Lead Community Organizer

Lead Community Organizer

Overview

The Lead Community Organizer is a part of SCIJ’s leadership team and an essential part of the organization responsible for managing SCIJ’s community organizing efforts including supporting students’ organizing training, overseeing SCIJ’s Immigrant Justice Community Meetings, and supervising SCIJ’s Campus Organizers. Working closely with SCIJ’s Executive Director and Campus Organizers, the Lead Community Organizer plays a critical role in fulfilling SCIJ’s mission by building student and community power for systemic change.

About SCIJ

Building on the decades-long rich history of student leadership in the immigrant justice movement, the Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice (SCIJ) is a community expanding access to representation by collaborating with immigration service organizations to provide pro bono representation to asylum seekers and developing a network to advocate for transformative change by engaging students and community members in direct action organizing.

Salary & Benefits

The Lead Community Organizer is an exempt position and will be paid an annual salary of $63,000-$73,000 (commensurate with experience) plus benefits including:

1. Health Insurance with Tufts (100% paid by SCIJ)
2. Dental Insurance with Tufts (100% paid by SCIJ)
3. Paid Family and Medical Leave
4. Professional Development Assistance
5. Travel reimbursement
6. 14 days of paid time off per year, 10 paid days off for federal holidays, 10 days of end-of-year time off, and 1 paid day off to be used within 14 days of your birthday each year
7. 80 hours of paid sick time

This position will require approximately 40 hours of work per week and generally involve working Monday through Friday, with occasional evening and weekend responsibilities as relevant, such as attending/leading workshops, actions, and events. The position will involve both remote and in-person work. SCIJ anticipates that about 50% of your workweek will be remote, though this may change with COVID fluctuations and changes in organizational strategy. In-person work will not be in an office but instead involves meeting with community members, holding workshops, attending events, and other in-person activities. Applicants must have access to a car or other mode of transportation to travel to Worcester, MA, Providence, RI, Boston, MA, and (potentially) Hartford, CT.

With the impacts of the US’s punitive immigration system felt most harshly by Latinx, Black, African, and Middle Eastern immigrants, especially LGBTQ+, gender-minority, working-class, and disabled immigrants, SCIJ is committed to creating a community within its staff, students, board, and volunteers that reflects this diversity. Two of SCIJ’s core values include Immigrants First and Committed to Anti-Racism, a reflection of SCIJ’s commitment to actively and continuously empower those who are “most impacted by immigration policies, specifically immigrants and first-generation Americans, while also recognizing the multiple ways power and race influence all facets of society.” As an equal opportunity employer, SCIJ is focused on developing a community where people most impacted by immigration policies can thrive and building a staff, board, and volunteer base that reflects this commitment. 

Employment with SCIJ is on an “Employment-At-Will” basis. In other words, you or SCIJ may terminate employment for any reason and at any time, with or without notice. Similarly, the terms of employment outlined in this description are subject to change at any time.

