Senior Community Organizer, INFRA

The NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the country’s first and foremost civil and human rights law organization. Founded in 1940 under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall, who subsequently became the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice, LDF was launched at a time when the nation’s aspirations for equality and due process of law were stifled by widespread state-sponsored racial inequality. From that era to the present, LDF’s mission has been transformative — to achieve racial justice, equality, and an inclusive society.

LDF’s litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education programs in the substantive areas of criminal justice, economic justice, education, and political participation seek to ensure the fundamental and basic human rights of all people to quality education, economic opportunity, the right to vote and fully participate in democracy, and the right to a fair and just judicial system. LDF continues to make an impact in the area of public service and was recognized by Fast Company as one of its 2023 Brands That Matter under its public service category.

LDF operates in a hybrid work environment where employees are expected to be in the office a minimum of two days per week with occasional travel to other regions for conferences, community events, and staff retreats. The role may require travel up to 50% of the time.  

The Senior Organizer for Community Organizing will play a critical role in advancing the department’s mission to build Black political power and dismantle systems of racial injustice. This individual will oversee the management of multiple high-impact programs, lead cross-functional project teams, and build sustainable infrastructure to support long-term advocacy campaigns across LDF’s four programmatic pillars: Criminal Justice, Education Equity, Economic Justice, and Political Participation.

The Senior Organizer will supervise staff, support with strategic planning efforts, and ensure effective operational execution across the department. They will be responsible for building systems that support staff development, program evaluation, and project impact. The ideal candidate is an experienced racial justice strategist and project manager, deeply committed to racial equity and community power-building.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Program Management (30%)

•  Lead the planning, implementation, and evaluation of multiple program initiatives and campaigns.
• Develop comprehensive project scopes, goals, timelines, and deliverables in coordination with department leadership and stakeholders.
• Manage project budgets, staffing plans, contracts, and vendor relationships associated with major department projects and convenings.
• Track performance metrics and reporting benchmarks aligned with strategic goals.

Operations & Infrastructure Development (25%)

• Develop internal systems, templates, workflows, and documentation to increase the department’s operational efficiency and impact.
•  Coordinate department-wide calendars, filing systems, onboarding processes, and internal knowledge sharing.
• Support department planning processes and track progress against department-wide priorities and strategic initiatives.

Team Supervision and Staff Development (15%)

• Directly supervise a team of 3–5 staff, including administrative and programmatic employees.
• Conduct performance reviews, goal setting, and development planning for direct reports.
• Serve as a thought partner and capacity builder across program teams to strengthen organizing practices.

Campaign & Curriculum Development (15%)

• Consult with organizers on developing educational materials, campaign work plans, and strategies for intersectional impact.
• Facilitate workshops, trainings, and community meetings to support organizing and leadership development.
• Act as a secondary campaign lead in targeted geographies or issue areas to provide strategic and logistical support.

Event Management & Convenings (10%)

• Lead the coordination of major LDF-sponsored conferences and convenings including logistics, content planning, and evaluation.
• Manage event budgets and timelines; coordinate cross-team collaboration for successful implementation.

Administrative & Special Projects (5%)

• Respond to emergent organizational needs and lead special projects aligned with LDF’s racial justice mission.
• Represent the Community Organizing Department at cross-departmental planning meetings and external partner engagements as needed.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in program management, organizing, campaign work, or nonprofit operations including at least 3 years in a supervisory or senior campaign role.
• Proven experience managing complex projects, supervising staff, and improving organizational systems.
• Strong strategic planning, facilitation, and project tracking skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to racial justice, Black liberation, and social change movements.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.

Preferred:

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (Liberal Arts, Political Science, Sociology, Public Administration, etc.).
• Experience with digital project management tools such as Asana, Trello, Whova, or Airtable.
• Experience working in Black-led, grassroots, or legal advocacy organizations.

This is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, skills, efforts, requirements, or working conditions associated with the job. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed as assigned. This description does not constitute a contract of employment, and LDF may exercise its employment-at-will rights at any time.

The salary range for this position is:

$85,600-$90,725 (DC)

$77,600-$82,460 (ATL) 

LDF offers all eligible employees a generous benefits package.  To learn more, click the following link: 2025 Benefits Overview.

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