Position Summary:

Mastery Schools of Camden seeks to organize a deep and broad base of parents and schools committed to organizing to ensure high-quality schools for every family and to create positive change in the communities and city we serve.  A Lead Organizer will build Parent Action Teams at each Mastery school and city-wide; organize effective actions and campaigns on issues; analyze and navigate the education and political landscape in Camden and New Jersey; and develop parent leaders. The ideal candidate knows the culture and politics of Camden, NJ; is bilingual in Spanish and English; has successfully organized in diverse communities; is passionate about education and justice; and has a good sense of humor.

Duties and Responsibilities:

1.Build Parent Action Teams

• Conduct one on one relational meetings with parents and guardians to identify issues and parent leaders.  To accomplish this the candidate must initiate and sustain a robust and regular schedule of 10 – 15 one on one meetings per week.
• Organize Parent Action Teams at Mastery’s 6 Camden schools and build a Mastery-wide Action Team able to take action on both local neighborhood and city-wide issues, including safety and overcoming any barriers to Mastery’s ability to be high-quality schools of choice.
• Develop parent leaders, including designing and conducting leadership training

2.Develop Strategy and Organize Effective Actions and Campaigns

• Understand and navigate the political landscape and develop strategic relationship with key external players – elected officials and other organizations and partners.
• Research and analyze issues to design winnable and effective strategies.
• Design strategy and implement organizing campaigns that result in tangible success, increased parent leadership and an expanded parent power base.
• Maintain records and systems of accountability and use data to evaluate and plan.
• Manage, as needed, seasonal or part-time outreach staff to build relationships through door-to-door home visits, phone calls, sign-on campaigns, or other outreach efforts with parents, businesses, community groups and houses of worship
• Work collaboratively and effectively, with organizing team, school leadership teams and colleagues throughout Mastery, bringing problem-solving, smarts, creativity, and flexibility to every challenge.

Qualifications:

• Strong leadership skills and a demonstrated capacity to produce results.
• Team player who is a self-motivated "go-getter" with the ability to lead and motivate others.
• Curiosity in people’s stories and ability to initiate and build relationship with a wide and diverse range of people.
• Commitment to educational equity and excellence for all students.
• Knowledge of public education, charter schools, and political landscape highly desirable.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Excel, Word, PowerPoint.
• Strong oral and written communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent problem solver and creative and strategic thinker.
• Flexible and able to adapt quickly to changing priorities.
• Fluency in Spanish preferred.
• Available for night and weekend meetings and events.
• Must have a vehicle. 

Education and Experience:

• Minimum five years of professional experience in organizing, politics, education, business development, social services or relevant field.
• Postsecondary degree required, Masters preferred.
• Experience with grassroots field organizing, including experience in political or issues campaigns, or leading a field organizing team a plus.
• Self-awareness with the ability to reflect and adapt to diverse environments.
• Cultural competency and experience working with families from diverse ethnic and class backgrounds.

Physical Requirements:

Ability to physically perform the duties and to work in the environmental conditions required such as traveling to network campuses and maneuvering in office space-reaching file cabinets, filing, faxing, coping, typing, mailing, and making phone calls; Must be able to sit for up to four (4) hours looking at a computer monitor, using a keyboard and mouse and typing.

About Mastery:

We believe educational inequity is the most pressing social problem facing our country and the civil rights issue of our day. Mastery exists to help solve this problem. Our ultimate goal is to create a model urban school district that serves all students with excellence. We are organized around one driving mission: All students learn the academic and personal skills they need to be truly prepared for postsecondary success and able to pursue their dreams. To fulfill this mission, we attend to the whole child – academically and emotionally – matching high expectations for students with high levels of support.

Mastery Charter Schools is a nonprofit network of more than 24 schools serving over 14,000 students in Philadelphia and Camden.   We are the largest turnaround school operator in the nation and have been lauded by President Obama and the US Department of Education for our ability to dramatically boost academic achievement in historically low-performing schools.  

We know neighborhood schools matter, all students deserve access to a great education, and the people in our building can grow and develop sustainably to make the biggest impact possible in this work.

Mastery Charter Schools is an equal opportunity employer and actively encourages applications from people of all backgrounds. Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience. We offer a full benefits program and opportunities for professional growth.