Field Organizer

The Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance - Education Fund (MEJA), is seeking a Field Organizer who is committed to building an anti-racist education justice movement through base-building and coalition-building strategies. MEJA is a coalition of member organizations led by youth, parents, educators and community members and together we advocate for and protect high-quality public education for all students. 

This position will collaborate closely with MEJA’s Executive Director, coalition partners, and local tables towards a diverse and community focused educational justice movement throughout the Commonwealth. Together with them, the Field Organizer will conduct outreach, base-building, training, education and leadership development. The Field Organizer will also be responsible for engaging partners, allies, and table leaders in grassroots organizing on educational issues to build capacity towards a stronger movement.

Key Responsibilities: The responsibilities of the Field Organizer include but not limited to:

• Plan, lead and executive innovative and collective strategies for expanding capacity building, campaigns, and movement building with statewide coalition, partners, and local tables with a community focus lens and centering impacted people and marginalized communities in all local and state level work.
• Coordinate table organizers, youth organizers, and key local stakeholders to carry out plans and campaigns.
• Build relationships through 1:1 meetings, group workshops, and other community and coalition events.
• Recruit, train, engage, and mobilize coalition members, organizers, supporters, and volunteers.
• Provide leadership development for table coordinators.
• Provide technical assistance to statewide coalition, partners and local tables in our collective movement building strategies.
• Supports Executive Director, statewide coalition, partners and local table to develop more strategic, community focus approaches to local campaign work.
• Track progress of organizing projects, training programs and table initiatives.
• Track and maintain contact lists of people and organizations on CRM tool, ActionNetwork, and VAN.
• Stay up to date on major educational equity campaigns and the education equity ecosystem.
• Identify necessary resources like training, workshops, forums to increase capacity-building for local tables and formulate recommendations and identify organizing intervention.
• Identify potential financial and in-kind support for statewide and local movement building and campaign efforts.
• Utilize organizing tools such as power mapping, media, digital, and social media outreach, and direct action and modify approach to meet set common goals.
• Prepare social media posts and/or email newsletter via Action Network online tool.
• Plan and host activities/events.
• Celebrate wins and evaluate work.

Skills, Abilities & Qualifications

• 3+ years of community and grassroots organizer with BIPOC people, with a preference for experience with education-related campaigns or projects.
• Experience with creative direct action.
• Ability to coach and train local leaders on organizing and strategy development.
• Bachelor’s Degree preferred; minimum Associate’s Degree required.
• Awareness on issues related to race and other forms of social inequities and knowledge of local public education and unique needs of community.
• Personal and outgoing personality and ability to work with people from a variety of backgrounds and with local youth, organizations, leaders, and unions and in multi-racial and multicultural settings.
• Strong and diverse network with ability to strengthen relationships.
• Strong commitment to MEJA’s principles of social, economic and racial justice and building an anti-racist education justice movement among people who are most impacted.
• Excellent organizational skills project management skills with the ability to manage diverse projects simultaneously.
• Able to work independently (setting one's own agenda, work schedule etc.) and thrive in a collaborative team environment.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, interpersonal skills and self-motivation.
• Positive, proactive and personable team player.
• Strong meeting facilitation skills (virtual and in-person).
• Tech savvy and familiar with various digital tools used in organizing and volunteer engagement.
• Experience using CRM systems and managing data.
• Knowledge of common applications: MS Office, google docs, Dropbox, Mac environment, and Zoom video tele-conferencing systems.
• Driver’s license and willingness to travel within Massachusetts.
• Flexibility and willingness to work nights and weekends when needed.

Preferred Criteria

• Flexibility and willingness to learn and grow.
• Bilingual in Spanish, Portuguese, ASL, or other language spoken in Massachusetts.
• Web/Graphic Design and social media marketing experience, a plus.