Community Organizer - Criminal Justice

The NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the country’s first and foremost civil and human rights law organization. Founded in 1940 under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall, who subsequently became the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice, LDF was launched at a time when the nation’s aspirations for equality and due process of law were stifled by widespread state-sponsored racial inequality. From that era to the present, LDF’s mission has been transformative–to achieve racial justice, equality, and an inclusive society.

LDF’s litigation, policy advocacy, organizing, and public education programs in the substantive areas of criminal justice, economic justice, education and political participation seek to ensure the fundamental and basic human rights of all people to quality education, economic opportunity, the right to vote and fully participate in democracy, and the right to a fair and just judicial system.

LDF seeks an experienced, dynamic, and innovative... Community Organizer to join its organizing team to advance its advocacy work in a full range of litigation, legislative, and policy campaigns. This position will work across all four (4) core LDF issue areas with an emphasis on abolishing the death penalty and addressing other racial inequities within the criminal justice system.

The Community Organizer will report to LDF’s Deputy Director of Community Organizing.

This position will be remote until September 2021. Beginning October 2021, any candidate selected should be prepared to report to work in the office location assigned to this position.

Responsibilities include:

• Valuing, highlighting and building the capacity of impacted communities to effectively organize initiatives that address LDF’s four (4) core issue areas;
• Working with local communities to assist in building their capacity to change criminal justice policies and practices, end juvenile life without parole sentencing, abolish the death penalty, eliminate jury discrimination, decarcerate the prison system, and prevent racial bias in prosecutorial discretion;
• Organizing communities or coalitions to advance reforms to public systems, including but not limited to criminal justice systems;
• Developing and maintaining relationships, partnerships, and coalitions with organizations, community members/leaders, public officials, and other interested stakeholders on issues pertaining to racial justice and criminal justice issues;
• Planning, implementing, and coordinating successful community outreach and public education campaigns;
• Devising and implementing trainings for LDF staff, members, and supporters to build an ongoing growth and development process, including specific training on community outreach and engagement, meeting with elected officials, volunteer-led outreach like phone-banking and canvassing, data management, interacting with media, and using technology to take online activism offline;

· Collaborating and coordinating closely with the Policy, Litigation, and Thurgood Marshall Institute Departments to develop and sustain a multi-disciplinary and community-informed approach to LDF’s various advocacy efforts on racial justice issues;

• Tracking programs’ progress to goals, produces reports, and highlights and adjusts plans as necessary;
• Advocating for death penalty abolition, juvenile life without parole abolition, decarceration, and other priorities; and
• Other responsibilities as assigned by the Deputy Director of Community Organizing, Director of Community Organizing, and Senior Management.

Qualifications include:

· Experience working on death penalty, juvenile life without parole, or other criminal justice campaigns preferred;

• Minimum of five years of experience in organizing communities or coalitions to advance reforms to public systems, including but not limited to criminal justice systems;
• Commitment to the racial justice mission of LDF;
• Demonstrate a commitment to valuing, highlighting, and building the capacity of impacted communities to effectively organize initiatives that address discriminatory sentencing practices, jury discrimination, and other racial bias in the criminal justice system;
• Demonstrate the ability to plan, implement, and coordinate successful community outreach and public education campaigns;
• Demonstrate the ability to develop and maintain relationships and partnerships with coalitions of organizations, community members/leaders, and public officials via the internet, in-person and telephone;
• Ability to work well under pressure with attention to detail;
• Outstanding integrity, professionalism, discretion, and sound judgment to handle sensitive, high-profile, legally privileged and otherwise confidential information in an appropriate manner;
• Ability to work both in a team structure and independently, as required by different circumstances;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to convey complex information effectively to a wide range of audiences of varying sizes and in varying venues;
• Responsible, thoughtful, and effective ambassador for LDF;
• Strong initiative and creative thinking;
• Excellent organizational skills;
• Willingness to adhere to a flexible and sometimes demanding schedule;
• Extensive travel to both urban and rural areas in the United States is required; and
• Must have a valid driver’s license.

This is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, skills, efforts or requirements or working conditions associated with the job. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed as assigned. This description does not constitute a contract of employment and LDF may exercise its employment-at-will rights at any time.



To Apply:

This position is open until filled.

Please submit your resume and cover letter to:

jobs@naacpldf.org

If submitting via email, please include your name (last name, first name) in the email subject line.

Or

Oris Diaz

Director of Human Resources/Administration

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

40 Rector Street, 5th floor

New York, New York 10006

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to you without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, age, veteran status, medical condition or disability, genetic information, gender identity, or any other protected status under federal, state, or local law