Cleveland Action Strategist-ioby

Description
ioby is a national non-profit crowdfunding platform that mobilizes neighbors across the country to become powerful leaders who plan, fund and make positive change in their neighborhoods. We are creating a future in which our neighborhoods are shaped by the powerful good ideas of our own neighbors. ioby seeks an Action Strategist based in Cleveland, OH.

The Action Strategist will build on a 5-year foundation of work to cultivate and support ioby’s resident leaders (called ioby Leaders) in Cleveland. Your job will be to support and grow the existing network of Cleveland ioby Leaders working at the neighborhood scale by sharing ioby’s platform and resources as helpful tools for community change. You’ll be expected to bring new ideas, strategies, and an attitude of continuous improvement while contributing to a culture of innovation.

You will provide fundraising coaching to ioby Leaders (novice and experienced fundraisers) and help enhance our online and offline platform to better serve ioby Leaders. You will work closely with the City Action Strategist Team (located in Cincinnati, Detroit, and Memphis) and the Leader Success Team that further supports ioby Leaders in Cleveland and across the country.

Reporting to the Place-based Strategies Manager, the Cleveland Action Strategist will work 1:1 with ioby Leaders to ensure their success through relationship building and delivery of ioby's 1:1 coaching model. hey will work with ioby Leaders to understand, adopt and successfully leverage ioby’s crowdfunding services and product for their specific fundraising needs. Responsibilities include providing proactive and tailored fundraising advice; direct 1:1 communication and feedback to ioby Leaders about their online story and fundraising plan; customer relationship and account management; technical assistance; data collection and activity tracking using ioby's backend and CRM systems, all with the goal to positively influence the ioby Leader experience through their successful crowdfunding campaign.

As a tech nonprofit, ioby has a fast-paced environment that constantly evolves to the next level of improved service to ioby Leaders. Our team is distributed across the country so we use a variety of online tools for project management and communication. You’ll be expected to bring new ideas and strategies and bring an attitude of continuous improvement to contribute to a strong and innovative culture. For the right candidate, this is an exciting opportunity to be part of a mission-driven, community-based organization that is contributing to a broad movement of resident-led neighborhood development. For more information about ioby, visit ioby.org

Job Objectives

Work with the Place-based Strategies Manager to expand, create, and implement ioby’s national ioby Leader strategy in Cleveland
Build a pipeline of local ioby Leaders doing a variety of projects by cultivating and stewarding strong partnerships across Cleveland’s community development and civic engagement sectors
planning and hosting effective events that gather ioby Leaders and other residents to learn from one another and be inspired to continue their work
employing other community organizing and engagement tactics
Positively represent ioby to local, regional, and national audiences
Work with ioby staff to build and expand ioby’s national and local strategies
Job Activities

Cultivate ioby Leaders - 40%Identify potential ioby Leaders from a variety of groups, including but not limited to nonprofits, civic organizations, faith organizations, neighborhood associations and coalitions by meeting with local groups with constituencies that have a crowdfunding need
Reading local publications and attending local events
Co-hosting events and workshops with partners
Support, develop, cultivate and celebrate new ioby Leaders to successfully fund and implement their ideas through fundraising coaching and teaching them how to build their campaign pages
Steward past ioby Leaders into strong ioby supporters through Backyard Heroes - the community of past ioby Leaders, partners, and ioby supporters in CAST cities that ioby engages through events and communications to increase ioby’s reach to achieve its mission
Document all ioby Leader relationships and correspondence in Salesforce on a daily basis
Nurture Partnerships - 30%Cultivate and steward partnerships through one-on-one engagement and Backyard Heroes activities
Work with other program staff to develop partner relationships locally and regionally
Participate in regional and national coalitions, collaboratives, and networks of thought leaders directly related to your work when relevant and strategic
Workshops & Events - 15%Lead planning, promotion, and facilitation of ioby's core fundraising workshops and events. ioby’s workshops blend asset-based community development, grassroots fundraising, online communications and crowdfunding campaign planning to allow ioby leaders to develop tailored strategies for their particular crowdfunding campaigns. ioby hosts and co-hosts events to strengthen relationships with ioby Leaders, partners, and other ioby supporters.
Work with the rest of the City Action Strategist Team and other teams to further develop and standardize workshops and events
Evaluation & Continuous Improvements - 15%

Build

Work with the Place-based Strategies Manager to develop an annual and quarterly plans and goals for Cleveland
Contribute to cross-team strategic planning to advance ioby’s mission
Document Cleveland best practices and lessons learned to contribute to ioby’s process of expansion into other cities
Stay informed of national and local trends in ioby’s fields of community development, urban planning, technology and crowdfunding
Work with other ioby teams to refine internal business processes and ioby Leader UI/UX
AmplifyWork with ioby’s Community & Marketing Team to:

