Community organisers: recruitment begins

The recruitment process has begun to find the first 30 senior community organisers.

Community organisers will work in local communities to build dialogues and create networks to help communities develop their collective power to act together for the common good. Their support will enable people to take action on their own behalf to tackle the issues which are important to them.

Recruitment of the first 30 senior community organisers begins today. They are being recruited by 11 ‘kickstarter’ host organisations around England. These kickstarters are independent, respected organisations based in communities in different areas of the country, with the structure and capacity in place to recruit, host and supervise the community organisers while they are trained.

The 11 kickstarters were selected by Locality, the UK’s leading network for ambitious, community-led organisations, which is delivering the Community Organisers programme nationally.

Jess Steele, Director of Innovation at Locality, said: “This is a major milestone in the delivery of the Community Organisers programme. We selected the 11 kickstarters because of their huge breadth of practical knowledge and experience of serving their local communities. The kickstarters will start recruiting the first phase of community organisers today, and will be looking for dedicated, passionate, motivated individuals to take on the role in their local area.

“This first stage of the community organiser programme is a pilot stage and will play an important part in helping us shape the programme when it’s rolled out across the rest of the country later this year.”

Pete McGurn is the CEO of Goodwin Development Trust in Hull, one of the 11 kickstarter organisations. He said: “There are so many skilled, committed people out there, who have the organising, motivating and, perhaps most importantly, the listening skills vital to helping people make their local communities better places to live. We are really looking forward to beginning the recruitment process and drawing on Hull’s community talent.”

Once the first 30 trainee senior organisers are recruited, they’ll be placed in their host organisation and will begin their training, provided by Locality’s national training partner Re:generate.

When trained, organisers will begin work in the community, using the broad-based community organising model: Root Solution Listening Matters. Hosts will continue to provide a base for the community organisers, but organisers will work independently to build up local networks, create connectivity between diverse communities and help motivate and mobilise people develop their collective power and transform their local communities.