Communications and Outreach Officer

Position Opening: Communications & Outreach Officer

Classification: Full-Time, Exempt

Location: JOIN’s national office in Boston, MA (preferred)

Posted: August 2020

JOIN for Justice is building a powerful field of Jewish leaders capable of effectively organizing for justice, both inside and outside Jewish communities in the US. We organize because, in the words of Emma Lazarus, “Until we are all free, we are none of us free”—our destinies are bound up as one. We train and mentor rabbis, community leaders, and community organizers through a variety of intensive organizing training programs, in person and online.

In the coming year, for example, we’ll be running our 18-month Clergy Fellowship, wherein we will train and support teams of rabbis in Miami and St. Louis to engage their congregations in new ways and get involved in local multi-faith, multi-racial organizing. We will also be running a new 6-month long national organizing training program for disabled Jewish organizers in their 20s and 30s -- where participants will get intensive training and individualized coaching as they learn about disability organizing history, nuts and bolts of running campaigns and how to organize to fight ableism, racism, and other forms of exclusion.

We believe that our Jewish religious, historical, and cultural traditions compel us to organize our communities and take powerful action together in support of the pressing social justice issues of our time and that those unique traditions can be an indispensable resource in harnessing the power of faith for justice. Thousands of people we have trained over the past two decades are now tapping these traditions and skills as they work in cities across the country forging relationships, building power, and winning change for all of our communities.

Position Overview

JOIN is seeking a dynamic and talented Communications and Outreach Officer to play a critical role building up JOIN’s reach and reputation, increasing engagement with our content online and attracting excellent people for our training programs. This will mean producing powerful email blasts, compelling social media posts, well-designed materials and short video products, as well as managing relationship-based outreach and recruitment efforts for specific programs, including the Jewish Organizing Fellowship and our online course, Don’t Kvetch, Organize! Overall, a successful candidate will bring strong skills to both the technical and interpersonal aspects of this role, as well as an orientation towards building systems and cultivating diverse networks as JOIN develops a more robust pipeline of engagement with participants, alumni, supporters, and organizational partners across the board.

Key Responsibilities

Communications:

• Work with senior leadership to craft effective communication strategies for JOIN;
• Produce all print and digital communications, including e-newsletters, brochures, program advertisements, fundraising letters, annual reports, promotional materials, videos, etc. for individual programs and the organization as a whole.
• Manage the website including content development, publication, and maintenance.
• Design social media strategies and regularly post content.
• Manage relationships with creative partners and vendors, as appropriate.

Outreach and Recruitment:

• Work with senior leadership to develop strategic approaches to JOIN’s outreach and recruitment work;
• Coordinate recruitment for select programs, with special attention to reaching Jews of color, Jews with disabilities, working class Jews, and trans and non-binary Jews -- integrating approaches such as phone calls and direct emails, coordinating with partner organizations, social media and email promotion, and mobilizing members of the JOIN community to do outreach in their networks;
• Coordinate rigorous and equitable interview and selection processes for JOIN programs, including responding to questions from potential program participants, providing logistical and technical support as well as conducting relational conversations to support them in discerning whether our programs may be the right fit for them;
• Coordinate with individual contractors and partner organizations involved in the recruitment process;
• Maintain excellent records of all outreach and communication with potential participants;
• Support program execution (e.g. retreats, training sessions), as needed.

Skills and Qualifications

• 3-5 years experience in communications, digital and/or community organizing, project management, recruitment or related fields;
• Experience developing and producing digital communications materials and publications; Experience with video editing and production; Graphic design experience, preferred;
• Demonstrated commitment to racial equity and anti-oppression work, and ability to apply this orientation to the work, internally and externally;
• Cultural competence in working with people with disabilities, and experience with accessibility and accommodations in communications and virtual or in-person events
• Exemplary written and verbal communication skills;
• Proven ability to manage complex projects with many moving parts, while tracking many pieces of information using complex spreadsheets/databases in a timely manner;
• Well-versed in Google Suite (Gmail, Google Sheets, Google Drive etc.) and Wordpress, comfort with technology, and able to learn new systems;
• Strong creative, strategic, interpersonal, and organizational skills;
• Ability to work flexibly and collaboratively and have a solutions-oriented approach to challenges;
• Basic cultural competence with Jewish communities;
• Familiarity with, and preferably professional and/or volunteer experience in, community organizing.
• Preferred: Existing networks in and familiarity with Jewish religious, secular and social justice landscapes; and/or racial justice, social movement, disability organizing and connected communities.

At JOIN for Justice, we believe social justice fights require the voices of those most directly impacted by injustice. JOIN is dedicated to building a culturally diverse and pluralistic staff team -- via internal training, structured reflection exercises and an ongoing investment in the leadership development of staff. JOIN strongly encourages people of color, indigenous people, disabled people, LGBTQ+ people, and immigrants to apply. You do not need to be Jewish.

Compensation and Benefits

This is a full-time, Boston-based, exempt position, with occasional evening and weekend work. Note: All staff are currently working remotely amidst the pandemic. We do not typically work on Shabbat, except for occasional retreats, and are prepared to accommodate Shabbat observance and other religious practice.

The annual salary range is $47,000 - $55,000, commensurate with experience. Excellent benefits, including:

• Paid Time Off:
  • Holidays: 10 federally-recognized holidays, plus up to 13 additional days for Jewish holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah, Passover, Shavuot), as well as 2 floating holidays
  • Vacation: 12 days in the first year, rising progressively each year to 20 days after three years of employment
  • Sick Days: 12 per year
  • Parental Leave: Full-time employees are entitled up to 6 weeks of paid parental leave, based on years of service
• Healthcare Benefits:
  • All full-time staff members are entitled to 80% paid health and dental insurance coverage for individual and family plans
  • Fully covered life, short and long-term disability insurance
  • Flexible Spending Account for eligible health related expenses
• Retirement Benefits:
  • After one full year of employment, staff members are entitled to participate in JOIN’s retirement program. JOIN matches up to 5% of the employee’s salary.

To Apply

Please send a thoughtful cover letter, resume, and 2-3 professional references with phone numbers in a single email to jobs2020@joinforjustice.org. Please include the job title in the subject line.

JOIN for Justice is an equal opportunity employer. We carefully consider applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status.

https://www.joinforjustice.org/about-us/job-opportunities/