Lead Community Organizer

Position Description

The Greater Memphis Housing Justice Project (GMHJP) is seeking a full-time Lead Community Organizer to build a community organizing program focused on the issue of housing insecurity and to engage renters from Shelby County in community organizing and advocacy in local, state, and national campaigns. The Organizer will work closely with the executive directors of the Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis (BCCM) and the Memphis Public Interest Law Center (MPLIC) and will be responsible for developing and implementing the community organizing program, including but not limited to conducting research and analysis, outreach, base building activities, training, education, and leadership development. Depending on the experience of the person hired, this position is designed to be a key part of defining the strategy of the Greater Memphis Housing Justice Project.

Organizational Overview

The Greater Memphis Housing Justice Project (GMHJP) is a multi-year campaign designed to conduct research, raise awareness, tell renters’ stories, and explore policy and structural changes to address the rental housing crisis in Memphis. GMHJP is a collaboration between The Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis and the Memphis Public Interest Law Center.

Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis (BCCM) is a non-profit network of multi-denominational Black congregations that use collective power to center the needs of marginalized Black Memphians and advocate in the interest of economic empowerment, criminal justice reform, and civic engagement. BCCM focuses on rental housing by participating in the Greater Memphis Housing Justice Project, a multi-year collaboration with the Memphis Public Interest Law Center. For more information on BCCM, click here.

Memphis Public Interest Law Center (MPILC) is a non-profit public interest law firm. MPILC is the only civil legal organization in the region designed to 1) do advocacy work, 2) focus on renters, and 3) take a grass-roots approach to legal work. The Housing Project is MPILC’s grass-roots legal advocacy project designed to address the rental housing crisis through renter-centered research, education, and advocacy. MPILC works directly with renters and community groups to identify and execute short-term and long-term actions designed to change outcomes for individual tenants and to change systems that impact all tenants. A core part of MPILC’s work is the Greater Memphis Housing Justice Project.​ ​For more information on MPILC, click here!

The Greater Memphis Housing Justice Project is seeking a lead organizer. If the following describes you, please keep reading.

· The ability to think, reflect, communicate, challenge conventional wisdom, make judgments in complicated situations, and show flexibility.

· A clear sense of what’s wrong, impatience in the face of that wrong, and a drive to address the wrong.

· Willingness to work with people unlike oneself, people of other races, classes, orientations, and faiths.

· Evidence in high school, college, the local community, or the workplace of attempting to relate to people and to respond to situations that seemed to demand responses.

· Self-starter

· Strategic thinker

· Superior work ethic

Role and Responsibilities of the Lead Community Organizer

• Work with individuals, groups, and communities to build capacity for an organized renters’ presence.
• Develop relationships and build trust with members of the community.
• Develop a data plan to address sharing, collection, analysis, storage, and accessibility.
• Educate and collaborate with individuals and groups to collect data about local housing conditions, housing systems, and the consequences.
• Advocate for housing policies and programs that benefit the community.
• Serve as a liaison between the community, government officials, businesses, and other organizations.
• Plan, coordinate, and implement events and activities to engage the community and promote participation.
• Recruit and train volunteers to work on behalf of the community.
• Maintain records and documentation related to the work of the organization.
• Keep abreast of developments in community organizing and share information with colleagues.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of programs and activities and make recommendations for improvement.
• Perform administrative tasks such as preparing reports and maintaining budgets.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, sociology, psychology, or related field
• 4 years experience working with diverse populations
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Flexibility and adaptability

Preferred Skills and Qualifications

• Advanced degree in law, social work, sociology, psychology, or related field
• 6 years experience working with diverse populations
• Bilingual ability
• Experience with community organizing
• Fluency with social media and digital communication
• Appreciation for the role of data in effective advocacy activities and experience using data to further equity and justice work

Compensation and benefits

Salary: $60,000 – 70,000/year, irregular hours, including nights and weekends.

Benefits include health, and dental insurance; paid annual leave; and paid holidays.

We are interested in talking with talented, driven individuals who could see organizing as their vocation.

The application process will include:

• An individual meeting, or series of individual meetings, held with the candidate;
• Some contact with the individual in the context of local training/organizing or some mutually agreed-upon voluntary experience that gives the individual a better view and feel for organizing.

To apply, please send your resume and a one-page cover letter that includes a story about when YOU acted to create change. Please include how you used the skills and qualities listed above in the story.

Send a cover letter and resume to blackclergycollaborative@gmail.com with the subject line: Lead Community Organizer Search.

Interviewing will begin immediately and continue until a selection is made.

We are proud Equal Opportunity Employers. Women, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ are strongly encouraged to apply.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $60,000.00 - $70,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Health insurance
• Paid time off

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Weekends as needed

Ability to Relocate:

• Memphis, TN: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $60,000 - $70,000