Community Organizer (Rochester NY)

Organizational Background

VOCAL-NY is building a movement of low-income people dedicated to ending the AIDS epidemic, the war on drugs, mass incarceration, and homelessness. We fight for systemic change rooted in justice, compassion, and love. We approach this work with a firm belief in reducing harm and ending stigma, and the knowledge that the issues impacting our communities are driven by institutional oppression, not personal failings. Our campaigns have saved or improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers across the state.

We accomplish our goals through community organizing, leadership development, advocacy, direct services and direct action. We are based in New York City, with chapters in Albany, Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, and Westchester County. You can learn more about our work through our website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Position Description

The Rochester Organizer will focus primarily on basebuilding and community outreach, leadership develop, and mobilizing individuals directly impacted by VOCAL-NY’s core issue areas: HIV/AIDS, drug use, mass incarceration, and homelessness. The position will be asked to occasionally travel and support our other upstate chapters.

Job Responsibilities

• Membership Recruitment: Conduct “base building” and achieve targeted recruitment goals through regular community outreach, this includes street-based outreach and outreach at transitional housing facilities, shelters, methadone and harm reduction programs, re-entry programs, HIV service providers and other venues as directed.
• Phone-banking and Membership Mobilization: Conduct regular “phone-banking” to

engage and mobilize people to attend meetings, actions, and events.

• Data-entry: Record and input accurate & timely data into our community organizing database.
• Support meetings, events, and mobilizations: Support the logistical & programmatic needs of membership & leadership meetings, organizational events, actions, and mobilizations.
• Leadership Development: Conduct training & political education to build the knowledge and skills of VOCAL-NY’s membership base to participate in planning and policymaking that impacts their lives.
• Support Other VOCAL Campaigns and Coalition work: The position will be expected to periodically provide support for other community organizing and campaign work within VOCAL-NY. We have a highly collaborative office environment where staff members provide support for each other’s campaigns as needed.

Requirements / Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have a strong commitment to community organizing and building the power of people living with HIV/AIDS, experiencing homelessness, active and former drug users, and formerly incarcerated communities. A deep commitment to social justice is required.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Driver’s license, ability to drive, and willingness to occasionally drive a 15-passenger van
• Community organizing experience, or related experience, specifically doing community outreach and phonebanking
• Must be willing and eager to conduct street-based, site-based, and/or door-knocking outreach multiple times a week, for several hours at a time, year-round.
• Proficiency with common business software (e.g. MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, email clients).
• Direct experience with, or demonstrated strength in one or more key areas of VOCAL-NY work.

This is a full-time position. The position will require occasional travel to Buffalo and around Western New York, with some events taking you to Albany and NYC. While the option for remote work will sometimes be available, it is expected that the majority of job duties will be performed in-person at our Rochester office.

A car and valid driver’s license is required, VOCAL-NY will reimburse for gas and mileage.

VOCAL-NY is an equal opportunity employer. People who currently or have a history of using drugs, women, people of color, people who are LGBTQ and people living with HIV/AIDS are strongly encouraged to apply. For more information, please visit our website at www.vocal-ny.org

VOCAL-NY offers a generous benefits package that includes twenty days of paid vacation, mileage reimbursement, a 100% employer-covered health, dental, and vision insurance plan, and a 401 (k) retirement plan. This position is included in a union-represented collective bargaining unit, and specific employment terms and conditions are subject to collective bargaining.