Community Engagement Director

We’re Hiring: Community Engagement Director | Help Build Community Power for Economic Justice in Maine

Maine Equal Justice (MEJ) is seeking a Community Engagement Director to lead and strengthen our organizing and outreach in pursuit of greater economic equity and justice in Maine.

We are looking for someone who has experience and passion for organizing and who is a bridge-builder, strategist, and leader for inside and outside the organization . This person will supervise and support the Organizing and Communications Directors, strengthen coordination across MEJ’s legal, policy, and organizing work, and help ensure our core Community Engagement work is effective, sustainable, and builds thoughtfully for the future.

Maine Equal Justice is a nonprofit legal aid and economic justice organization based in Augusta, Maine. We represent the interests of people with low income in the state legislature, before the courts and administrative agencies, and through community outreach and education. We work to increase economic security, opportunity, and equity in Maine, ensuring that everyone can access adequate health care, food, income security, and pathways to higher education and training. Learn more at MaineEqualJustice.org.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and coordinate MEJ's Community Engagement strategy across organizing, outreach, communications, education, and leadership development.
• Supervise and support the Organizing and Communications Directors and other Community Engagement staff, developing others' leadership and fostering clarity, collaboration, and accountability.
• Translate strategic goals into clear priorities, projects, ownership, and work plans, while assessing capacity and thoughtfully sequencing new initiatives.
• Provide both strategic and hands-on support to organizing and outreach efforts, stepping in when additional leadership, coordination, relationship-building, or capacity is needed.
• Connect Community Engagement with MEJ's legal and policy advocacy work and keep pathways to opportunities for organizing, advocacy, and leadership open for people who use legal services.
• Represent MEJ in coalitions with impacted communities and partner organizations to build relationships and networks.
• Strengthen systems and infrastructure that support sustainable, ethical, and effective community engagement.

Who You Are:

• Great at prioritizing work and moving things forward, balancing the big picture with the day-to-day and helping teams move from planning through implementation.
• A committed advocate with deep community organizing experience, who believes in building power and leadership with people directly impacted by injustice.
• Develops the leadership of others and is comfortable leading both from the front and behind the scenes.
• Creates clarity and shared ownership across people with different roles and perspectives.
• Recognizes when work is stuck or capacity is stretched and proactively helps find a path forward.
• Seeks input and help when needed, receives feedback with curiosity, and adapts.
• Is deeply committed to economic and racial justice and centering the leadership of people most impacted by poverty.

Qualifications:

• At least 5 years of experience in community organizing, campaigns, or advocacy work with low-income communities.
• Proven ability to supervise and support staff in alignment with values of equity and trust.
• Strong understanding of the root causes of poverty and experience navigating public assistance systems.
• Experience with campaign planning, coalition building, and strategy development.
• Skilled in training and coaching others to build people power and influence systems.
• Excellent communication, planning, and project management skills.
• Access to a vehicle and valid driver’s license required.
• Lived experience of poverty or working closely with impacted communities is a strong plus.

Location: This is a hybrid position based out of MEJ’s Augusta office, with flexibility for significant remote work. The Community Engagement Director should expect to work in the Augusta office approximately 1–2 days per week and travel throughout Maine as needed for community outreach, meetings, and events. MEJ also has a satellite office in Portland.

Salary and Benefits: Salary range of $76,000 - 80,000 depending on experience. Health and dental insurance provided, with premiums and deductibles largely covered by employer. MEJ also offers employer-paid life and disability insurance, retirement plan contributions, five weeks vacation in the first year, generous sick time, and 14 paid holidays.

To Apply: Submit your resume (pdf preferred) and responses to the three screening questions (see below) through our application form here https://maineequaljustice.tfaforms.net/f/community-engagement-director

Applications accepted until September 28th, 2026 or until the position is filled. If you have questions before applying, please contact Robyn Merrill at admin@mejp.org.

No cover letter required. Instead, we ask candidates to answer the following three questions. These are designed to help us get to know your leadership approach, values, and alignment with what we see as must-haves for this role. Please keep your responses to no more than 300 words per question.

Please do not use AI to write the answers to the screening questions below; we want to hear directly from your perspective.

1. Strategic leadership, execution, and learning. Tell us about a project you were responsible for moving from an idea or goal into implementation. How did you create clarity about priorities, roles, and next steps and keep the work moving? What challenges or capacity constraints emerged, and how did you respond—including when you sought input or support from others? Looking back, what did you learn about your own leadership?
2. Developing and supporting the leadership of others. An important part of this role is helping other leaders and staff succeed—not always being the person out front. Tell us about a time when you helped another person or team take greater ownership or leadership of important work. What did you do to provide direction, coaching, structure, or support while leaving meaningful ownership with them? How did you know when to step in and when to step back?
3. Organizing and building community power. MEJ believes that people directly impacted by economic injustice should have meaningful opportunities to build relationships, develop leadership, and shape the policies and systems that affect their lives. Tell us about an organizing or advocacy effort where you built relationships with impacted community members and supported their participation and leadership. What was your role, what steps did you take, and how did community members' leadership influence the outcome?

We strongly encourage people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, and those with lived experience of poverty to apply. Maine Equal Justice is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Thinking about applying? Research shows that people from historically excluded communities tend to apply to jobs only when they check every box in the posting. If you’re currently reading this and hesitating to apply for that reason, we encourage you to go for it! Let us know how your lived experience and passion set you apart.

Health and dental insurance provided, with premiums and deductibles largely covered by employer. MEJ also offers employer-paid life and disability insurance, retirement plan contributions, five weeks vacation in the first year, generous sick time, and 14 paid holidays.