Youth Justice Organizer
Legal Aid Justice Center seeks a full-time Youth Justice Organizer to lead and support various strategic campaigns to build thriving and just communities for all children and families. The ideal candidate can work successfully within teams at both grassroots and grass-tops levels, is comfortable with using multiple advocacy strategies, and will apply a racial justice lens to campaign strategy. While the work will have statewide reach, this position will be based out of our Falls Church office.
Job Duties
• Build leadership and power among youth and families directly impacted by the education, juvenile justice, mental health, and foster systems
• Relationship building, outreach, and community education with individuals, organizations, and coalitions in Charlottesville and statewide
• Lead and support existing advocacy initiatives, including the Fund Our Schools campaign and local efforts to stop the school-to-prison pipeline, as well as build new initiatives from the ground up
• Coalition building and leadership with diverse communities in Falls Church and statewide
• Use multiple forms of media to educate community members on their rights and relevant policies
• Work within teams to develop and implement organizing strategies incorporating impact litigation, direct legal representation, and policy advocacy
• Refer individuals to other community resources and legal services as appropriate
• Mobilizing and supporting community groups to win policy change, including events and actions such as campaign rallies, town hall events, listening sessions, and lobby days
Salary
Salary range is $50,400 to $67,200 based on years of relevant experience and LAJC’s formal salary scale.
Benefits
• Generous leave
• Excellent family health, dental, and optical insurance
• 403(b) retirement plan
• Personal professional development budget
• Strong commitment to social, economic, and racial justice
• Spanish language proficiency
• Experience with community organizing, advocacy, or strategic campaigns: candidate should know how to identify issues, bring communities together, and achieve lasting change
• Demonstrated experience working with individuals and/or communities directly impacted by economic, social, and racial injustice
• Ability to work in teams and own or delegate tasks as defined by team roles
• Access to reliable transportation and willingness to occasionally ravel to other parts of the state and to LAJC’s other offices
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills
• Demonstrated concern for the needs and rights of low-income youth
• Willingness to work a flexible schedule that will include evening and weekend events
Preferred Qualifications
• Lived experiences in communities historically under-resourced and marginalized due to race, class, gender, etc.
• Experience using media to amplify needs of diverse communities
• Ability to use a variety of tools to reach the community, account for accessibility needs, and keep people engaged (ex. online tools, door-knocking, social media)
• Expertise in one or more of the Youth Justice Program’s issue areas, including education equity, juvenile justice, children's mental health, the foster system, etc.
• Familiarity with ethical approaches to youth organizing
• Familiarity with local and state legislative and budget processes
Email a cover letter or advocacy writing sample and resume to Rachael Deane at hiring@justice4all.org. If you’re able, please submit your application as a single PDF titled “[date submitted in yyyy.mm.dd format][last name][first name][position sought].” Please include “Youth Justice Program Organizer” in the email subject.
Applicants are encouraged to highlight experience in working with low-income individuals and communities, connections to organizing in the youth justice space, any other experience in organizing for change and reform and/or coalition building. Please also highlight any specialized skills, such as fluency in a second language or technology skills.
The Legal Aid Justice Center is an equal opportunity employer, committed to inclusive hiring and dedicated to diversity in our work and staff. We strongly encourage candidates of all identities, experiences, and communities to apply. The Legal Aid Justice Center is committed to strengthening the voices of our low-income clients, working in collaboration with community partners, and rooting out the inequities that keep people in poverty. We strive to take on the issues that have broad impact on our client communities and to be responsive to client input. Recognizing the particular impact of racism on our clients and staff, we devote special attention to dismantling racial injustice. All applicants must be dedicated to working in and sustaining an environment that enables staff and clients to feel empowered, valued, respected, and safe. In reviewing applications, we look for evidence that applicants have experience and/or thoughtfulness in working with traditionally marginalized populations.