Community Engagement Coordinator

Description

The Tahirih Justice Center is a national, nonprofit organization that serves women, girls, and all immigrant survivors of gender-based violence. Our interdisciplinary, trauma-informed model of service combines free legal and social services with bridge-building policy advocacy and research-based training and education. Our programs efficiently and effectively leverage donated professional services from a vast network of attorneys, medical professionals, and other experts to serve as many immigrant survivors as possible. By amplifying the experiences of survivors in communities, courts, and Congress, Tahirih’s mission is to create a world in which all people share equal rights and live in safety and with dignity.?[Learn more about our commitment to Anti-Racism.] 

Job Summary: ? Tahirih Justice Center seeks a full-time Community Engagement Coordinator to join its Houston, Texas office. Rooted in the leadership and insights of immigrant survivors, the Houston Policy & Advocacy team drives Tahirih’s mission in transforming the local and regional policies and practices that directly impact immigrant women, girls, and all survivors of gender-based violence.  The Community Engagement Coordinator supports the advancement of local and regional strategies that combat the barriers immigrant survivors’ face to obtain safety and dignity under the law. Reporting to the Houston Policy & Advocacy Manager, this role will be responsible for facilitating Tahirih’s Kitchen Table Conversations program, an innovative, cohort-based, monthly curriculum that brings together directly impacted immigrant survivors in the Houston area to tackle issues of safety and justice, deliver leadership development, including political education, advocacy skills, and anti-oppression trainings, and convene healing circles. Open to the community, the Kitchen Table Conversations program offers an inclusive and welcoming experience for all survivors who want to engage with systemic and social change to end the climate of fear, gender-based violence, and empower immigrant communities. Additionally, the Community Engagement Coordinator assists in pushing forward advocacy campaigns on the local and state level and engages in external trainings and outreach to service providers, leaders and policy makers, and impacted community members. 

Essential Functions:  

Organizing and Outreach - 60% 

• Facilitate regular Kitchen Table Conversation meetings. Implement existing curriculum and develop new training and curricula based on current events, participant interest, and program goals, with support from the Houston Policy & Advocacy Manager and local program staff. 
• Coach Kitchen Table Conversation participants on systems and social change advocacy methods. Together with members, co-develop priority issue areas for policy advocacy and co-create strategy under the guidance of the Houston Policy and Advocacy Manager. 
• Plan and coordinate logistics of Policy and Advocacy events, including membership meetings and outreach events identified by the Coordinator and as assigned by Houston Policy and Advocacy Manager. 
• Facilitate “Know Your Rights” and community education trainings, and staff tabling events for impacted community as well as partner organizations about Tahirih and our local and national services, the rights of immigrant survivors of violence, and opportunities to get involved in advocacy. 
• Maintain databases for public engagement activities and contacts. 
• Coordinate special projects assigned. 

Support the advancement of Tahirih’s local and statewide advocacy priorities – 40% 

• Represent Tahirih Houston in local and state advocacy and coalition spaces/community partnerships. 
• Contribute to coalition strategy and campaign development, rooting contributions in the lived experience and insights of Tahirih’s community of survivor leaders and Tahirih clients. 
• Assist with issue-related research and analysis. 
• Participate in meetings with government officials to push forward advocacy initiatives. 
• Draft ‘Know Your Rights’ materials and other content for outward facing publications, such as one-pagers, policy memos, and formal testimony. 
• Support the Houston Policy and Advocacy Manager and Tahirih’s Development Team to contribute to fundraising efforts by helping to identify potential funders, cultivate relationships, and supporting applications for funding.  

Requirements

• At least two years of experience working with grassroots organizing, community engagement, or violence prevention 
• Familiarity with social just