Job Responsibilities

• GENERAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZING STRATEGY
  • Maintaining and further developing SCIJ’s long-term organizing vision
  • Deepening and developing SCIJ’s role within the broader immigration ecosystem, including:
    • Supporting the Campus Organizer in researching, identifying, setting up conversations with, and meeting with community organizations in MA, RI, and CT to develop relationships
    • Maintaining, developing, and expanding SCIJ’s community partnerships with local organizations, national coalitions, and strategic partners
    • Supporting Campus Organizers in representing SCIJ at local, regional, state, and national coalition meetings 
  • Training, mentoring, and supervising SCIJ’s Campus Organizers, including:
    • Maintaining job descriptions for Campus Organizer positions, recruiting SCIJ students to apply for the Campus Organizer position, interviewing candidates, and selecting Campus Organizers
    • Maintaining and further developing onboarding materials for Campus Organizers
    • Conducting onboarding for new campus organizers, including introductory meetings, training, and sharing important resources.
    • Meeting regularly with Campus Organizers to provide ongoing support
    • Completing a performance evaluation for Campus Organizers at the end of the fall and spring semester
  • Evaluating the impact of SCIJ’s community organizing programs, including:
    • Supporting the implementation and further development of SCIJ’s student feedback forms
    • Regularly speaking with students, community members, and partners to understand their experiences
    • Deciphering data to identify trends, frequent questions, and other important information
    • Identifying ways for SCIJ to improve based on feedback
    • Developing materials (emails, reports, etc.) to show SCIJ has acted upon feedback
  • Attending and/or presenting at at least 1 mission-aligned event per month to build community awareness of SCIJ
  • Staying up-to-date with ongoing immigrant justice campaigns, including signing up for and following email lists maintained by groups like Welcome with Dignity. 
• IMMIGRANT JUSTICE COMMUNITY MEETINGS
  • Attending at least 1 of SCIJ’s Immigrant Justice Community Meetings per month, rotating between SCIJ’s 3 locations in Providence, Worcester, and Boston
  • Collaborating with community members and SCIJ’s Campus Organizers to develop monthly agendas for the Immigrant Justice Community Meetings
  • Identify, recruit, develop, and support a community of organizing teams comprised of SCIJ student leaders and non-student community members to engage in SCIJ’s organizing work
  • Training and supporting Campus Organizers in co-organizing SCIJ’s Immigrant Justice Community Meetings
  • Conducting 1-on-1 meetings per week with students, community members, and community organizations to further SCIJ’s community organizing vision
  • Turn relational meetings into tangible action and have the ability to turn out people as a result of person-to-person organizing
  • Maintaining and developing content for and preparing and training facilitators to lead SCIJ’s community organizing workshops
  • Co-developing campaign strategies with students and local immigrant communities
  • Supporting the outreach, research, and strategic planning needed to wage and win campaigns such as by organizing large community action meetings, non-violent actions, meeting with public officials
  • Writing emails, making calls, and submitting (and/or providing) testimony in support of bills and issues supported by SCIJ
  • Attending, supporting, and/or participating in actions and events in support of immigrant justice
  • As relevant, engaging SCIJ’s alumni in organizing efforts
• TRAINING
  • Maintaining and further developing the community organizing training portion of SCIJ’s training program, including:
    • Identifying and writing learning goals related to community organizing
    • Researching, designing, and writing content and PowerPoint presentations for SCIJ’s training program related to community organizing
  • Identifying questions, writing, administering, and grading SCIJ’s final exam related to community organizing
  • Training SCIJ’s Trainers to facilitate SCIJ’s community organizing, including:
    • Maintaining and further developing SCIJ’s Trainers Guide’s section on community organizing;
    • Facilitating SCIJ’s Train-the-Trainer sessions on community organizing
  • In collaboration with SCIJ’s staff, evaluating SCIJ’s training program including:
    • Supporting the implementation and further development of SCIJ’s student feedback forms
    • Regularly speaking with students to understand their experiences
    • Deciphering data to identify trends, frequent questions, and other important information
    • Identifying ways for SCIJ to improve based on feedback

Qualifications and Skills

SCIJ is looking for a Lead Community Organizer with lived experiences in immigrant communities and a passion for immigrant justice. The ideal candidate should be articulate, thoughtful, enthusiastic, flexible, self-motivated, dependable, responsible, and creative. In addition, the ideal candidate would be someone committed to abolition, understands the immigration system as a racist structure, and is invested in power building. Qualifications and skills include:

• 4+ years of direct community organizing experience, with a strong preference for candidates with experience organizing in immigrant communities
• Experience working in grassroots community groups
• Flexibility to work weeknights and weekends depending on projects and events
• Leadership and coordination experience and skills
• Deeply self-motivated
• Growth mindset and a commitment to reflective practice
• Strong interpersonal skills, including excellent written and verbal communication
• Proven track record of exceptional relationship-building both internally and externally.
• Must have experience with Google Suite (GMail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Forms)
• Must have access to a car or other mode of transportation to travel to Worcester, MA, Providence, RI, Boston, MA, and (potentially) Hartford, CT
• If you’re interested in this position but feel that you do not or may not have the experience necessary, we’d still love to chat with you

Physical Requirements

• Needs to be able to occasionally move about inside the office to access file cabinets, office machinery, etc
• Needs to be able to constantly operate a computer and other office productivity machinery, such as a calculator, copy machine, and computer printer
• Needs to be able to frequently communicate with students, staff, and community partners. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations.

The above information outlines the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this position. It is not designed as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job; nor is it a contract for employment. SCIJ will make reasonable accommodations as they relate to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Regarding COVID-19: SCIJ considers the health and safety of our community of the utmost importance, and due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and subject to state and local laws, SCIJ’s policy requires that all employees performing in-person work with SCIJ are fully vaccinated. For the purpose of this policy, fully vaccinated indicates that you have received a single dose of the Janssen vaccine or both doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, and one dose of the booster vaccine. Certain exemptions may be requested and will be considered.

How to Apply

To apply, please send your resume to info@SCIJimmigration.org and put “Lead Community Organizer Application - [Your Name]” in the subject line. In addition to including your resume, please share responses to the following 2 questions (max 200 words each): (1) Why is immigrant justice important to you?; and (2) Why do you want to join SCIJ as the Lead Community Organizer. 

You may also include a cover letter, however, this is optional. If you are looking for resources on formatting your resume or cover letter, you can optionally use one of these resources: Hiatt Career Center, BHCC Career Advising, and Indeed.com. 

If you have any questions, please contact info@SCIJimmigration.org and put “Lead Community Organizer Application - [Your Name]” in the subject line. 

Interview Process

1. Initial meeting with Executive Director, Program Assistant, and SCIJ students
2. Second meeting with SCIJ staff and constituents
3. Final offer meeting with Executive Director

SCIJ is seeking to have this position begin on August 5, 2024.