Employment Opportunity: Pro-Housing Advocacy and Media Coordinator

Sustain Saint Paul is seeking applications for a Pro-Housing Advocacy and Media Coordinator. The purpose of this part-time contract position will be to support the state-level pro-housing advocacy efforts of Sustain Saint Paul and its State Policy Task Force coalition partners during and after the 2024 legislative session to pass state-wide pro-homes policies in Minnesota. The Coordinator’s primary responsibilities will be to create and post engaging online content and to engage volunteers in support of achieving statewide housing policy wins in 2024.

About Sustain Saint Paul 

Sustain Saint Paul champions abundant housing, low-carbon transportation, and sustainable land use in the city of Saint Paul. The organization was established in 2016 by residents of Saint Paul’s Macalester-Groveland and Highland Park neighborhoods to advocate for an ambitious vision for a walkable neighborhood with thousands of homes on the former site of a truck factory, now called Highland Bridge. Since then, Sustain Saint Paul has successfully advocated for the elimination of minimum parking requirements, the legalization of Missing Middle Housing, and other sweeping changes to citywide ordinances that will enable Saint Paul to provide more homes, welcome more neighbors, increase its tax base, and become a less car-dependent and more vibrant city.

In 2024, in partnership with organizations such as Neighbors for More Neighbors and the Sierra Club’s North Star Chapter, Sustain Saint Paul intends to expand its focus beyond city-level policy to champion specific state-level policy changes that would facilitate our vision for Saint Paul, and help solve our regional housing shortage and related problems.

General Responsibilities:

The Coordinator’s focus will be on achieving abundant housing victories at the state legislature, working with elected officials after the official session is over for the ‘24 session, and building longer-term organizational capacity. Anticipated deliverables:

  • Tell a clear and simple pro-housing story to our membership through multiple social media posts every week in order to help activate our membership towards 2024 legislative goals as well as deepen investment in pro-housing advocacy in general. Activities could include multimedia production, regular posting and sharing of content on our existing social channels, and expand into new ones. 

  • Lead Sustain Saint Paul’s outreach and coordination efforts by connecting with like-minded organizations during the legislative session in order to achieve maximum collective impact.

  • Recruit and empower volunteers to effectively advocate for key housing policies of Sustain Saint Paul and coalition partners at the statewide level. Identify interest and availability for deeper-impact actions such as meeting with their legislators, recruit them for testimony at hearings, letter to the editor write-ups, etc. Develop and provide written materials to support volunteer advocacy, and maintain records of volunteers’ activities. 

  • Maintain clear and consistent communication between Sustain Saint Paul’s board of directors and its state-level coalition partner organizations. Develop and maintain strong and consistent external communications about SSP’s efforts via social media and other channels.

  • Provide a draft report of current actions and next steps by 3/31/24, and an end-of-contract report on wins, learnings, and recommendations. 

Required Skills:

  • Project management

  • Attention to detail

  • Time management

  • Excellent written, verbal, and online communication

  • Strong interpersonal skills

  • Proactive initiative

  • Ability to delegate to people who have no formal accountability to you

Preferred Skills:

  • Social media savvy and multimedia creation experience

  • Familiarity with coalition work

  • General understanding of MN state political dynamics and strategy 

Reporting:

  • This position will report to Sustain Saint Paul’s co-chair Luke Hanson, position manager, who will provide work direction and contract oversight.

  • When submitting invoices, this position will provide brief progress reports to the position manager.

  • Periodic conference calls or in-person meetings are anticipated, and this position will be expected to take meeting notes.

Application instructions:

  • Please provide 2-3 paragraphs (no more than one page) that describes how you will approach project management for statewide housing advocacy efforts, which includes a volunteer task force and volunteer engagement for Sustain Saint Paul.

  • Include your resume or qualifications 

  • Include 2 references

The responsibilities are based on an expected hourly rate of $35/hour dedicating approximately 10-15 hours per week until June of 2024.

Submittal:

Proposals should be submitted by email to info@sustainstpaul.org by Friday, December 29th.

Evaluation process:

Proposals will be evaluated by a selection committee and approved by Sustain Saint Paul’s Board of Directors. Proposals will be evaluated based on:

  • Qualifications

  • Understanding of tasks and volunteer management approach as demonstrated in your description

  • References

We strongly encourage people of color and those part of historically marginalized communities to apply for this role. Sustain Saint Paul is committed to inclusion and ensuring everyone has access to a home. We are more effective in our work when the voices and experiences of the people most impacted by the housing crisis are part of our team.