Lead Community Organizer

Position Location: This position will be based in ACT’s New York office.

Reports to: NY Chapter Director

FLSA Status: Salaried Exempt

Employment Type: Full-time

Hours: Monday-Friday, hybrid position requires a mix of remote work, work on-site, and community-based outreach.

Salary: The baseline salary for this position is $70,000; additional compensation is negotiable based on experience.

About Us: African Communities Together (ACT) is an organization of African immigrants fighting for civil rights, opportunity, and a better life for our families here in the U.S. and worldwide. ACT empowers African immigrants to integrate socially, get ahead economically, and engage civically. We develop our members as grassroots leaders who take action to make social change. Since its founding, ACT has supported thousands of African immigrants with direct services, trained hundreds of new leaders, and led successful policy campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels that have impacted hundreds of thousands of immigrants. ACT’s African immigrant membership comes from a diverse range of nationalities, cultures, and languages, is religiously diverse, and is predominantly working-class and low-income. We have offices in New York City, Philadelphia, and the Washington, D.C. metro area.

Position Description: ACT is seeking a skilled and dynamic grassroots organizer to join our organizing team. This role will be instrumental in driving ACT’s base-building and leadership development efforts within African immigrant communities in New York. The Lead Organizer will be responsible for leading and managing the New York Chapter’s grassroots organizing and advocacy campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels. This includes supervising a team of organizers, supporting membership growth and retention, implementing campaign strategies and building external partnerships to raise awareness about ACT's mission.

This position will be supervised by the NY Chapter Director and will work closely with the Assistant Organizing Director to advance the chapter's goals. The ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills and extensive experience in organizing immigrant and BIPOC communities.

Key Responsibilities Include

• Lead grassroots organizing efforts to engage ACT members in federal, state, and local campaigns, as well as advocacy initiatives.
• Supervise organizers in executing effective outreach strategies, strengthening base building, driving membership recruitment, developing leadership, and leading successful mobilizations.
• Conduct regular check-ins with organizers to review weekly progress and monitor work plans.
• Identify, recruit, and train member leaders to develop a strong leadership pipeline within the organization.
• Plan and execute direct actions, events, and strategic tactics to advance campaign goals.
• Lead community defense efforts by training grassroots leaders, mobilizing African communities, and organizing actions such as rallies, press conferences, and direct actions.
• Assist the Chapter Director in organizing monthly membership meetings and engaging members to support both chapter-specific and organizational activities.
• Collaborate with the Chapter Director and Assistant Organizing Director to develop and execute effective campaign strategies.
• Assist with educational workshops and community events to raise awareness on key issues impacting African communities in New York.
• Train member leaders in organizing, facilitation, public speaking, issue analysis, and campaign strategy.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with community leaders, partner organizations, and other stakeholders.
• Support data collection related to members, campaigns, and canvassing to track participation and meet organizing goals.
• Represent ACT at community meetings, public events, and in media engagements.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
  
  

Qualifications

• Minimum of 3 years prior experience working as a community, labor, and/or political organizer, preferably in an organization with a well-defined organization and membership model.
• Must reside in or around New York City.
• Strong leadership skills and ability to manage a team.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent leadership skills, with a demonstrated ability to develop, mentor, and support individual leaders and team members.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to develop and communicate plans, goals, strategy, and outcomes clearly and persuasively, orally, in writing and in digital presentation.
• Ability to succeed in a collaborative community environment, including accountability to goals, working independently, prioritizing, and thriving in a diverse group of staff, volunteers, and communities.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and adapt to changing circumstances.
• Fluency in English is required. Proficiency in either an African language or French is also required.
• Proficiency in Google Suite, Excel, and other common business software.
• Ability to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends.
• Cultural competence and significant experience working with African immigrant communities.
• Must be eligible to work in the US.
• Alignment with ACT’s mission and values.
  
  

Employee Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including fully paid employee Medical, Dental, Vision, along with partial dependent coverage, a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), and a Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP-IRA). Additional benefits include paid time off, 10 paid holidays, parental leave, professional development opportunities, sabbatical leave, and wellness reimbursements.

Application Process

To apply, please submit your resume along with a brief cover letter describing your interest in the position.

Applicants are encouraged to submit applications by April 31st, 2025; however, applications will be accepted until the position is filled. We recognize that it is highly unlikely that someone meets 100% of the qualifications for the role. Studies have shown that people of the global majority and female-identifying candidates in particular are likely to “count themselves out” of otherwise well-matched opportunities due to this fact. If much of this job description describes you, please apply for this role.

Equal Opportunity Employer

ACT is an affirmative action employer and strongly supports the social goals of affirmative action. We therefore make special efforts to recruit individuals from groups that are historically under-represented in professional environments, or that suffer from broader societal discrimination.