Background

The Design Justice Network (DJN) is a home for people who are committed to embodying and practicing the Design Justice Network Principles. With beginning collaborations at the Allied Media Conference in 2014, DJN is an international network wielding collective power and experiences to bring forth worlds that are safer, more just, more accessible, and more sustainable. DJN uplifts liberatory experiences, practices, and tools, and critically questions the role of design and designers. Rooted in a sense of abundance, possibility, and joy, we provide connection, care, and community for design justice practitioners.

To learn about DJN, check out the following links:

Care & Healing Justice at DJN

In the DJN, our roots include a commitment to care, disability justice, and healing justice, stemming from our origins in the Allied Media Projects Network; these frameworks have informed us since our beginnings. More recently, with the formation of Care Circles, our network has begun to increase our focus on care. We believe in equitable access to systems and structures of care, and have realized a deep need to support care work, to meet everyone's access needs, and to foster interdependence, reciprocity, and rest within our own membership, local nodes, working groups, staff and contractors, and steering committee. As we develop this work, we also want to create and circulate concrete resources to help other movement organizations and networks fully commit to cultures of care.

Role Overview

These two roles are calling on folks who resonate with the characteristics of Builders and Experimenters, articulated in The Social Change Ecosystem framework created by Deepa Iyer in 2017.

"Builders: We develop, organize, and implement ideas, practices, people and resources in service to a collective vision.”

"Experimenters: We innovate, pioneer, and invent. We take risks and course correct as needed.”

As builders and experimenters, the Care Pod Collaborators will be integral in collaboratively dreaming and designing liberatory cultures of care with design justice practitioners. They will report to and work closely with the Care Pod Lead and move in alignment with the existing and emergent work of DJN staff, contractors, steering committee, and members to develop and implement experiences rooted in care and healing justice across the network. Care Pod Collaborators will help shape and facilitate the project’s inquiries, activities, and gatherings. They will contribute to documenting and sharing ongoing processes and developments. They must be able to balance collaboration and autonomy within a new team formation and practice creative adaptability in response to a growing, evolving network that is restructuring.

Responsibilities

Because we are bringing on two Care Pod Collaborators, these responsibilities will be shared.

Collaboration Cadence & Communication

Work closely with Care Pod Lead and fellow Care Pod Collaborator to deepen care and healing justice work across the network.
Check-in and meet with DJN Staff and Steering Committee to maintain synergy and alignment.
Co-plan and join weekly team meetings with consistent communication in between.
Participate in monthly practice sessions with a healing practitioner for guidance throughout the projects.

Deep Listening & Research

Develop a process to understand member’s experiences, needs, desires and dreams related to care work and access to care that will inform and shape the project’s focus areas.
Synthesize insights to create aligned gatherings, resources, and supportive systems and structures.
Remain informed about shared works and practices related to design justice, care work, and healing justice.

Co-Design of Care & Healing Justice Experiences

Work with the Care Pod team to integrate insights from deep listening and research processes to fulfill project goals:

Form the next iteration of Care Circle sessions through a hybrid virtual and in-person format that introduces localized care offerings.
Develop principles and practice-guides for care to help guide design justice practitioners and movement spaces in their lives and work.
Organize a series of Radical Futures of Care Convenings to dream new futures of healing justice and care.

Documenting & Sharing Project Developments

Implement documentation and archiving methods to consistently capture the project's evolution and learnings.
Collaborate with the Communications Team to share stories out to our network members and broader communities.
Contribute to the creation of reports and project updates.

Qualifications

Need to have…

Awareness and understanding of care in movement spaces and the framework of Healing Justice.
Experience in supporting a big vision in incremental steps that can move concepts into reality. Includes being an excellent manager of tasks and goal dates while enjoying the details of project planning and agendas. (Builders)
Experience in exploring an abundance of ideas that are powerful in impact and advances a vision. Includes embodying generative energy, integrating historical approaches, and the openness to shift direction. (Experimenters)
Significant experience in facilitation, including organizing and holding gatherings, deep listening, engaging conversational skills, and ability to synthesize key insights.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Demonstrated collaboration ability, task autonomy, and interpersonal skills.
Excellent time management and organizational skills.

Nice to have . . .

Familiarity and practice with the Design Justice Network Principles.
Experience collaborating within a new team environment and co-building ways of working and being.
Experience in applying creative forms of research to illuminate community needs, desires and dreams with the actions to design them into being.

Contractor Details and How to Apply

This is a 2 year part-time contract requiring 10 hrs a week at $40/hour. Perks include network-wide pauses during each season and a monthly practice space with a healing practitioner grounded in liberatory praxis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this role will operate in a remote capacity requiring virtual Zoom meetings with the option to travel for in-person gatherings connecting DJN staff, contractors, steering committee and members.

This opportunity is open to remote workers internationally. With our fiscal sponsor based in Detroit, there will be additional requirements to process international payments. We are working on best practices to ease that process for both admin and contractors.

APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED. Thank you to all who shared and applied!

The application asks for:

Full name, Pronouns, Geographic Location, Best Way to Contact You
Your affiliation with DJN and/or principles.
A resume/CV and any relevant website links.
Responses to all of the following pre-interview questions that can be answered in the form of a PDF cover letter or a voice note (Rev online voice recorder):

How would you describe your existing and desired relationship with the practice of design justice, healing justice and care?
How do your gifts and skills align with the project's purpose, role and responsibilities?
Why do you want to be a part of dreaming and designing liberatory cultures of care with design justice practitioners? Why this position and this moment?

Applications Open: January 19, 2022 - February 10, 2023.
Interviews: Feb 13-15, 2023
Anticipated Start Date: March 1, 2023

APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED. Thank you to all who shared and applied!

Parts of this listing follow the job positions format by our fiscal sponsor, Allied Media Projects (AMP). Thank you to AMP for modeling ways to invite people into creative, collaborative journeys.