Community Educator/Organizer

Position Summary for Community Educator/Organizer

ERASE Racism seeks a Community Educator/Organizer with strong relationship building, communications, and campaign management skills to work out of our Nassau/Suffolk County office. The ideal candidate will begin employment no later than September 1, 2020. They are proficient in utilizing technology and interpersonal skills to connect with, engage, and organize others. They can effectively and efficiently share information, provoke thought, and promote change in the community. They will also seek out and collaborate with other groups pursuing similar objectives.

A successful candidate has experience and confidence in the following three key areas:

1. Organization and Education

A successful candidate is able to connect with a variety of constituents and stakeholders, such as students, parents, educators, lawmakers, business-people, and community members. They are skilled in developing and coordinating events (e.g. forums, presentations, meetings, etc.) that educate and motivate the public to seek racial justice. They will bring at least some knowledge of – and a willingness to learn about – structural racism and its effects, the history of Long Island, and education and housing policies that increase racial equity.

2. Communication and Engagement

To achieve organizational goals and maintain momentum, they must be fluent in digital and in-person engagement strategies. They will communicate through regular website updates and article postings, email “E-Alerts” on Mailchimp, Social Media Posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and individualized outreach to key partners – by telephone, through email and other written correspondence. Promotional materials, such as flyers, must be aesthetically pleasing and engage the reader, utilizing online graphic design software, such as Canva.

3. Oversight of Projects and Campaigns

Staff responsibilities include coordinating such projects and campaigns as our cross-district Student Task Force, community groups advocating for fair housing and affordable housing, and parent or educator groups supporting racial equity in schools. In this role, they will connect our valued partners with resources, dialogue, and insight to encourage continued learning and joint action. Managing contacts and campaigns in our Salesforce database helps to ensure the success of these campaigns.

Additionally, they will effectively manage their time to ensure development and completion of various projects, including conferences and presentations, writing program descriptions and reports (for funders, board and the public). They will likely also oversee a team of interns and volunteers to help complete tasks.

The Program Staff Team

The Community Educator/Organizer is one of two core, full time program staff members who work together with interns/volunteers with appropriate skills and fields of study.

The other staff person is a Program Manager, most likely a public interest attorney or a public policy/research professional with an appropriate advanced degree. This staff person will analyze public policies and laws for congruence with civil rights mandates; identify potential changes to existing laws/policies or new policies/laws to meet civil rights objectives; and create and execute action plans that result in concrete changes to laws, policies, or institutional structures. Data analysis, literature review, action research, policy advocacy and report writing will be common tasks.

Both staff need to embrace ERASE Racism’s vision and mission. They will work to strengthen the organization and advance the key organizational goals of advancing racial equity: in access to quality, affordable housing in racially integrated communities and in access to quality public school education in racially integrated schools and classrooms. They will also not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

General Requirements/Expectations

• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Good listening, planning and task-oriented skills, with an ability to follow through with assignments in a timely manner.
• Ability to work collegially with other staff and also to be self-directed and work independently.
• Excellent relationship-building skills, experience, and comfort working with diverse people from different racial backgrounds, from various communities, with different levels of formal education, and with a variety of decision-making authority.
• Ability to organize and facilitate meetings, public education events, presentations, and community forums and discussions.
• Ability to work well under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Openness to evolving responsibilities.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and email.

Car in good working order, driver’s license, and valid vehicle insurance required to meet work travel requirements. Travel expenses, including car mileage, are reimbursed by ERASE Racism. Travel to and from the office is not reimbursed. This position is based in Nassau/Suffolk County Office.

Reasonable capacity to accommodate work hours that will fall outside of Monday – Friday 9:00- 5:00 when the office is officially open.

To Apply:

Applicants should forward a resume and a cover letter that persuasively connects their work experience with this position to jobs@eraseracismny.org and include Community Educator/Organizer in the Subject line of your email.

The salary is commensurate with experience and can range from $55,000 to $60,000, depending on relevant work experience. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, holiday/vacation/sick leave, and travel reimbursement.

Applicants will be interviewed on a rolling basis until the selection of a candidate. We would like the successful candidate to begin work by September 1, 2020. Earlier start date is possible.

Only candidates who complete the application process, in full, as described above will receive consideration.

About ERASE Racism

ERASE Racism is a New York regional, civil rights not-for-profit organization based on Long Island in Nassau/Suffolk County. Since its founding in 2001, it has worked to eliminate barriers to racial equity by primarily addressing the interrelated issues of fair housing enforcement, access to affordable housing in high opportunity areas, and quality public school education for African American and Latinx families in racially integrated schools and classrooms. Related issues of concern include fostering equitable community development and community health. It has also provided critical leadership in response to disaster situations where racial disparities are exacerbated, such as Superstorm Sandy and COVID-19.

Programmatic work is primarily based on Long Island. Policy or legislative advocacy are implemented at the local, state and federal levels. We engage in community education and organizing, policy and legislative advocacy, and legal action. We produce in-depth research that guides our work, and which is utilized by the media, public officials, academics, organizational partners, and community members. Our activities have mobilized a cross-section of leaders, students, teachers, tenants, homeowners, and other partners who have formulated and pursued remedies to persistent racial inequities rooted in embedded institutional and structural racism.

Our vision: Transformed, integrated communities in which no person's access to opportunity is limited by race or ethnicity.

Our mission: To expose forms of racial discrimination, advocate for laws and policies that eliminate racial disparities, increase understanding of how structural racism and segregation affect our communities and region, and engage the public in fostering equity and inclusion.