The Surrey Union of Drug Users (SUDU) is hiring a Community Organizer to support general operations and advocacy, including the SUDU Research & Policy Committee. In this unique role, the Community Organizer will support the continued growth and political advocacy of one of BCs fastest growing drug user-led advocacy organizations.

Description of role

Part-time @ $30/hr + 4% vacation pay, up to 16 hours per week beginning September 1st, 2025. Additional hours must be approved by SUDU’s Executive Director. 12 month contract with renewal consideration pending funding. 8 hours in-person on board/general meeting day (includes 1-hour unpaid break & two 15-minute paid breaks) and 8 hours in-person on Research & Policy Committee day (includes 1-hour unpaid break & two 15-minute paid breaks)~ 4 additional hours per week, depending on workload. May be remote or in-person. 

Background

Surrey Union of Drug Users (SUDU) is a peer-led organization that aims to improve the living conditions of people who use unregulated drugs in Surrey, B.C., through education, advocacy, and capacity-building. We are committed to advancing justice-oriented drug policy that upholds the human rights of people who use drugs.

SUDUs Community Organizers are non-member, allied staff persons who support the SUDU Board of directors, subcommittees, and groups to fulfill the organization's mandate. Community Organizers work closely with SUDUs Executive Director and an elected working Board composed of community members who are current or former illicit drug users. The Community Organizer’s primary role is to oversee and support SUDUs day to day meetings, facilitate political education, and advance policy advocacy operations as an allied staff person creating opportunities for SUDU members to engage in direct action, education, advocacy and empowerment. The Community Organizer will also support and facilitate SUDUs Research and Policy Committee. The Research & Policy Committee was developed by SUDU’s Board of Directors in August 2023 to ensure that people who use drugs in Surrey are represented in and empowered in political and academic spheres.

The Community Organizer reports to the Board of Directors at weekly board meetings. Major activities, priorities, directives, and actions are made collectively by the Board via voting. Direct (day-to-day) supervision will be done by the Executive Director.

Qualifications

SUDU encourages applications from people with lived and living experience of accessing the unregulated drug supply in and around Surrey. Applicants must possess the following qualifications to be considered for this role:

• Decolonial, trauma-informed, antioppressive lens with specific recognition of the contributions of public health and health research to colonial violence in so-called BC.

• Familiarity with substance use and harm reduction research and policymaking processes, institutions, and actors in so-called BC.

• Exceptional plain language and academic writing skills.

• Ability to facilitate discussion, synthesize thoughts and themes, and create advocacy outputs alongside, not for, the SUDU membership

• Self starter, ability to work independently with minimal direct supervision towards collectively defined goals.

• Advanced understanding of the principles of harm reduction, community empowerment, and drug user activism.

• Developed political lens conducive to social movement building

• Strong communication skills, ability to speak plainly, and familiarity with plain language writing

The following qualifications are considered assets:

• Lived or living experience of substance use 

• Lived, academic, or professional background related to Indigenous studies, social services, political science, policy studies, public health or health promotion 

• Experience in community activism within or outside of the movement for drug user liberation

• Anti-oppressive understanding of the social determinants of health and the ongoing impacts of colonization on the health and wellbeing of Indigenous people

• Community organizing experience that includes but is not limited to facilitating meetings, conducting direct action organizing actions, and liaising with policymakers

• Ability to write and manage grants and funding agreements

• Willingness to serve the community as a non-member, allied staff person answering to an elected body of peers

• Familiarity with Surrey’s political and service-providing landscape

• Fluency in a second language is an asset. Ability to speak Punjabi is considered a significant asset.

• Experience within or engaging with action-oriented health research is considered an asset.

• Self confidence, outspoken, de-escalation and conflict resolution

• Ability to translate political and research concepts in lay terms

• Residence in and around Surrey significant asset, alternatively, knowledge of and willingness to learn more about Surrey’s unique context is important

• Class 5 drivers license is an asset

For current students, the SUDU Board of Directors would like to note that this role does not supersede SUDUs research ethics process (The SUDUs and Dont’s of research). All researchers looking to do research with SUDU and with members must approach the SUDU board to begin this formalized process. This process is parallel to employment as a staff organizer at SUDU, and the role of the organizer is to advance the mission of the organization first and foremost. Employment with SUDU does not equate to consent for participation in research. Research conducted without the expressed consent of the organization or fails to follow SUDUs internal guidelines will be considered unethical.

