Job details

Community Organizer - Outreach Advocate

MAJOR PURPOSE OF POSITION

The Legal Aid Society is seeking a committed, energetic, and creative Community Organizer/Outreach Advocate to ground our efforts to reform the criminal legal system in the needs of communities impacted by that system and serve as a liaison between Legal Aid and our community partners.

The Special Litigation Unit of the Criminal Defense Practice engages in civil litigation and policy advocacy to address systemic injustices affecting the Legal Aid Society’s criminal defense clients and their families. Examples of past work include federal litigation challenging the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices, policy advocacy to reform New York’s pre-trial criminal discovery and bail statutes, and campaigning for a repeal of secrecy laws that undermine accountability for police misconduct. The Community Justice Unit (CJU) supports these law reform efforts by ensuring that work is informed by and benefits Legal Aid’s clients, their families and their communities.

The Community Outreach Advocate will work under the direction of the Supervising Attorney for Community Justice and the Lead Community Organizer to create opportunities for community engagement on issues relating to Legal Aid’s law reform agenda and to develop and maintain Legal Aid’s relationships with our community partners. They will also work closely with attorneys in the Community Justice Unit who work with New York City’s Cure Violence program, including by supporting community events and activities hosted by our partner organizations and building and maintaining relationships with those partner organizations.

The candidate will be able to demonstrate a strong commitment to criminal legal reform and a clear understanding of how social movements can influence legal and policy change. They will be willing and able to work independently toward shared team goals, primarily in the community rather than an office setting. They will be excellent communicators and relationship-builders, and familiar with the use of social media and other online tools for community engagement. They will be organized, collaborative, and comfortable working in a fast-faced and unpredictable environment. Work outside of normal business hours, on evenings and weekends, is required in this role.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Supporting opportunities for engaging community members in Legal Aid’s criminal law reform work, including conducting street outreach, attending community events, and convening client advisory boards and community roundtables
Using social media and other digital tools to support community engagement and organizing
Organizing and delivering know-your-rights and other information and training sessions designed to assist people in advocating for themselves and participating in the criminal legal reform efforts
Connecting community members with legal services at Legal Aid and other direct service organizations
Representing Legal Aid at community events
Working flexible hours outside of normal business hours and on weekends, as required
Other duties as assigned

GED, high school diploma, three years’ relevant work experience, or some combination of these is required
Demonstrated experience with community outreach or activism, preferably in the New York City area
Clear understanding of how social movements can influence legislative and legal processes; specific experience working in coalition-based campaigning is desirable
Understanding of the New York City criminal legal system
Ability to foster constructive and respectful working relationships with colleagues and clients from diverse backgrounds, including those from racially diverse, underserved and unserved communities
Familiarity with social media, tools for online engagement
Favorable consideration will be given to Community Outreach Advocates who have specific knowledge and experience with the following: violence interruption models and/or restorative justice models; working with At-Risk /At-Promised Youth and court-supervised youth and/or adults; gang culture in the designated borough
Strong communication and collaborations skills
Basic computer skills (email, internet, word processing, google docs, and communication tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams)
Ability to work independently and creatively to accomplish shared goals
Strong commitment to racial and social justice
Ability to work non-traditional week and weekend hours
Valid driver’s license desirable but not required
Proficiency in languages other than English desirable but not required

SALARY TRANSPARENCY

The posting reflects the range of potential salaries for the role. The specific salary offers will be dependent on candidate qualifications, including collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range/ Salary: $55,692 to $81,136

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The leadership of The Legal Aid Society believes in attracting and retaining exceptional talent committed to serving our clients. We offer a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Salaries for our unionized jobs are governed by our Collective Bargaining Agreement. Please visit our Careers page for additional information. Salary and benefits information will be available to applicants, when and if, an offer is made.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The leadership of The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients, to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us.

HOW TO APPLY

All applications must be completed online. We do not accept paper submissions. Please visit our Careers Page to review all current job postings, and instructions on the application process. For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one’s internal deeply-held sense of one’s gender which may be the same or different from one’s sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one’s name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.