Housing Justice Community Organizer

Position Available: Housing Justice Community Organizer

Our Bronx (formerly the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition) is a 51-year-old grassroots, member-led organization that unites individuals and institutions to fight for racial justice and economic democracy through intergenerational organizing to transform the Bronx and beyond. Our Bronx uses direct-action community organizing to address affordable housing, public education, immigrant rights, youth, health justice, voting rights, and economic development, and to advocate for broader policy change in these and other areas.

Our Bronx is the Bronx Lead for the Partners in Preservation Program (PIP), a city-led initiative aimed at safeguarding the city’s affordable housing stock by enhancing coordination among tenant organizing groups, legal services providers, and government entities. In this role, Our Bronx coordinates engagement, interventions, and strategy across program partners to address immediate housing concerns, improve long-term housing quality and conditions, prevent displacement, and maintain the affordability of Bronx housing.

Position Overview

To support these efforts, Our Bronx seeks a dynamic Housing Justice Community Organizer to advance our housing justice work. We are committed to fighting for safe, healthy, and affordable housing for all Bronxites and New Yorkers that includes environmental sustainability standards that saves money, addresses climate change, and safeguards the respiratory health of Bronx residents.

Our organizing work grounds those most impacted and developing grassroots leadership is a core responsibility of our organizers.

Key Responsibilities

The Housing Justice Community Organizer will:

• Support the development of the Housing Justice Committee
• Organize tenants at a building-wide level to address housing-related issues, including repairs, overcharges, harassment, and discrimination, and assess opportunities for tenant ownership
• Research and identify potential organizing targets, including landlords with a track record of serious neglect or over-leveraging properties
• Conduct outreach in buildings and identify leaders
• Support tenants in forming tenant associations and developing organizing strategies
• Bring tenants together at the neighborhood level to work on policy campaigns
• Bring tenants together across buildings owned by the same landlord to develop common strategies and tactics
• Educate community residents on tenants’ rights, gentrification, and anti-displacement strategies
• Conduct community outreach events, including workshops and trainings on tenant rights
• Mobilize tenants for demonstrations, rallies, and forums
• Facilitate tenant rights clinics and recruit volunteer facilitators
• Conduct one-on-one meetings with tenant leaders
• Foster the development of tenant leaders through training and individual support
• Attend weekly staff meetings and training opportunities

Required Skills and Capacities

• At least 1 year of organizing experience
• Fluency in Spanish is a plus
• Familiarity with housing issues and community organizing
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Strong interpersonal, relationship-building, and conflict-resolution skills with people from diverse backgrounds
• Strong organizational and time-management skills
• Adept at facilitation, collaborative problem-solving, and consensus building
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Strong interest in working in low-income and culturally diverse communities; familiarity and experience working in the Bronx
• Commitment to housing justice, social inclusion, anti-oppression, and racial, sexual, and economic justice
• Physical Requirements & Work Environment
• This position is fully in-person
• Organizers are expected to visit tenants in their homes, conduct outreach in buildings, and attend events outside the office
• Willingness to work evenings and occasional weekends

Compensation: Competitive salary of $50,480-$56,089, dependent on relevant experience. Excellent benefits, including health and life insurance, tax-sheltered retirement plan, and vacation. Excellent training in community organizing and professional development opportunities.

To apply for this position, please email a cover letter and resume to organizingjobs@ourbronx.org with “Housing Justice Community Organizer” in the subject line. Note that only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Our Bronx is an equal opportunity employer. We recruit, hire, train, and promote for all positions and job classifications without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, marital, veteran or disabled veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other status as a member of any other legally protected group or activity. People of color are strongly encouraged to apply.