Responsibilities

The SUDU Community Organizer will:

Board meetings:

• Support the board of directors to stay informed on current events, research, and policy changes related to drug policy and harm reduction.

• Attend weekly meetings on Monday afternoons & keep minutes.

• Develop agendas in advance of the meeting with the support of the Executive Director. and board

• Keep track of project/activities/priorities and remind Board members of upcoming deadlines.

• Bring items of consideration to the Board and provide more information when needed.

• Advise on project/activities/priorities as appropriate.

• Prepare, distribute, and record stipends.

Weekly membership meetings:

• Work with SUDU board members and the Executive Director to facilitate general meetings. When possible, Board members should be supported to learn and practice meeting agenda setting and facilitation skills as a form of capacity building.

• Relevant discussion topics. Keep members aware of changing policies.

• Invite guests as appropriate (confirm with Board prior to invite).

• Responsible for paying and tracking stipends.

• Delegate meeting report sheet to a member at each meeting.

• Prepare, distribute, and record stipends.

Research & Policy committee:

• Facilitate three one-hour Committee meetings each month

• Support SUDUs Research and Policy Committee to participate in, develop, and co-direct research projects independently or in relationship with academic partners.

• Ensure that SUDUs policies and procedures related to ethical research with people who use drugs are followed.

• Build working partnerships with allied policymakers and health researchers to advance SUDUs policy goals

• Create knowledge mobilization and translation materials including reports, blog posts, policy briefs, academic papers, graphics, and media articles with the support of the Research and Policy Committee.

• Ensure that all meetings are efficiently facilitated, keep detailed minutes, and ensure meeting report sheet is completed and returned to the acting Executive Director

• While it is appropriate for the Community Organizer to prepare agendas and facilitate meetings when required, excelling in this role will require dedicated work to empower committees to take on these roles, i.e, skillbuilding around group facilitation and notetaking.

• Prepare relevant discussion topics to populate Research and Policy Committee agendas in order to keep members aware of changing policies. This includes regular reviews of the harm reduction-adjacent media, local, provincial, and federal politics, and staying on top of the public health literature related to harm reduction

• Invite guests as appropriate (confirm with Board prior to invite).

• Prepare, distribute, and record stipends

• Responsible for stipends & tracking.

• Delegate meeting report sheet to a member at each meeting.

• Keep track of research and policy committee membership list, consulting the committee to remove new members according to stated policy and facilitating new members up to a maximum of 10 participants

• Report weekly updates to board.

Communications: 

• Become familiar with each Board member’s communication methods (e.g. phone and email, phone only, etc.).

•  Responsible for monitoring SUDUs primary email on in-person days.

Events & campaigns: 

• Undertake projects delegated by the Board.

• Lead travel and event coordination related to academic conferences, drug user convergences, guest lectures, and policy-related events alongside the SUDU Board.

• Prepare statements and press releases in collaboration with SUDU members.

• Coordinate SUDUs participation in direct actions and advocacy activities including but not limited to rallies, speaking events, conferences, panel discussions, media appearances, public awareness campaigns, and meetings with policymakers.

• Transporting equipment and supplies as needed for events, meetings, etc.

• Postering in the community as needed, updating social media pages & website.

Administrative tasks

• Organize & maintain SUDUs Google Drive, and other tasks as assigned.

Mentorship

• Supporting board members to facilitate general meetings.

• Supporting SUDU members and leaders with skill development related to technology, research, policy studies, and harm reduction education

Confidentiality

Protecting the privacy and confidentiality of SUDU’s board activities, relationship with members, and member identities is extremely important, and any breach of this will be cause for termination. The community Organizer will maintain such confidentiality even after the end of your employment and this agreement survives the termination of employment.

To apply

Interested applicants are invited to send a resume and cover letter to by 11:59PM on July 1st, 2025. Cover letters should be limited to one page and include a response to the question “What does drug user liberation mean to you?” in addition to other information. While we will try to contact all applicants to inform them of a decision, only applicants selected for an interview may be contacted by July 15th, 2025. Onboarding will take place in the month of August. We encourage applicants with less familiarity with drug user organizing to attend a general meeting Mondays at 5PM at the Black Arts Centre (10305 City Pkwy #105, Surrey, BC V3T 4Y8) to meet members and see if this opportunity is the right fit.