Senior Organizer, Follow Black Women, Community Voices Heard

December 14th, 2020
Senior Organizer, Follow Black Women, Community Voices Heard

Senior Organizer, Follow Black Women, Community Voices Heard

  • Full Time
  • Senior Level
  • Applications have closed
Job Category: Policy/Advocacy
Location: Manhattan
Job Sectors: Community Improvement, Other
Salary Range:

Organization Overview 

 

Community Voices Heard (CVH) is a member-led, multi-racial organization principally comprised of women of color and low-income families in New York State. Founded in 1994 by welfare recipients in New York City working to fight unjust welfare policies, CVH tackles tough issues and builds power to secure racial, social and economic justice for all New Yorkers.  Through grassroots organizing, leadership development, policy changes, and creating new models of direct democracy CVH is creating a truly equitable New York State. 

 

CVH works towards its goals with four key strategies: 

 

Base Building: Using the relational organizing model we build a  multi-issue, multi-generational, and multi-cultural base of directly impacted individuals members joining the fight for structural change in their communities.

 

Leadership Development:  Through leadership development trainings, CVH empowers member-leaders to organize their neighbors and build collective power to achieve systemic change.

 

Strategic Campaigns: In true participatory-action form CVH members and staff organizers work together to research and share lived experiences, bringing unique and authentic perspectives to the issues. 

 

Actions: Within each campaign creative, bold, non-violent actions and demonstrations bring to light, on a public platform, the issues faced by those most affected by the decision making of those in power.

 

Position Overview

 

Community Voices Heard is seeking a senior organizer to lead its groundbreaking organizing initiative, Follow Black Women (FBW) 

 

Black women’s organizing, activism, and political engagement are critical to ensure racial, social and economic justice for our communities. The Follow Black Women project is a unique opportunity to create an agenda that centers the issues and experiences of Black women. 

 

In 2019, CVH launched Follow Black Women: A Survey for the Frontlines, because Black women are power houses in elections, yet we still see the policy issues they support fall to the wayside. We believe that in order to advance the type of relationship that we desire between the people and government, we must create new spaces and models of civic engagement. 

 

We seek to survey 5,000 individuals—who identify as Black women—about issues that they care about.  Women who take the survey are invited to participate in roundtable discussions, in the form of sister circles and house meetings, where we listen to and more deeply explore the ideas and concerns voiced. 

 

Based on the conversations and survey results, we will convene discussions featuring diverse and powerful Black women who are movers and shakers in the political world.  We will work with academic partners to create and release reports of our findings, tell stories from the field, and deliver ambitious policy recommendations. 

 

The senior organizer will help create a roadmap to power with and for Black women across New York State.

 

Key Responsibilities 

 

    • Develop strategic outreach efforts to reach the target survey completion goals 

 

 

    • Develop and drive overall project strategy

 

 

    • Build relationships with survey participants and help channel them into membership with the organization

 

 

    • Develop community partners and allies to support the project

 

 

    • Craft and execute programs for FBW participants (town halls, meetings, panel discussions)

 

 

    • Coordinate communications with survey coalition members to advance the project 

 

 

    • Serve as an internal CVH leader, engaging constructively and consistently with colleagues

 

 

    • Perform necessary budgetary and administrative tasks

 

 

    • Recruit, orient and oversee interns, consultants, and staff as needed

 

 

Candidates Should Bring:

 

    • Proven track record of organizing people to relate to one another and take successful actions together

 

 

    • Ability to think creatively and meet ambitious goals 

 

 

    • Excellent communication skills, both oral and written

 

 

    • Vision and commitment to unapologetically building power with low income communities of color

 

 

    • Ability to multitask, humility and unshakeable hustle

 

 

    • Experience and ability to work and organize across racial and cultural lines

 

 

    • Sense of humor, confidence and self-motivation

 

 

Candidates will be particularly appealing to us if they also have:

 

    • Experience working in a grassroots membership or social justice organization. 

 

 

    • The capacity to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team.

 

 

    • Sense of humor, confidence and self-motivation.

 

 

    • Speak a second language (Spanish or Haitian-Creole).

 

 

Compensation

 

Salary commensurate with experience.  Benefits include: vacation days, personal days, holidays, partial medical/dental/vision healthcare coverage, and 403(b) plan. 

 

To Apply

 

To apply, submit a cover letter and resume online at https://grossmansolutions.com/jobs/. The cover letter should be concise, compelling, and outline the specific ways in which you would be a good fit for this position. 

 

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, CVH strongly encourages people of color, women, and LGBTQ individuals to apply. Resumes will be accepted until the position is filled.

 

 

Community Voices Heard (CVH)

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  • Phone: 212.860.6001 Ext 23