Youth Organizing Institute
804 Old Fayetteville St.
Durham, NC 27701

CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR – Part-Time Position: The Youth Organizing Institute’s campaign director has primary responsibility for the Solutions Not Suspensions Campaign. Should have an orientation to youth organizing, campaign development, and adult allyship.

Salary Range: $15/hr, approximately 50 hours/month (10-15 hrs/week)

About the Youth Organizing Institute
The Youth Organizing Institute (YOI) formed in March 2010 to increase the representation of youth in the debate to dismantle the Wake County school system’s diversity policy. What became apparent was the absence of the voices of the low-wealth students and parents of color in the debate, those most affected by the achievement gap and by the school-to-prison pipeline.

The Youth Organizing Institute is a leadership development and organizing training program to support low-income youth, LGBTQ youth, and youth of color. Since 2010, the Youth Organizing Institute has enjoyed continued success. YOI provides grounding analysis of systems of oppressions and the history of grassroots movements for change. In addition to our Summer Freedom Schools, we anchor the NC Coalition for Education Justice, which is engaged in a Solutions Not Suspensions campaign to to decrease out of school suspensions, advocate for restorative justice programs, reduce SROs in schools, and increase councilors and funding for quality. culturally sensitive education. We work with allies to mobilize students, parents, and communities to end the school-to-prison-pipeline.

Solutions Not Suspensions Campaign
Launched in October 2013, the Solutions Not Suspensions Campaign focuses on discriminatory and punitive disciplinary policies in our schools.  The primary goals of the campaign include ending out-of-school-suspensions, reducing and eliminating racial disparities in school discipline, and mandating restorative justice practices and programs.

All are encouraged to apply; we strongly encourage and prioritize applications from youth, people of color, queer and trans people, people with disabilities, and women.

Qualifications

  • 2+ years of organizing experience
  • Ability to commit to 1 full year in role
  • Reliable transportation and ability to travel between Wake, Durham, and Orange counties
  • Preferably based in Triangle area
  • Self-starter, timely, organized, works well in teams, ability to delegate tasks, direct communicator, able to vision with others
  • Demonstrated ability to center youth-leadership and youth organizing;
  • Demonstrated understanding of intergenerational organizing, coalition building, and broad-base unity;
  • Demonstrated understanding of systems of oppression, including but not limited to racism/white supremacy, classism, sexism/patriarchy, homophobia and transphobia, ageism, and ableism.

Responsibilities

  • Actively support the leadership of young people in the Solutions Not Suspensions Campaign
  • Build and maintain relationships with various decision makers, including but not limited to school board members, judges, school administrators and principals,
  • Work with the NC Coalition for Education Justice to develop, evaluate, and execute a 2 year strategy for SNS campaign
  • Document progression of campaign, including both qualitative and quantitative changes in school discipline
  • Work with YOI core staff to develop work plan
  • Attend bi-weekly YOI staff meetings
  • Convene bi-weekly YOI SNS campaign meetings
  • Work directly with executive director and development director on grants and reports
  • Work directly with communications director to develop media strategy
  • Supervise YOI’s youth organizers
  • Provide support to youth who work on SNS campaign to eliminate barriers to organizing, including but not limited to transportation
  • Build alliances with stakeholders and allies
  • Serve as liaison to our national partner, the Dignity in Schools Campaign by participating in conference calls, membership meetings, etc.

Please submit cover letter, resume, and three references to Elena Everett at elena@southernvision.org with the subject line “SNS Campaign Director Position.” The search will continue until the position is filled.

The Youth Organizing Institute is a project of the Southern Vision Alliance (a 501c(3) organization). Southern Vision Alliance incubates a 13-30 youth leadership pipeline in North Carolina, functioning as a grassroots intermediary to support youth-led, youth-centered organizing.