Associate Community Organizer

Who We Are

Capital Area Justice Ministry (CAJM) is a community-led, grassroots organization that brings together our area's diverse faith community to address the root causes of serious community problems.

CAJM is part of the Direct Action and Research Training Center (DART), one of the largest faith-based community organizing networks in the country. At DART, we believe that fighting for racial and economic justice is fundamental to our identity as people of faith, and we know that winning justice requires having power in the public arena. We've been organizing interfaith coalitions to build power since 1982.  A few of our victories include:

• Hundreds of millions of dollars invested in affordable housing
• Implementation of fair discipline policies in hundreds of schools, breaking the school-to-prison pipeline
• $950 million invested in public transportation 
• Criminal justice reforms resulting in 50,000 fewer arrests of children

The Work

As an organizer in the DART network, you’ll spend most of your time in the community, building relationships of trust with everyday people of faith. You’ll engage them in claiming their own powerful voice and developing their leadership as you guide them through conducting research into community problems and creating winnable issue campaigns. You’ll also recruit new congregations, organize public direct action events, and coordinate an annual fundraising drive.

Who You Are

You have a passion for justice, and have acted on it.

You can build strong relationships with people from all walks of life. 

You may or may not be personally religious. Either way, you have a genuine respect for all faith traditions and are excited about uniting faith communities to live out their call to “do justice.”

DART organizations are diverse coalitions that include communities of color, low-to-moderate-income communities, and immigrant communities. We strongly encourage people from these backgrounds, as well as fluent speakers of Spanish, to apply.

Other Requirements

• Ability to work some evenings and weekends to accommodate community members who work during the day.
• A valid driver’s license and access to a reliable car.
• No prior organizing experience is necessary, as we provide the training you’ll need to be successful.
• Ability to travel for training events throughout the year.

Training and Development

DART invests heavily in training and development of our team members. During your first year, we provide comprehensive professional development through an initial five-day classroom-style training; five-months of intensive, on-the-job training; one-on-one mentoring from experienced DART consultants; and three multi-day trainings with organizers across the country. Ongoing professional development continues through individualized coaching and mentoring, as well as local, regional, and national staff trainings.

Compensation and Benefits

• $50,000 starting salary
• Health insurance reimbursement
• Employer retirement contributions of 7.5% after one year -- no match required
• Flexible scheduling
• Parental leave
• Generous vacation leave
• Mileage reimbursement
• Relocation assistance
• Comprehensive, on-the-job training through the DART Organizers Institute
   

Learn more
Visit www.thedartcenter.org to learn more about the work of DART and CAJM.