Senior Organiser

We are excited to be hiring a Senior Organiser at the IWGB. We encourage applications from anyone who has experience of workplace organising and campaigning.

The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) is a new and dynamic union which consists of mainly low-paid, migrant and precarious workers, such as outsourced cleaners and security guards, workers in the so-called “gig economy”, such as Deliveroo couriers and Uber drivers, and foster care workers, video game workers, charity workers and more.

In this role, you will be working at the cutting edge of the trade union movement in Britain, organising in new and unorganised sectors and taking on rogue employers to fight for equality, dignity and respect.

You will be based in the organising department at the IWGB and will report to the Head of Organising, as well as working closely with elected officials and branch organisers. The role will involve a mixture of on-the-ground organising and line-managing and guiding branch organisers.

The role is permanent and is for 5 days (35 hours) per week. We are open to discussing a mutually beneficial working pattern with the right candidate. The role is based in London and we can currently offer a mix of in-the-field working, remote work and work in our London office.

Person specification

We expect the successful candidate to have:

Essential:

• Experience of workplace organising and campaigning, either as an activist or as staff in a trade union, or similar experience in a similar organisation.
• Self-motivation, perseverance, a high level of personal organisation and ability to prioritise and make decisions in an unstructured environment.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills.
• Passion for building combative, member-led trade unions.
• Commitment to the principles of the union movement, including a passion for equality, fairness and social and economic justice.

Desirable:

• Proven ability to motivate workers towards action, particularly through 1 to 1s.
• Proven ability to organise and win fights over workplace issues.
• Proven ability to develop and organise teams and hold team members accountable to tasks.
• Experience of line managing others.
• Fluency in additional languages to English, particularly languages spoken among the workforces we organise with, such as Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Somali, Bengali, Urdu or otherwise.

Please do not count yourself out if you feel you do not meet all the requirements above. We will be offering support and training as part of the role and we are also open to hiring someone who will develop experience and take on responsibilities as you go along.

Duties will include:

• Supporting IWGB branches to organise and campaign and providing guidance where needed:
• Supporting members to plan and execute workplace organising drives.
• Supporting the formation and development of workplace organising committees and rep committees.
• Identifying widely-felt issues that can form a basis for campaigning and recruitment and supporting members to develop and execute plans of action around these issues.
• Supporting and advising members with the planning and execution of longer-term strategic campaigns in workplaces.
• Supporting members to implement systems to record, keep secure and make use of data for organising purposes, as well as other administrative systems which ensure the smooth running of campaigns.
• Maintaining an overview of organising drives and campaigns and liaising with and reporting back to elected officials and the Head of Organising.
• Line management of staff organisers who work within our branches.
• Deputising for the Head of Organising as required & collaborating with the General Secretary, President and Head of Organising on specific projects.
• any other duties consistent with the post
  

Pay and annual leave

• Annual salary of £30,667. Salary will be adjusted in line with any London Living Wage uplifts
• Generous leave entitlement of 30 days annual leave per year not including bank holidays (prorated for part time staff)
• We believe in pay parity so everyone at IWGB earns the same hourly rate of pay

Benefits

• Flexibility around working patterns and hours
• Hybrid working options (dependant on position)
• High employer pension contributions: 6% employee-paid and 13% employer-paid pension
• Equal maternity and paternity pay enhancements for parents

How to apply:

You can download an application form from the ‘Work with us’ page of our website. Please send your completed application form with the subject “Senior Organiser job application” to applications@iwgb.co.uk. We will be accepting applications on a rolling basis.  Please let us know in your email where you have seen our advertisement so we can improve our hiring processes.

Who is the IWGB?

Founded in August of 2012, the IWGB now consists of 12 branches. The branches are highly autonomous and lead on campaigning for better pay and conditions in their industry. IWGB campaigns are known for being bold, vibrant, loud and effective. In addition to campaigning, the IWGB’s Legal department is also highly active, providing representation on a range of employment matters such as disciplinary processes, grievances, private hire licensing, and employment tribunals. The IWGB organises social events for members, Spanish and English classes, and holds regular meetings where members can engage and feed into policy. We are a democratic organisation with all officials being regularly elected.

As an organisation that fights for workers’ rights, we strongly believe no applicant or employee should face discrimination or harassment based on their gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability status, age, or marital/domestic partner status. You can read more in the IWGB Statement of Inclusivity. Please let us know if you have any requirements for interview.

Above all, we’re looking for someone with empathy and the determination to support workers who fight for better conditions.

The interview process:

We like to be open and up front with what our hiring process looks like so people know what to expect. Please see below the typical steps in our recruitment process.

Review candidates

Once the advertisement has been taken down, a shortlist of candidates will be selected by the hiring committee to proceed to the next steps. All candidates will be informed of their application outcome within two weeks of the closing date, whether or not they’re proceeding to the next stage.

Remote interviews

Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed via Zoom by a panel of IWGB elected officials and/or staff. Candidates will be interviewed by the same panel to ensure consistency.

Following these interviews, it is possible that there will be a second stage of interviews.

Offer stage

The hiring committee will convene with the goal of selecting and making an offer to one of the candidates. We will offer feedback to people who were interviewed but not selected.