Youth Organizer

Make the Road New York (MRNY) builds the power of immigrant and working-class communities to achieve dignity and justice through organizing, policy innovation, transformative education, and survival services. Make the Road New York operates community centers in Bushwick, Brooklyn; Jackson Heights, Queens; Port Richmond, Staten Island; Brentwood, Long Island and White Plains, Westchester County. With a membership of 28,000, MRNY tackles the critical issues facing our communities, including workplace justice, tenants’ rights, immigrant rights and civil rights, TGNCIQ justice, public education, health care access, and immigration reform. (TGNCIQ = transgender, gender non-conforming, intersex and queer). MRNY is a newly unionized workplace.

MRNY is a multi-service organization. Our member-led organizing committees -- which work on the issues named above -- implement strategies to combat shared problems, and develop leadership and the capacity for civic participation. We also provide an array of high-quality bilingual services: We offer English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), citizenship preparation, and in-school and after-school youth programs. We have a robust legal program that offers direct representation across a spectrum of practice areas, including employment law, immigration law, housing and benefits, and TGNCIQ civil rights; we also take on impact litigation as a strategy for achieving broad change. Our health program offers facilitated enrollment into health insurance programs and SNAP benefits, a community health worker home visit program, nutrition education and emergency food pantries, health care navigation, and more."

Current Opening:

Full Time Youth Organizer to join the Youth Power Project (YPP) to build and support a base of youth leaders in Staten Island.The Youth Organizer will also engage young people in leadership development and organizing around youth issues at the local, State and Federal level. The position would be ideal for an energetic organizer with a commitment to social justice, community organizing and civic engagement.The position will be based out of MRNY’s Port Richmond, Staten Island office. The organizer must be ready to work with and engage young people in Staten Island communities and in schools.

The candidate will work within YPP to build a base, nurture the leadership of our members and advance city and statewide campaigns.

Key Responsibilities but not limited to:

Basebuilding:

• Conduct regular outreach through classroom presentations, phone calls, social media and in the neighborhood to build a base of youth of color in Staten Island as grassroots leaders

Leadership Development:

• Create leadership development and political education workshops and trainings for youth leaders
• Support youth members to help lead base-building, campaign and coalition work and facilitate meetings

Campaigns:

• Coordinate and engage in campaigns that advocate for education, immigration and community safety and justice and elevate the voices/experiences of young people in our campaigns

Other Responsibilities:

• Participate in membership meetings, staff meetings, and community building events
• Work with MRNY’s YPP team, key member leaders and allies to move forward city, state and federal campaigns
• Support MRNY’s organizational and YPP wide events throughout the year
• Implement new strategies to move the work forward
• Use social media communications to advance MRNY youth campaigns

Requirements:

• Eligible to work in the US.
• The successful candidate must demonstrate a commitment to MRNY’s mission and vision.
• Have some experience working with youth, preferably through organizing; a commitment to social justice and youth leadership.
• Be able to implement new strategies
• Be open to working some evenings and weekends.

Job Competencies:

• Self-starter with strong organizational skills and strong attention to detail
• Be highly professional and team oriented with a passion for excellence and eagerness to help the department meet our goals.
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize, and complete assignments under strict deadlines with minimal supervision in a fast paced environment.
• Ability to work under pressure required.
• Have a working knowledge of spreadsheets, Microsoft Office suite, and using a database (ideally Salesforce) to run reports.
• Flexible work schedule, some evenings or weekends required
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• High level of accountability and initiative; needs to be a self-starter and eager to do team work to support the organization as a whole

Salary and Benefits:

MRNY offers an excellent benefit package including health insurance, 401K, and generous paid vacation, sick, personal days. The hourly range for this position is from $59,655 - $61,808

How to Apply:

Please attach cover letter/resume and submit all documents to the Make the Road New York career center.

Make the Road believes that social change is best achieved through grassroots community-based organizing that flows directly from and engages the community demanding the change. As a membership-based organization, we are committed to providing equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, criminal history, or Veteran status. We strongly encourage those from historically excluded groups to apply.