Community Organizer

Title: Community Organizer

Reports to: OPEN DOORS Director

Status/Rate: Part-time. 10-12 hrs/wk (extra time for special events). $30/hr.

Schedule: Flexible and remote. Respond to time sensitive emails daily. Be available

two weekday afternoons for meetings. On-site approx. once a month.

Start Date: Late May/Early June 2025

End Date: February 2026

OPEN DOORS is a collective of nursing home residents, advocates, and allies. We invest in the creativity and leadership of Black and brown people who use wheelchairs and take action for safer, more just communities. Our work is guided by the voices of the Reality Poets—a group of long-term care residents featured in the PBS documentary Fire Through Dry Grass. The award-winning film uncovers in real-time the devastation that they experienced during the coronavirus pandemic when the cracks in our broken healthcare system turned into chasms. In addition to dire staffing and supply shortages, for more than a year, nursing home residents were cut off from the family and friends who provided them with essential care, home-cooked meals, and enjoyable activities. While fighting for their lives and their freedom, the Reality Poets outlined for a nursing home that really is a home, that prioritizes people over profits, so that next time disaster strikes, residents will have the supportive environment in place to not only survive, but also, thrive.

[OPEN DOORS is a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for Transformative Action (CTA), a non-profit, tax-exempt, educational organization, affiliated with Cornell University. The successful candidate will be an employee of CTA.]

About the Position

The Community Organizer will design and lead a campaign to improve the food quality and options at NYC Health Hospitals/Coler long term rehabilitation facility and to eliminate food waste. The Community Organizer will work alongside the OPEN DOORS Reality Poets and staff, Fire Through Dry Grass film team, and Roosevelt Island Community Partners.

Responsibilities

• Designing and leading the food-quality improvement campaign, working on the ground at Coler once per week and asynchronously to implement strategy
• Create benchmarks to be strived and assess success of the campaign
• Creating social media posts, newsletters, and website updates
• Working with RPs to create NHLM content specific to the food-quality improvement campaign - actively engaging with others on social media
• Centering the Reality Poets’ voices in materials, meetings, and events
• Handling the details: coordinating schedules, tracking, and sharing information among stakeholders, creating and executing timelines and checklists for events, etc.
• Researching priority issues and producing materials that support our cause
• Research to determine current infrastructure at Coler and to determine what improvement is possible
• Research others in the city working to improve food quality and decrease waste
• Liasoning with film team, community partners, Sodexo (Coler’s food contractor), elected officials, and press and Roosevelt Island Community
• Getting to know people, building relationships, networking for OPEN DOORS
• Being both an engine and a hub for this cause!

Experience/Skills/Qualifications

• Understand that organizing is about building meaningful connections
• Demonstrated experience using social media to create social change
• Possess strong analysis of anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices
• Fluent with Adobe Creative Cloud, Canva, Mailchimp, Google Docs and Sheets
• Proficient with Squarespace (or can learn)
• Strong design, verbal, and written communications skills
• If you say you’re going to do something—you get it done on time!

Next Steps

After you’ve checked out our website and our film, please send a resume and thoughtful cover letter that shows you have the experience and passion for this role to: alex@opendoorsnyc.org.

*please submit both a resume and cover letter with your application

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

CTA is an equal opportunity employer. Employees are hired based on their merit, ability, experience, and training without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, familial status, marital status, age, mental or physical disability, size, religious affiliation, genetic make-up, military/veteran status, domestic violence victim/survivor status, sexual and other reproductive health decisions, or past participation in the discrimination complaint process. We are committed to being an inclusive organization and encourage people from diverse communities to apply.

Job Types: Part-time, Temporary, Contract

Pay: $30.00 per hour

Expected hours: 10 – 12 per week

Benefits:

• Flexible schedule

Schedule:

• Day shift

Ability to Commute:

• New York, NY 10044 (Required)

Ability to Relocate:

• New York, NY 10044: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in New York, NY 10044

Salary : $30