Community Organizing & Advocacy Manager

Job Title: Community Organizing & Advocacy Manager

Location: Everett, Massachusetts

Classification: Nonexempt

Position Type: Full time; 40 hours/week

Salary range: $55,000 annually

Reports to: Director of Programs

About Everett Community Growers:

Everett Community Growers (ECG) works to build a more just and equitable environment through urban agriculture, youth development, policy advocacy, and community engagement. ECG currently operates the only community garden, the only community farm, and farm stand in Everett; engages youth ages 14–20 in food systems work through our Youth Crew; and leads various civic and community engagement initiatives.

ECG's Values:

• ECG uses popular education to build a collaborative community of learners and teachers, leveraging collective power to drive meaningful change.
• ECG builds community power and drives community-led advocacy to advance intersectional food, land, environmental, and racial justice.
• ECG empowers youth and adult leaders to build capacity, lead community projects, and drive advocacy for change.
• ECG applies participatory action research to ensure community initiatives are designed, implemented, and evaluated by the people they directly impact.
• ECG embeds environmental, economic, and social sustainability into urban agriculture and community programming.
• ECG delivers culturally relevant programming and language justice to ensure everyone can fully participate and benefit.
• ECG honors community culture by embedding joy, celebration, and shared narratives into all we do.

Position Summary:

The Community Organizing & Advocacy Manager will move Everett residents from concern to collective action, creating a pipeline of community members ready to testify, march, and advocate for their neighborhoods.This role is responsible for

• Ensuring that the rapid development in Everett directly benefits the people who live here now;
• Co-leading the Resident Researcher (RR) Team with the Associate Director of Research and Evaluation. Resident Researchers are a multilingual and intergenerational community-led team focused on working together to use their expertise as residents of Everett to identify local issues and design, test, and learn from actions that will build resident power, create supportive community networks, and strengthen civic participation;
• Represent ECG at Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) negotiations in partnership with local nonprofits;
• and build lasting community power.

Your primary mission is to transform community energy into a coordinated force for systemic change. You won't just "engage" residents; you will mobilize them.

Strong candidates for all ECG positions will have enthusiasm for urban agriculture and food justice, a commitment to health and racial equity in Everett, willingness to learn and try new things, and a demonstrated ability to work independently as well as with a team. Strong candidates for this position will also demonstrate leadership skills (reliability, dependability, initiative, empathy, timely communication, and ability to teach and mentor) and the ability to perform policy and engagement tasks with confidence, humility and content knowledge.

Essential duties and responsibilities:

RR Leadership & Mobilization

• Co-lead the daily operations of the RR Team, ensuring their work aligns with ECG's mission and values.
• Collaborate with the Associate Director of R&E to design and facilitate team meetings that are purposeful, inclusive, and action-oriented.
• Co-facilitate RR onboarding sessions with the Associate Director of Research and Evaluation.
• Cultivate an accessible, welcoming, and inclusive environment where residents feel empowered to gather, share concerns, and collaborate on community solutions.
• Identify and recruit residents based on alignment with ECG's core values.
• Utilize facilitative leadership and participatory methods to design pathways for residents to grow professionally through their advocacy work, turning "engagement" into "leadership"
• Develop and maintain project plans and effectively delegate tasks to team members.
• Manage the "nuts and bolts" of the team, including timesheets and payment

Advocacy & Justice Partnerships

• Maintain and grow relationships with residents, regional partners, developers and city and state officials.
• Ensure all ECG advocacy efforts are grounded in the lived experiences of residents.
• Stay updated on Everett municipal politics and ensure city-wide support for ECG's goals.
• Learn and lead the drafting of formal comment letters and legislative testimony.

Community Outreach and Engagement

• Assess current community engagement strategies, and develop improved or new systems to enhance responsive engagement.
• Collaborate with the Community Resources and Events Coordinator to develop multilingual promotional materials and promote events through various channels.
• Work closely with Community Resources and Events Coordinator to plan community events.

Other duties and responsibilities

• Work closely with the Associate Director of Research and Evaluation to ensure Participatory Action Research frameworks are utilized in project design, planning and evaluation on pre-event and post-event data and reporting.
• Other duties and responsibilities, as they arise, as ECG's needs and resources align with your desire, skills and availability.

Knowledge, Skills, Experience and Abilities:

• 2–5 years experience in community organizing, volunteer management or public policy advocacy required
• Multilingual proficiency (English and Spanish, Portuguese, or Haitian Creole) highly preferred
• Current Everett, Chelsea, Malden, Medford or Revere resident preferred
• Proven ability to manage teams and delegate tasks
• Strong writer and designer who can translate policy ideas into accessible content
• A commitment to dismantling systemic oppression and a passion for resident-led change
• Strong attention to detail and problem-solving skills
• Creative, innovative, and adaptable approach to community engagement
• Proficiency in Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Drive, Calendar)
• Able to create spaces of authentic engagement
• Able to make independent decisions, assess, organize, prioritize and address multiple projects and problems at the same time
• Excellent interpersonal communication, facilitation, and relationship building skills
• Genuine enjoyment and passion for working in teams of diverse communities

Environment and Demands

• Willingness to work flexible hours including early mornings, late evenings, and weekends. Our workday may not end at the same time every day.
• Ability to work remotely and in person. A small stipend for technology upgrades is available upon request.

Compensation and Benefits

Job Type: Full-time, Nonexempt

Compensation: $55,000 annually

Benefits:

• Unlimited Paid Time Off
• 14 paid holidays and one week during the Winter Holidays
• Professional development opportunities
• Monthly benefit pay

Please note that this job description reflects Everett Community Grower's (ECG) executive team assignment of essential functions and other duties and is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this position. ECG maintains the right to assign or reassign duties, responsibilities, and activities of this position at any time with or without notice.

Everett Community Growers (ECG) is an equal opportunity employer and values a diverse workforce and inclusive culture. ECG welcomes applications from all qualified individuals and does not discriminate based on any category protected under applicable federal, state or local law.