Senior Organizer - Suffolk County Regional Office

Senior Organizer

The Suffolk County Regional Office is part of NYCLU's state Field Organizing Department. The Suffolk County Senior Organizer is a member of the NYCLU's Suffolk Regional Office and will report to the Suffolk County Regional Director. NYCLU's statewide Field Organizing Department engages in multi-layered advocacy efforts aimed at both the state and local levels including base building organizing, public education, coalition building, leadership development, and lobbying of state and local lawmakers. The Suffolk County Senior Organizer will focus on local organizing work in Suffolk County to improve democratic participation, including youth, parents, voters, candidates, and residentsand support efforts for change through integrated advocacy that will allow marginalized communities to better hold school districts and local governments accountable.

We are looking for candidates who have experience working on grassroots campaigns, have strong base-building and leadership development skills, and are committed to building power to win transformative policy and legislative change. Ideal candidates are strategic, passionate, and collaborative.

The ideal candidate will have a passion for engaging young people in leadership development and organizing around issues that impact them at the local and state level. They will also have the ability to engage with NYCLU members, community members and leaders, coalition partners, policymakers, nonprofit leaders, school district administrators to bring about real and meaningful change. They are a people person and are comfortable approaching new people from different backgrounds. They are energetic, empathetic, fun, and quickly establish connections. They can take the emotional temperature of a room and facilitate a hard conversation (but also know that plenty of consensus happens one-on-one outside of the meeting. They have a proven ability to build reciprocal relationships with members of directly impacted communities, coalition partners from directly impacted communities and to foster collaboration.

The Suffolk County Senior Organizer reports to the Suffolk Regional Director. The Suffolk County Senior Organizer's direct report may include interns and volunteers.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent work experience preferred.
• Bilingual English Spanish preferred.
• 4+ years of experience developing and leading base building efforts in the areas such as education equity, voting rights, racial justice, immigrants' rights, environmental justice, economic justice.
• At least 2 years of experience in youth organizing youth leadership development programs.
• 2+ years of experience in a progressive leadership role within community or advocacy organizations.
• 1+ years of successful experience training, mentoring and supervising volunteers and teams, with the proven ability to foster a healthy, balanced, and accountable environment for staff.
• Experience delivering training for youth.
• Must currently reside on Long Island
• Knowledge of the issues affecting all communities, especially low-income communities, and communities of color on Long Island.
• Knowledge of Long Island's history, political and power landscape.
• Proficiency and willingness to research new and existing trends, issues, concerns to help inform power/target analysis.
• Ability to think critically and contextually about systemic issues of race, power, and identity.
• Ability to meet deadlines and manage and execute multiple projects simultaneously effectively.
• Proficiency with MS Office programs, digital organizing tools, CRM EveryAction, and social media platforms.
• Excellent engagement skills and communication skills must demonstrate maturity, integrity, and respect for persons from a diversity of backgrounds.
• Excellent facilitation skills, active listener and able to synthesize and build collective knowledge.
• Excellent work planning skills, including development of monthly, quarterly, and annual plans.
• Experience holding space for difficult conversations around race, language, and other topics.
• Possesses sound judgement, mediation skills and familiarity with transformative justice principles.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

• Centers and empowers directly impacted people and marginalized communities in local level organizing.
• Plays an integral role in organizing and developing campaigns for greater social, education and political equity in School Districts in Suffolk County, including coordinating, and collaborating across departments.
• Works to establish NYCLU Suffolk's credibility and presence in specific school districts in Suffolk County by building relationship with youth leaders, educators and other school officials.
• Plays an integral role in the leadership development of young people, parents and educators to ensure that youth can organize on issues that directly impact them.
• Organizes, strategizes, and leads public advocacy campaigns that mobilize grassroots and NYCLU members and supporters to uphold and defend civil liberties and civil rights, particularly immigrants' rights, voting rights and educational equity.
• Stays abreast of NYCLU's statewide organizing portfolio and recognizes and recommends issues for NYCLU's consideration.
• Identify opportunities to develop strategic partnerships with community groups to advance the NYCLU's advocacy agenda.
• Builds reciprocal relationships with grassroots groups, communities, advocacy organizations, and government agencies.
• Organizes and coordinates coalition efforts.
• Organizes large-scale public education and organizing events, such as rallies, community forums, lobby visits, public hearings, news conferences, panel discussions, and training.
• Conducts extensive public education, including public speaking at community events, coalition meetings, panels, rallies and representing the NYCLU in the media.
• Recruits, trains, engages, and mobilizes a diverse network of members, supporters and volunteers.
• Facilitate workshops and trainings to the public, and trains others as facilitators.
• Contributes to the development of public education materials and workshops in collaboration with our communications team, including contributing to and/or editing blogs, public letters, reports, etc.
• Advises other staff on organizing strategies and help them to implement those strategies.
• Work collaboratively with Policy team members and other NYCLU departments and centers to advance the NYCLU's initiatives.
• Actively supports the NYCLU's internal and external commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Provides administrative support including but not limited to ensure smooth logistical coordination for meetings and events by reserving spaces, preparing materials, managing RSVPs, handling travel and expenses, maintaining supplies, updating contact lists, supporting social media, and carrying out special assignments.

Special Requirements:

• Must be willing to work extended hours, evenings, and weekends.
• This position requires a moderate amount of physical effort. Some examples include lifting and carrying (equipment, tables/chairs for some outreach events), marching, protesting, or traveling via car or charter bus to Albany. In addition, the ideal candidate may be requested to remain in a stationary position for long periods of time. NYCLU can provide reasonable accommodations to the ideal candidate but please be aware of these expectations.
• Requires regular travel to regional offices in Centereach and other communities throughout Suffolk County.
• Driver's license and willingness to travel within New York State.
• Must have dependable access to a vehicle and expect to drive long distances.