Develop a local communications and marketing plan for Cleveland
Present ioby’s Cleveland work to a local and national audience by sharing city-specific stories in video, blogs, and social media
Produce marketing materials for Cleveland
Generate content and subscribers for Cleveland’s monthly newsletter
Track, Evaluate & ShareWork with other teams to set and achieve organizational goals
Record your interactions with all ioby Leaders, partners and influencers in ioby’s Salesforce database
Create, use, and share results from evaluation tools you create for your own work and those that ioby provides to you
Work with Cleveland leadership, the Place-based Strategies Manager, and ioby’s Community & Marketing Team to continue to boast Cleveland’s role as a national thought leader in citizen-led community development
Requirements
Candidates for this position must have a Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a related field, a driver’s license or other mode of transportation, and the following characteristics:

Community Engagement Skills2-3 years of professional experience doing community engagement in a related field, such as community organizing, case management, urban planning, and/or grassroots fundraising, or in an unrelated field with similar job activities, such as social work, ministering, health care and/or job training
Robust relationship-building skills including the ability to conduct one-on-ones, document relationship status and follow up needs, and the ability to identify and employ cultivation/stewardship strategies
Comfort in networking and establishing partnerships with local organizations and leadership to connect them to ioby staff
An understanding of the civic landscape across Cleveland and the region (e.g. culture of giving, relationships between and among neighborhood groups, race and class dynamics, and history of government-led civic engagement efforts)
Particularly strong relationships to support the following project types that frequently crowdfund with ioby: Social Justice, Schools, Neighbors Working Together/Building Social Capital, Sharing Economy, Public Art, Food, Safer Streets, Public Health, Placemaking, Environment
Experience using asset-based community development
Adept at planning, promoting, and facilitating trainings, workshops, and events
A demonstrated commitment to social justice
Ability to work with a diversity of residents, regardless of race, class, age, technical abilities, etc.
Fundraising & Coaching SkillsExperience in fundraising that will support coaching others in fundraising
Ability to teach, coach, and encourage residents on an interpersonal level
Communication SkillsStrong written and verbal communication skills
Ability to tailor ioby's message and coaching according to particular audiences (e.g. capable of articulating the job of the Action Strategist in layman's terms)
Highly skilled at representing ioby to the media, at community gatherings, partner meetings, speaking engagements, and through social media
Able to generate content and subscribers for the Cleveland monthly newsletter
Experience using social media
Organizational SkillsExcellent time-management skills
Ability to record and prioritize tasks in a timely and organized fashion with a quickly changing workload
Technological SkillsExperience managing a network of constituents with Salesforce or another CRM tool
1-3 years experience using a CMS
Proficiency and comfort using cloud-based collaborative software, such as Google Docs, Google Sheets, Dropbox, Asana, Cirrus, to record and share daily tasks, quarterly goals, plans, and strategies
Team Culture: Accustomed to an iterative environment with changing processes and systems
Accustomed to recording work plans and tasks that can be seen and contributed to by distributed staff
Experience being managed by a remote supervisor
Extraordinary candidates will have:

While the below characteristics are not required, extraordinary candidates will likely possess some of the below characteristics.

5 years of experience working within the civic landscape of Cleveland
Community organizing experience
Very strong networking skills and relationships throughout Cleveland
Masters degree in Social Work, Social Justice, Urban Planning or other related field
Experience in teaching and coaching fundraising
Experience in planning and leading trainings, workshops, and events
Experience with public speaking and meeting facilitation
Experience working in an organization that relies heavily on technology for project management and communication
Experience building relationships with remote colleagues through video conference and software
2-4 years experience using Salesforce to manage constituents
Proficient in HTML
Experience being managed by a remote supervisor
Experience “managing up” to an executive
Experience working in an anti-racist organization
Benefits
This is a full-time position with a salary range of $40,000 - $55,000, commensurate with experience. It includes a generous benefits package with full coverage for health, eye and dental; a minimum of 27 PTO days in addition to holidays; the possibility of employer-matched 401k contributions, and an attractive "Whole Person" policy.

ioby staff are distributed across the country. This job requires some travel within the U.S., including participation in the City Action Strategist Team’s annual retreats and ioby’s staff retreats that take place in New York and other ioby cities. For the remainder of 2021 (effective July 1, 2021), this position can be work-from-home. If the person chosen for the role chooses to work from an office or perform in-person work activities, they must follow CDC guidelines, local health guidelines, and local office guidelines. In the future, this job may require occasional domestic travel. ioby’s regular business hours are 9am - 6pm EST Monday through Friday, but this job will require some work outside regular business hours. You’ll be expected to manage your own balanced workweek based on the demands of the job.

Application Deadline: Please apply with your resume and cover letter. The last date to submit is July 13. No calls please.

ioby's Non-discrimination Policy

ioby is committed to the principles of equal opportunity. ioby's organizational policies, practices, programs, activities and decisions regarding employment, hiring, assignment, promotion, compensation, volunteerism, internships and other terms and conditions of employment or voluntary service shall not be based on a person's race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, mental or physical disability, ancestry, military discharge status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, source of income, parental status, housing status, or other protected status, in accordance with applicable law.

Women, people of color, and LGBTQIA persons are always strongly encouraged to apply.