National Organizer

The National Community Organizer is part of an innovative team that works collectively to identify, plan, and deploy strategic community-building and organizing techniques that engage a broad range of community stakeholders to strengthen the voices and political influence of people living with HIV and AIDS (PWHA), people who are unhoused or at risk of being homeless, and other marginalized populations around public health, housing, and human service policies and other social and political determinants of health.

National Community Organizer provides direct in-person and virtual capacity-building assistance to the Housing Works Advocacy Department in various forms including content development and provision, guidance on community building and mobilization, and leadership development. The Organizer will be responsive to new developments and emerging trends in the aforementioned areas. The Organizer is responsible for building a base of people directly and indirectly affected by the issues and mobilizing the base to engage in non-violent direct action to impact policy at the federal level.

The National Community Organizer is part of an innovative team that works collectively to identify, plan, and deploy strategic community-building and organizing techniques that engage a broad range of community stakeholders to strengthen the voices and political influence of people living with HIV and AIDS (PWHA), people who are unhoused or at risk of being homeless, and other marginalized populations around public health, housing, and human service policies and other social and political determinants of health.
National Community Organizer provides direct in-person and virtual capacity-building assistance to the Housing Works Advocacy Department in various forms including content development and provision, guidance on community building and mobilization, and leadership development. The Organizer will be responsive to new developments and emerging trends in the aforementioned areas. The Organizer is responsible for building a base of people directly and indirectly affected by the issues and mobilizing the base to engage in non-violent direct action to impact policy at the federal level.

Primary: Duties and Responsibilities:
• Communicates regularly with activists and coalition members.

• Stays abreast of legislative and organizational developments, building and maintaining knowledge of key Congressional targets as well as elected in assigned regions.

• Developing and implementing an organizing strategy for Housing Works to maintain and grow its base and other community mobilization efforts.

• Building and maintaining strategic relationships with community members, leaders, organizations, elected and appointed officials, etc.

• Developing staff and client members into leaders that can play prominent roles in community education and mobilization.

• Working with the team on mobilization and training of staff, clients, community stakeholders, and partners to effectively implement action strategies for:
 Implementation of plans to end AIDS as an epidemic.
 The National HIV/AIDS Strategy; including social drivers of HIV as it relates to goals to end AIDS as an epidemic in the United States.
 Housing and homelessness.
 National politics and administrative maneuvers around HIV and AIDS, homelessness and housing, budget (mis)management and related issues, and the activities of the Executive and Legislative branches.
 HIV primary and secondary prevention issues and efforts at the federal level.
 Public benefits and entitlements issues.
 Drug policies and harm reduction issues.
 Criminalization issues, including arrest, incarceration, and discharge.
 Implementation of equitable approaches and strategies to promote and amplify anti-racist, anti-homophobic, anti-stigma, anti-heterosexism, anti-sexism, anti-biphobia, anti-transphobia heterosexual, and anti-discrimination in governmental institutional and organizational settings.
 Additional issues as they appear on the landscape.

Advocacy
• Conducting leadership development training with staff and constituents to advocate with elected officials.
• Working with the Advocacy Department in maintaining regular in-services to keep all Housing Works abreast of pertinent policy issues.
• Prepping staff, clients, and partners for meetings with elected officials and other policy stakeholders.
Partnership Development
• Organizing, attending, and presenting with various partners regarding programs and their impact.

• Attending and participating in relevant community meetings, councils, roundtables, and committees. This includes represent Housing Works in Act Now: End AIDS, the Public Policy Committee of AIDS United, the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership, and other national coalitions.

• Developing and maintaining relationships, partnerships, and coalitions with organizations, community members/leaders, and public officials to advance Housing Works’ goals.

• Maintaining systems to keep pertinent team members aware of coalition conversations.
Administration
• Reporting and tracking progress of organizing and field efforts and other projects.

• Collaborate with communications, marketing staff, and policy consultants to proactively use data to improve outreach, messaging, and tactics.

• Participating in monitoring & evaluation and other meetings to assess outcomes of advocacy, mobilization, and organizing efforts.

• Assisting in ensuring updates on the department’s database of interested parties and issues.

• Participate in screening and interviewing job candidates.

• Attend regular Advocacy Team meetings.

Secondary: Duties and Responsibilities:
• Supports functions of the other organizers that are at the local and state level.

• Participates in appropriate professional development programs to attain and maintain competency.

• Working with the staff on training(s).

• Use the organization’s resources in a manner that demonstrates responsibility and good stewardship, including submitting corporate credit card receipts on time, completing timesheets on time, submitting personnel documents on time, and making choices regarding travel arrangements, meals, and lodging that are consistent with Housing Works values.

• Perform other duties as assigned.