood groups, faith-based networks and campus activists to engage, educate, and activate their communities to convince homeowners to invest in weatherization.

WeatherizeDC identifies homeowners interested in weatherization and passes them along to local home performance contractors, who deliver the home retrofit services. WeatherizeDC leverages the increased business it creates-through its community organizing efforts-for partnering contractors to ensure that new jobs created translate into career-track, sustainable-wage work for District residents who are most in need of employment.

Position Overview:

Organizing Fellows will work closely with WeatherizeDC leadership to recruit like-minded individuals and organizations to help build teams focused on weatherizing our community.

Responsibilities: 

Organizing Fellows will:

• Identify and recruit volunteers, helping to train them and build collaborative partnerships with volunteer leaders
• Organize volunteers to complete direct homeowner contact, including phone banking, door-to-door canvassing, direct outreach at community events, and participation in energy meetings, in which leaders educate homeowners about the benefits of residential weatherization and strategize with them about how to reach neighborhood weatherization goals
• Lead Volunteer Energy Assessments, WeatherizeDC's innovative ‘hands-on' engagement method, by training volunteers to become knowledgeable and trusted energy efficiency educators and assessors
• Build partnerships with community networks and organizations and enlist their support in neighborhood weatherization efforts

This fellowship will provide valuable experience for individuals interested in pursuing work in community organizing, the non-profit sector, politics and campaigns, and environmental advocacy. Fellows will walk away with an understanding of the essential tools, processes, and strategies of an effective field campaign, community-based initiative, and a fast-growing non-profit.

Qualifications:

The organizing team is looking for applicants with some prior campaign, advocacy, or non-profit experience; please specify in you cover letter which campaigns you have worked on and in what capacities. All types of campaign experience, including issue-based, are welcome.

Compensation: Full time Organizing Fellowships with The DC Project are paid positions. Part time organizing fellows may pursue academic credit as fellows and interns in the past have received academic credit or work study for their work with the organization. For more information related to this, please direct inquiries to your respective school.

If you are not from the Washington, D.C. area, please explore housing options with relatives or friends as soon as possible. If you are unable to find and fund housing, precluding you from participating in the Fellowship Program, please inform The DC Project via email. 

Both full-time and part-time fellows are encouraged to apply. Full-time fellows are expected to work 40 hours a week. Hours and workdays are flexible. Part-time fellows are expected to work 10-20 hours a week. In addition to in-office hours, fellows may fulfill weekly hour requirements by attending community organizing events held in the evenings or on weekends. Start and end dates are flexible, with a preference for a September 22 start date and a commitment of 2.5 months, or until December 17, 2010. Please include your availability in your cover letter.

To Apply:

Applicants should please submit the following (include "Organizing Fellow" in the subject line) no later than September 10th, 2010:

• Resume
• Cover letter

Use your application materials to explain your interest in WeatherizeDC and its mission; please highlight any exposure you have to the Washington, D.C. community and the dates of your availability over the fall. Your cover letter should explain the skills, experience, and interests that qualify you to fulfill the expectations outlined above. If you are applying for more than one fellowship with the DC Project, please be sure to rank your interests.