[URBANTH-L]Urban Activist Job: Community Organizer (Yonkers, NY)

[Angela Jancius]

JOB POSTING: Community Organizer - Yonkers, NY

DATE OF POSTING: December 1, 2008

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Community Voices Heard (CVH) is seeking an experienced organizer to 
continue building the Yonkers Chapter (20 minutes north of NYC) of our 
successful New York Economic Justice Organization. The position will 
involve committee, leadership, and campaign development.
CVH is a 14 year-old membership organization of low-income people across 
New York State. We currently have organizing projects in New York City, 
Yonkers, Newburgh and Poughkeepsie. We work on economic justice, job 
creation, welfare, public housing, economic development, and access to 
education and training services. CVH uses base-building, leadership 
development, direct-action, grassroots-driven research, voter 
mobilization and coalition building to lead campaigns to win benefits 
for our membership of low-income families.

CVH's Yonkers Chapter has been in operation for two years. Our Yonkers 
Chapter has 2 leaders that serve on our Board of Directors, 25 Vanguard 
Leaders, 205 Trailblazers (people that have come to at least 1 event), 
and over 2,000 individuals that we have contacted through outreach efforts.

The Yonkers Chapter's current campaign is focused on influencing the 
downtown (Getty Square) development process and assuring that low-income 
families' interests are incorporated into this development. Yonkers 
members are also interested in preserving and expanding low-income 
affordable housing options in the community and have begun work to 
promote a progressive housing ordinance for the City of Yonkers. A 
subset of Yonkers members is focused on welfare and workforce 
development issues. In addition to the Yonkers based campaign worked, 
there will likely be an opportunity for broader regional organizing work 
across Westchester County and collaborative work statewide with other 
CVH chapters.

The responsibilities of the position will include:

** Base Building & Mobilization: Conducting base building activities 
(and coordinating members and leaders to do the same) at local public 
housing developments, social service agencies, community organizations, 
welfare centers, and by door-knocking and organizing house-meetings; 
moving individuals met to participate in meetings, trainings, actions, etc.

** Leadership Development: Building the skills of active membership to 
understand the political underpinnings of the campaign (i.e. legal & 
policy context, power analysis, etc.) and to take on more and more roles 
in the campaign (i.e. giving testimony, facilitating meetings, 
conducting outreach, etc.) through both one-on-one development and 
workshops.

** Committee Development: Pulling together and staffing an organizing 
committee of local leaders to determine the focus of a campaign and then 
make ongoing decisions regarding the campaign's direction; providing 
critical background information to leadership team so as to facilitate 
strategic decision-making. Work includes managing both a main committee 
(around affordable housing and development issues) and a sub-committee 
(focused on welfare and workforce development issues).

** Campaign Development, Planning, & Implementation: Facilitating issue 
identification, campaign planning and campaign development processes to 
develop a local campaign with leadership including demands, strategies, 
tactics, etc.; facilitating campaign planning process and subsequent 
implementation.

** Campaign Research: Conducting background research on topics (e.g. 
zoning regulations, development approval processes, community benefits 
agreements, etc.) and targets pertinent to the campaign.

** Coalition & Stakeholder Work: Working with ally organizations in the 
region to move forward campaign goals and demands. Working 
collaboratively with the CVH base in New York City to move forward 
statewide campaigns.

This is a full-time position that begins on January 1, 2008 (or shortly 
thereafter). The Yonkers Organizer will work as part of a staff team 
that includes the Senior Organizer and Executive Director. The position 
is based physically out of our office in the Yonkers Community Action 
Program (YCAP) building on Ashburton Avenue, and is currently the sole 
position in the Yonkers office. Staff members from organizing sites 
external to our main office in NYC, however, work out of our NYC office 
in East Harlem once a week on Fridays.

QUALIFICATIONS:

** Minimum 1 year community organizing, political organizing,
legislative issue advocacy, and or project development management
experience required.

** Experience in base building, door knocking, leadership
development, mobilization, and strategy development essential.

** Ability to work independently, yet take direction, according to
goals of the organization.

** Strong commitment to relational membership/community led
organizing, conducting one-on-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, radical politics & our analysis of power.

** Spanish language skills are strongly desired, but not required.

** Residency in Yonkers or Westchester County is preferred, though
not mandatory.

** Access to car and/ or drivers license is recommended, though not
required. [There is a good bus system in Yonkers and a Metro
North train that can be taken from Yonkers to NYC on Fridays.]

TO APPLY:

Please send resume and cover letter to Sondra Youdelman, Community 
Voices Heard 115 East 106^th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10029 or 
email them to sondra at CVHaction.org <mailto:sondra at CVHaction.org>. If 
emailing, make sure to put "Community Organizer: Yonkers" in the subject 
line.

CVH is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, GLBT 
individuals, and people with experience on public assistance are 
strongly encouraged to apply. For more information please check out our 
web page at: www.CVHaction.org <http://www.cvhaction.org/>. Resumes will 
be accepted until the position is filled.

SALARY/ BENEFITS:

Depends on experience (DOE); hire will likely be a Level 1 or 2 
Organizer (salary range: $30-39K). Excellent benefits include health 
insurance, sabbatical, 403(b) retirement program, generous vacation 
leave, and holiday time off. Transportation is reimbursed at ½ of a 
monthly metro card (valid in both Yonkers and NYC), 1 RT Metro North 
ticket per week (when Organizer is expected to be in NYC office), and 
mileage reimbursement when vehicle used for work.