JOB POSTING:
Community Organizer – Yonkers, NY
JOB DESCRIPTION:
Community Voices Heard (CVH) is seeking an experienced organizer to continue building the Yonkers Chapter (20 minutes north of NYC) of our successful New York Economic Justice Organization. The position will involve committee, leadership, and campaign development.
CVH is a 14 year-old membership organization of low-income people across New York State. We currently have organizing projects in New York City, Yonkers, Newburgh and Poughkeepsie. We work on economic justice, job creation, welfare, public housing, economic development, and access to education and training services. CVH uses base-building, leadership development, direct-action, grassroots-driven research, voter mobilization and coalition building to lead campaigns to win benefits for our membership of low-income families.
CVH’s Yonkers Chapter has been in operation for two years. Our Yonkers Chapter has 2 leaders that serve on our Board of Directors, 25 Vanguard Leaders, 205 Trailblazers (people that have come to at least 1 event), and over 2,000 individuals that we have contacted through outreach efforts.
The Yonkers Chapter’s current campaign is focused on influencing the downtown (Getty Square) development process and assuring that low-income families’ interests are incorporated into this development. Yonkers members are also interested in preserving and expanding low-income affordable housing options in the community and have begun work to promote a progressive housing ordinance for the City of Yonkers. A subset of Yonkers members is focused on welfare and workforce development issues. In addition to the Yonkers based campaign worked, there will likely be an opportunity for broader regional organizing work across Westchester County and collaborative work statewide with other CVH chapters.
The responsibilities of the position will include:
· Base Building & Mobilization: Conducting base building activities (and coordinating members and leaders to do the same) at local public housing developments, social service agencies, community organizations, welfare centers, and by door-knocking and organizing house-meetings; moving individuals met to participate in meetings, trainings, actions, etc.
· Leadership Development: Building the skills of active membership to understand the political underpinnings of the campaign (i.e. legal & policy context, power analysis, etc.) and to take on more and more roles in the campaign (i.e. giving testimony, facilitating meetings, conducting outreach, etc.) through both one-on-one development and workshops.
· Committee Development: Pulling together and staffing an organizing committee of local leaders to determine the focus of a campaign and then make ongoing decisions regarding the campaign’s direction; providing critical background information to leadership team so as to facilitate strategic decision-making. Work includes managing both a main committee (around affordable housing and development issues) and a sub-committee (focused on welfare and workforce development issues).
· Campaign Development, Planning, & Implementation: Facilitating issue identification, campaign planning and campaign development processes to develop a local campaign with leadership including demands, strategies, tactics, etc.; facilitating campaign planning process and subsequent implementation.
· Campaign Research: Conducting background research on topics (e.g. zoning regulations, development approval processes, community benefits agreements, etc.) and targets pertinent to the campaign.
· Coalition & Stakeholder Work: Working with ally organizations in the region to move forward campaign goals and demands. Working collaboratively with the CVH base in New York City to move forward statewide campaigns.
This is a full-time position that begins on January 1, 2008 (or shortly thereafter). The Yonkers Organizer will work as part of a staff team that includes the Senior Organizer and Executive Director. The position is based physically out of our office in the Yonkers Community Action Program (YCAP) building on Ashburton Avenue, and is currently the sole position in the Yonkers office. Staff members from organizing sites external to our main office in NYC, however, work out of our NYC office in East Harlem once a week on Fridays.
QUALIFICATIONS:
*
Minimum 1 year community organizing, political organizing,
legislative issue advocacy, and or project development management
experience required.
*
Experience in base building, door knocking, leadership
development, mobilization, and strategy development essential.
*
Ability to work independently, yet take direction, according to
goals of the organization.
*
Strong commitment to relational membership/community led
organizing, conducting one-on-one meetings with individuals, and
ability to identify non-traditional and community-based leaders
and people who want to be community leaders.
*
Applicants must be committed to ideology of building community
power & share our commitment to membership grassroots
decision-making, radical politics & our analysis of power.
*
Spanish language skills are strongly desired, but not required.
*
Residency in Yonkers or Westchester County is preferred, though
not mandatory.
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Access to car and/ or drivers license is recommended, though not
required. [There is a good bus system in Yonkers and a Metro
North train that can be taken from Yonkers to NYC on Fridays.]
TO APPLY:
Please send resume and cover letter to Sondra Youdelman, Community Voices Heard 115 East 106^th Street, 3^rd Floor, New York, NY 10029 or email them to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>. If emailing, make sure to put “Community Organizer: Yonkers” in the subject line.
CVH is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, GLBT individuals, and people with experience on public assistance are strongly encouraged to apply. For more information please check out our web page at: www.CVHaction.org <http://www.cvhaction.org/>. Resumes will be accepted until the position is filled.
SALARY/ BENEFITS:
Depends on experience (DOE); hire will likely be a Level 1 or 2 Organizer (salary range: $30-39K). Excellent benefits include health insurance, sabbatical, 403(b) retirement program, generous vacation leave, and holiday time off. Transportation is reimbursed at ½ of a monthly metro card (valid in both Yonkers and NYC), 1 RT Metro North ticket per week (when Organizer is expected to be in NYC office), and mileage reimbursement when vehicle used for work.
