Organization Description:

Community Voices Heard (CVH) is a member-led multi-racial organization, principally women of color and low-income families in New York State that builds power to secure social, economic and racial justice for all. Founded in 1994 by welfare recipients in New York City working to fight unjust welfare policies, we have since expanded our organization to include working on multiple issues in three additional communities in the Hudson Valley. Our core organizing issues include fighting for a just social safety net, good jobs and access to them, truly affordable housing, a participatory democracy, and a fair share tax system.

Job Description:

Community Voices Heard (CVH) is seeking a mid-level, bi-lingual (Spanish/ English) organizer to build relationships with low-income New Yorkers as part of our NYC Chapter for the purpose of engaging them in organizing to build collective power to address their issues. The NYC Chapter currently works on welfare & workforce development reform, job creation & access to employment, public housing preservation & improvement, affordable housing & supportive zoning, climate justice, and participatory budgeting.

This position focuses on utilizing one-to-one relational meetings and house meetings, to build towards larger gatherings (i.e. meetings and Assemblies) to demonstrate power and advance issues. The goal is to build a base of leaders to take action to advance potential policy solutions that they identify by crafting and advancing strategic campaigns.

The organizer would be responsible for:

building a base of low-income residents that want to make change in particular hubs around the City (through door-knocking, outreach at social services centers, etc.);
conducting 10-25 one-to-one relational meetings per week;
recruiting dues-paying members;
staffing one or more Leadership Committees;
developing and moving forward campaign work; and
working in coalition with partners, as appropriate.

This is a full-time position to be filled and start as soon as possible. The Community Organizer will be supervised by CVH’s Director of Organizing and work collaboratively with the NYC Chapter Director of Organizing and other NYC Chapter Organizers. The position will be based out of CVH’s main office in East Harlem, but will work throughout the City.

Qualifications:

Minimum 2-years community, political, or legislative organizing experience;
Experience in one-to-ones, leadership development, mobilization, coalition work and strategy & campaign development;
Ability to work independently, yet take direction, according to goals of the organization and project;
Willingness to be held accountable for one’s work;
Excellent oral communication skills, and attention to detail;
Strong commitment to relational membership/ community led organizing, conducting one-to-one meetings with individuals, and ability to identify non-traditional and community-based leaders and people who want to be community leaders.
Applicants must be committed to ideology of building community power & share our commitment to membership grassroots decision-making & our analysis of power.
Residency in and/ or familiarity with NYC preferred.
Spanish language skills essential.

How to apply

Please send resume and cover letter to, Stephen Roberson, Director of Organizing, Community Voices Heard, 115 East 106th Street, 3rd Floor, NY, NY 10029 or email them to cvh@cvhaction.org. If emailing, make sure to put “Community Organizer, NYC Chapter” in the subject line.

CVH is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, LGBTQ individuals, people with disabilities, and people with experience receiving public assistance or living in public housing are strongly encouraged to apply.

Resumes and cover letters should be submitted as soon as possible. We are aiming to make a decision sometime in March, if not before.

For more information about the organization, please check out our web page at: www.CVHaction.org.