Senior Community Organizer

Organizational and Program Overview

California Latinas for Reproductive Justice (CLRJ) is a statewide organization committed to honoring the experiences of Latinas/xs to uphold our dignity, our bodies, sexuality, and families. We build Latinas’/xs’ power and cultivate leadership through community education and organizing, policy advocacy, and community-informed research. We believe that grassroots organizing and base building are keys to effective and powerful policy advocacy work and transformative systems change. 

Since its founding in 2004, CLRJ has emerged as an important state-level actor and has a growing profile on the national level. CLRJ is the leading California-based Latina Reproductive Justice organization and is the only statewide advocacy organization whose mission focuses specifically on promoting Latinas’ Reproductive Justice through community organizing, alliance-building, leadership development and long-term movement building strategies. At the national level, CLRJ also serves as a recognized leader in promoting a vibrant Reproductive Justice Movement on behalf of the most underserved Latinas, low-income women of color, immigrant women and their communities.

Community Engagement houses CLRJ’s base-building work with Latina/x/o communities across California. CLRJ is building a base of RJ leaders, activists, and advocates through community organizing, leadership development, community education, and alliance and coalition-building. CLRJ works with and serves community-based Latinas, primarily through our Community Organizing program in Bell Gardens, Unión de Vecinas de Bell Gardens (UNIDAS), and our Latinas for Reproductive Justice (L4RJ) Leadership Program. For CLRJ, Community Engagement means meeting people where they are at and bringing them into RJ.  

Unión de Vecinas de Bell Gardens (UNIDAS): UNIDAS is a group of neighbors in Bell Gardens that focuses on identifying problems that affect Latinas and our families and working together to find solutions. Nearly 80% of the residents in Bell Gardens are renters and many struggle with high rents, lack of rent control, harassment, poor living conditions and more. Especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic renters are at a high risk of eviction and displacement. The struggle for housing justice is part of the struggle for reproductive justice because housing instability particularly impacts women of color and affects our decision-making about our families, our bodies and our sexuality. UNIDAS is currently working on a tenant rights campaign demanding rent control and just cause eviction protections.

Position Overview

The central role of the Senior Community Organizer will be to guide the completion of our housing justice campaign and continue to develop and analyze the feasibility of community organizing efforts within our CLRJs programmatic work.  

The Senior Community Organizer (SCO) is an integral part of the CLRJ team and will lead CLRJ’s housing justice campaign utilizing CLRJ’s core strategies of leadership development, alliance building, and community organizing. The SCO collaborates in cultivating relationships with CLRJ’s communities, from grassroots Latinas/xs to allied organizations. The SCO will lead the Community Organizing (CO) team in campaign development strategy for the program as well as the current organizing campaign in Bell Gardens, CA. They will provide counsel and support to the CO staff as they implement the work of the housing campaign and continue to build, maintain and develop a committee of Latina/x leaders in Southeast LA to organize around community issues, support CLRJ’s policy advocacy priorities, and grow the Reproductive Justice movement. The ideal candidate will have extensive leadership development and community organizing experience. They must demonstrate the ability to link CLRJ’s core strategies in order to develop RJ leaders and build Latinas’ power. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Program Direction, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation

• Assist in recruiting and hiring of community organizing staff and volunteers.
• Supervise community organizing staff 
• Support community organizers to strengthen their skills 
• Lead the implementation of innovative organizing, leadership development, and base-building strategies to build Latinas’/xs’ power
• Maintain database of campaign supporters and oversee data cleanup
• Manage tracking of Leadership Development Ladder.
• Work closely with the Executive Director and Director of Programs to strategically align community engagement goals with other organizational programs. 
• Co-create and oversee timely implementation of annual community organizing work plan.
• Co-create and monitor budget for community organizing campaign.
• Engage in strategic planning and the process to refine evaluative measures for community engagement and base-building strategies.
• Develop and present oral and written reports for both internal and external audiences (including CLRJ’s Board of Directors, funders, and other key stakeholders) concerning CLRJ’s community organizing campaign.
• Contribute to CLRJ’s development and fundraising activities, as needed.

Base building, Civic Engagement, and Organizing

• Collaborate to ensure community organizing and leadership development efforts are integrated throughout CLRJ programs and priorities.
• Lead the development, implementation, tracking, and evaluation of civic and voter engagement work through local and state housing campaigns, ballot initiatives, etc when needed.
• Co-create and translate (from English to Spanish) outreach and educational materials such as raps, flyers, and talking points.
• Work closely with CO staff to strategize, plan, and implement the ongoing housing campaign activities for tenants’ rights in Bell Gardens.
• Conduct recruitment and consistent follow up to strengthen campaign support through

door-to-door outreach, phone calls and text messages, tabling events, presentations, dissemination of promotional materials,and other outreach.

• Consistently conduct one-to-one conversations with recruited supporters to identify opportunities for increasing their engagement.
• Plan and coordinate logistics for community engagement events with staff and local leaders.
• Attend in person and virtual meetings with council members and other city officials and community leaders as needed.
• Co-create agendas and co-facilitate meetings with community leaders.
• Co-create accessible trainings for community leaders and campaign supporters to develop their skills as RJ and housing advocates.
• Perform other community organizing tasks as needed.

Movement Building and Communications

• Attend local, state or national coalition meetings/calls as needed.
• Assist in building relationships with other organizations.
• Work with the Communications team to align offline organizing with digital engagement tactics.

Skills and Qualifications

Required

All CLRJ employees are expected to fully support the organization’s mission in their work. Any positions or work that runs counter to LGBTQ rights or Reproductive Justice - including the right to access abortion and contraception, are likely to create a conflict of interest disqualifying an employee from working at CLRJ. All employees regardless of their position are required to support with staffing events, public speaking or disseminating information about women's right to access legal and safe abortion care and contraception, as assigned. It is also required that all employees use messaging that is developed by CLRJ's Communications Team and that it is factual, evidence-based, and free of judgement or discrimination when talking about all Reproductive Justice issues, including LGBTQ rights, and the right to access abortion or contraception when working or otherwise representing CLRJ.

• At least five (5) years experience in community, labor, or other forms of grassroots organizing
• At least two (2) years experience supervising staff
• At least three (2) years of experience in California state and/or local policy advocacy
• Demonstrated commitment to Reproductive Justice and empowering and developing Latina/x leadership
• Demonstrated ability to develop and implement strategic organizing campaigns
• Knowledge of California housing policy and tenant organizing
• Motivated self-starter who is able to learn and troubleshoot without heavy supervision
• Passion for social and reproductive justice
• Ability to work well under deadlines
• Excellent listener and troubleshooter
• Excellent organizational skills and high attention to detail
• Strong social, written, and verbal communication skills
• Proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in English and Spanish
• Must be able to secure reliable transportation to work sites; a valid California Driver’s License and legally required car insurance, and access to personal vehicle to be used to conduct CLRJ business is essential

Location and Classification

• CLRJ is headquartered in Los Angeles and the Community Organizing work is in Bell Gardens.
• This is a full-time exempt position at 100% FTE (40 hours per week)
• The employee must be available to work extended days in the evenings or weekends, as needed