Civic Engagement Director

Title: Civic Engagement Director

Position Location: This position will be in ACT’s offices in Pennsylvania, New York, or DC/MD/VA.

Reports to: National Organizing Director

FLSA Status: Exempt

Employment Type: Full-time

Hours: Monday-Friday, hybrid position, requires a mix of remote work, work on site, and in the field. Regular travel of 1-2 times per month to other ACT offices is required.

Salary: Baseline salary is $95,000; additional compensation negotiable based on experience.

Organization:

African Communities Together (ACT) is an organization of African immigrants fighting for civil rights, opportunity, and a better life for our families here in the U.S. and worldwide. ACT works to support and empower African immigrants to integrate socially, advance economically, and engage civically. ACT connects African immigrants to services, empowers our members to develop as grassroot leaders, and leads campaigns for social change. ACT’s African immigrant membership comes from a diverse range of nationalities, cultures, and languages, and is religiously diverse, majority women, and predominantly working-class and low income.

Position Description:

African Communities Together (ACT) seeks an experienced Civic Engagement Director to manage its civic engagement initiatives in Pennsylvania, New York, and DC/MD/VA chapters, including anticipation of expanding our political participation in a 501(c)(4) sister organization. The Civic Engagement Director will be responsible for designing, training, implementing, and managing programs in voter registration, voter education, and Get Out the Vote efforts and leading activities, such as door-to-door canvassing and phone banking, in our chapter locations as needed. This position works collaboratively with ACT’s Chapter Directors and Executive Director to advance our mission, goals, and objectives.

Key responsibilities include:

• Campaign Development and Leadership: Work with Chapter Directors to develop campaign plans, set goals, develop lists and materials, build teams, and run programs.
• Integrated Voter Engagement: Work with Chapter Directors to integrate voter education and engagement into chapter programs and campaigns.
• Data Management: Organize and analyze contact data, including membership lists, voter lists, field/data tracking and demographic information.
• Base-Building: Development and implementation of base-building strategies in conjunction with policy advocacy and membership.
• Development of Affiliated 501(c)(4): Working closely with the Executive Director, to launch a 501(c)(4) sister organization, campaigns, and seek fundraising opportunities.
• Fundraising: Working with the Executive Director and Development Director, raise funds to support civic engagement campaigns and programs.
• Public Leadership: Represent ACT in partnerships, coalitions, campaigns, and at public events.

Qualifications:

• At least 5 years of demonstrated experience in civic engagement programs, political campaigns, labor unions, or community organizing.
• Ability to develop and communicate plans, goals, strategy, and outcomes clearly and persuasively, orally, in writing and in digital presentation.
• Strong understanding of issues related to political participation, civic engagement in African communities and knowledge of the political landscape in Pennsylvania, New York, or DC/MD/VA preferred.
• Cultural competence and significant experience with African immigrant communities or within the social justice sector.
• Experience recruiting, training canvassers or volunteers, creating budgets, and tracking data with software including VAN/Voter files.
• Ability to succeed in a collaborative community environment, including accountability to goals, working independently, prioritizing, and thriving in a diverse group of staff, volunteers, and communities.
• Organized in a fast-paced campaign environment, work under time pressure, meet deadlines, and be flexible.
• Alignment with ACT’s mission and values.
• Fundraising experience, particularly for electoral or civic engagement work, is desirable.
• Proficiency in English is required. Fluency in a widely spoken African language or French is desirable.
• BA/BS degree; master’s degree preferred or relevant experience.

Employee Benefits:

We offer a full comprehensive benefits package that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP-IRA). Additional benefits include professional development and a sabbatical/longevity bonus.

Paid Time and Holidays Off:

African Communities Together (ACT) offers a generous benefits package to full-time employees. Benefits include two weeks of paid vacation and medical leave, a personal day for every two months worked, paid holidays throughout the calendar year (including federal holidays), and a year-end winter break from December 24th to January 1st.

Application Process:

To apply, please submit your resume along with a brief cover letter describing your interest in the position. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications by April 1st, 2024; however, applications will be accepted until the position is filled. We recognize that it is highly unlikely that someone meets 100% of the qualifications for a role Studies have shown people of the global majority and female-identifying candidates in particular are likely to “count themselves out” of otherwise well-matched opportunities due to this fact. If much of this job description describes you, please apply for this role.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

African Communities Together (ACT) believes that all persons are entitled to Equal Employment Opportunity, and we do not discriminate against our staff members or applicants for employment because of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, gender identity and expression, sex, age, disability, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, genetic information, or veteran or citizenship status provided they are qualified and meet the requirements for the position. ACT provides reasonable accommodation to candidates with disabilities.

ACT is an affirmative action employer, and strongly supports the social goals of affirmative action. We therefore make special efforts to recruit individuals from groups that are historically under-represented in professional environments or that suffer from broader societal discrimination.