Job Posting: The People’s Depot Coordinator
Hours: Up to 20 hours/week with room for growth
Pay and benefits: $26.31/hour, holiday and sick pay included
Location: Portland, Oregon
Application Process: Submit a resume and letter of interest to kris@groundscoreassociation.org (TPD Manager Kris Brown)
Application Deadline: January 24, 2025
Ground Score Association (GSA) is an association of informal recyclers, canners, dumpster divers, and other waste pickers who create and fill low-barrier waste materials management jobs in Portland, Oregon. Ground Score is collectively-organized and radically inclusive, prioritizing work opportunities for those facing work and housing insecurity. Ground Score seeks to build a more environmentally and socially aware community, while also changing society’s perceptions of what and who is considered valuable.
The People’s Depot (TPD), operated by Ground Score Association, is a can and bottle redemption center that is run by and for canners (workers that informally collect cans and bottles for income). The People’s Depot currently operates from 10am-noon, Monday-Friday, outside under Portland’s Morrison Bridge (SE MLK and Morrison). We are under negotiations to relocate to an indoor site and expand our service operation hours, and we are looking for a coordinator to support our work and prospective expansion. Ground Score is a peer-led, participatory program organized fiscally sponsored by the 501c3 non-profit organization Trash for Peace.
Responsibilities:
● Being available to work Monday-Friday starting at 9 am
● Helping set up the Depot and helping delegate workers to set up the Depot
● Scheduling, paying and supervising workers
● Working well with all different types of people
● Building relationships with workers, partners, and staff based on trust and respect
● Establishing and maintaining agreed upon working guidelines
● Willing and able to assert firm boundaries with workers and customers
● Ensuring compliance with Ground Score’s safety guidelines
● Managing cash, receipts, data, and key project information
● Maintaining confidential information
● Identifying and mentoring other workers
● Maintaining cell phone service, mobile internet connection, and can be easily accessible by phone
● Attending and supporting the facilitation of organizing meetings
● Being able to handle any role at the depot at any time
● Helping deescalate situations in a non-violent manner
● Delegating end of the day tasks and making sure the Depot closes in a timely manner
● Making the weekly schedule with workers and drawing for independent contractors
● Making sound judgment calls surrounding priorities, safety and delegation
Qualifications:
● Experience working as a can and bottle collector (past or present)
● Organized, reliable, and eager to learn
● Commitment to consensus-building and collective organizing principles
● Adaptive and able to work outside in the cold and heat
● Able to de-escalate conflicts nonviolently
● Assertive and able to delegate tasks
● Experience using a computer and smart phone
● Experience with Google Drive and Zoom (or willingness to quickly learn)
● Spanish skills are a plus but not required.
● Experience working in solidarity with people experiencing houselessness, and/or in labor organizing (e.g. unions), social movement-building, or other forms of collective organizing is a plus.
● Interest in waste prevention/sustainability advocacy is a plus.