Community Advocate

The office of Council Member Lincoln Restler is looking to hire a Community Advocate.

To Apply:

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter to District33Hiring@gmail.com. Please use the subject line “Community Advocate - Name.” Applications will be accepted and reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

About Lincoln and the 33rd Council District: Lincoln represents the 33rd Council District, which stretches from Greenpoint down to Brooklyn Heights along the Brooklyn waterfront.

Lincoln entered office in January 2022 with the goal of being the district’s 24/7 problem solver. Our office offers robust constituent services, spearheads organizing campaigns to proactively engage constituents on the issues that matter most, and leads on a variety of policy and legislative issues. Lincoln is dedicated to pushing forward-thinking policy that responds to climate change; creates truly affordable housing and safe, livable streets; and builds non-police emergency response capacity. Read more about Lincoln here.

Description of Position:

Community Advocates are responsible for ensuring that the office is deeply present in the community, having a thorough understanding of issues and priorities, and working with community stakeholders to support issues and initiatives that reflect the Council Member’s values and priorities. Advocates work with constituents one-on-one to assist in navigating City bureaucracy and solve a wide range of problems. They also represent the office at community events and work closely with community leaders and city agencies to creatively solve long-standing community concerns.

Some evening and weekend work is required for this position.

Responsibilities include:

• Effectively address constituent issues and solve problems by:
  • Responding to constituent inquiries promptly and providing helpful information;
  • Helping constituents navigate government bureaucracy, including by interacting with city agencies directly to move cases forward;
  • Identifying patterns in constituent outreach and providing support to solve community problems; and
  • Carefully track and organize all constituent issues and ongoing priorities.
• Establish and maintain meaningful relationships with community organizations, service providers, city agencies, and key stakeholders.
• Work closely with community leaders to creatively solve long-standing concerns, such as street safety and quality of life issues.
• Represent the office and staff the Council Member at community and local organization meetings and events, such as Community Board and Precinct Council meetings.
• Organize, plan, and staff community events in the District.
• Communicate issues and priorities effectively to the Council Member and supervisors to ensure we’re meeting the needs of the community.
• Draft correspondence, briefings, talking points, presentations, and other materials as needed to address community concerns.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience in government or at non-profit organizations doing constituent services, community organizing, or direct services.
• Some familiarity with New York City government agencies is strongly preferred.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including ability to quickly distill and communicate key issues.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively with people from all backgrounds.
• Persistent, organized, creative problem solver adept at solving issues and keeping projects on track.
• Ability to multi-task and thrive in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience working with diverse populations and proficiency in additional languages is strongly preferred.
• Commitment to political action that is feminist, pro-worker, pro-immigrant, anti-racist and anti-heterosexist; alignment with the core values and policy platform of Lincoln Restler’s City Council campaigns.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity that values all people and respects differences in race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ability and socio-economic circumstance, and record of arrest or conviction.

Salary range: $60,000 - $65,000, commensurate with experience.

For eligible employees, health, dental and vision insurance coverage are offered upon hire. Retirement plans, deferred compensation plans, group life insurance, paid time off and paid holidays, training resources, health & fitness reimbursement and wellness programs are also available.