Community Organizer

ABOUT NEW SETTLEMENT

The Crenulated Company Ltd. dba New Settlement Apartments (New Settlement) is a community-led, mission-driven settlement house rooted in the Bronx. For more than 35 years, New Settlement has worked with youth, families, residents, and community members in the Southwest Bronx to build resilience, expand opportunity, and strengthen neighborhoods through after-school education and youth development, workforce development and college readiness, health, fitness, and wellness programming, community organizing for better housing and safer schools, and arts, creative expression, and community-building initiatives.

Rooted in the Bronx, New Settlement stands with community members to break systemic barriers, advance justice, promote leadership, and strengthen neighborhoods. By ensuring agency around education, employment, housing, wellness, and creative expression, New Settlement helps cultivate an equitable society where individuals and families have the power to use their voice to create the change they wish to see.

JOB SUMMARY

Guided by the Director and in coordination with other organizers, the Community Organizer will strengthen CASAs broad base of members who are committed to housing justice, understand what it takes to build a movement , and are prepared to take bold action to improve the quality and affordability of housing in the Southwest Bronx. The Community Organizer will organize tenants to address landlord harassment, secure needed repairs, prevent displacement, and stabilize communities while helping residents recognize and exercise their collective power. Using a leadership-development model, the Community Organizer will support tenant steering committees, build members organizing skills, and develop tenant associations that can operate independently while connecting tenant leaders to CASAs broader campaigns.

Job Duties include but not limited to :

- Support and enhance a culture that respects and honors diversity, invests in professional development and encourages self-care.

- Build a Strong Base of Engaged Community Members through:

Outreach and Base-building: conduct outreach weekly via door knocking, flyering, and tabling to educate community members about their rights as rent-stabilized tenants and recruit to be active participants in CASA's campaigns. Conduct weekly phone-banking: CASA has weekly membership events for our members to engage in which include workshops, General Membership Meetings, Campaign Meetings, etc. You will have weekly call lists and make on average 100 calls per week.

Organizing 4–5 Tenants Associations: Organize and support four to five tenant associations to address landlord harassment, housing conditions, needed repairs, displacement risks, and other shared concerns. Responsibilities include:

- Build relationships with tenants through regular outreach, one-on-one conversations, building meetings, and follow-up.

- Identify shared building-wide concerns, assess organizing opportunities, and support tenants in developing goals, strategies, and action plans.

- Develop representative steering committees that work collectively and assign roles based on members skills, interests, availability, and leadership goals.

- Coach tenant leaders to plan and facilitate meetings, recruit and engage neighbors, create flyers, write letters, document housing conditions, and communicate effectively with landlords and public agencies.

- Support tenant-led actions, including meetings with landlords, engagement with HPD and other agencies, press conferences, public testimony, bank accountability efforts, and other escalation strategies.

- Connect tenant associations to appropriate legal, housing, and public resources while maintaining the organizers role as a facilitator rather than a direct-service provider.

- Build each associations capacity to operate independently by establishing leadership structures, shared decision-making practices, communication systems, and clear next steps.

- Recruit tenant association members into CASA, identify emerging leaders, and prepare them to take leadership roles in broader housing justice campaigns.

- Track contacts, meetings, leadership development, actions, commitments, outcomes, and progress toward tenant association goals.

- Leadership Development: Strengthen members skills, capacity and analysis through formal and informal leadership development work. Build relationships and recruit members for training and leadership activities that encourage active participation and a sense of ownership.

- Administrative: Use a variety of creative methods to recruit and assess new members, maintain accurate records, and meet turnout goals for key actions and events.

- Actively Participate in and Develop our Organizational Capacity: This includes participating in and preparing members individually and in group settings to facilitate our monthly CASA Membership Meetings. Provide monthly narratives and statistical reports on work accomplished; create and facilitate regular workshops specific to housing rights, laws and processes; pursue ongoing training and learning opportunities; actively participate in staff retreats; maintain accurate database records, and identify opportunities to strengthen CASAs organizational capacity and impact; and remain flexible and responsive to changes in campaign goals and organizing conditions to continue work toward our goals.

- Perform other duties as reasonably requested.

Qualifications

Q UALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE :

- Bachelor's Degree or three to five years of progressive experience; Tenant organizing experience is a plus

- Ability to relate to persons of diverse backgrounds

- Strong track record of a commitment to social justice; demonstrated commitment to leadership development, community building, and community organizing as strategies for social change; direct communication and conflict resolution, listen and motivate people to action from diverse backgrounds

- Ability to facilitate, train and develop leaders

- Excellent writing and public speaking skills

- Must be computer literate

- Must be able to work nights and weekends as necessary

- English/Spanish bilingual skills preferred

We value diverse pathways to professional success. Candidates who have developed the required knowledge, skills, and abilities through a combination of education, work experience, training, military service, certifications, or other relevant experiences will be considered, even if they do not possess a Bachelor's degree.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND POLICY AGAINST DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT

The Crenulated Company Ltd, dba New Settlement Apartments (New Settlement) provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or military or veteran status in accordance with applicable federal laws. In addition, the Company complies with all applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including but not limited to hiring, placement, promotion, termination, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

New Settlement does not tolerate unlawful harassment of employees based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or military or veteran status or in any other group protected by federal, state or local law. Improper interference with the ability of the Company s employees to perform their expected job duties is not acceptable.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This job description indicates in general the nature and levels of work, knowledge, skills, abilities, and other essential functions expected of an employee. It is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of you as an employee. You may be asked to perform other duties as required.