Civic Engagement Director

 Position Location: This position will be in ACT’s offices in New York, Pennsylvania, or DC/MD/VA. 
Reports to: Deputy Executive Director of Organizing and Membership
FLSA Status: Salaried- Exempt 
Employment Type: Full-time
Hours: Monday-Friday, hybrid position, requires a mix of remote work, work on site, and in the field. Regular travel of 1-2 times per month to other ACT offices is required.
Salary: The baseline salary for this position is $105,000; additional compensation is negotiable based on experience.
 

About Us: African Communities Together (ACT) is an organization of African immigrants fighting for civil rights, opportunity, and a better life for our families here in the U.S. and worldwide. ACT empowers African immigrants to integrate socially, get ahead economically, and engage civically. We develop our members as grassroots leaders who take action to make social change. Since its founding, ACT has supported thousands of African immigrants with direct services, trained hundreds of new leaders, and led successful policy campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels that have impacted hundreds of thousands of immigrants. ACT’s African immigrant membership comes from a diverse range of nationalities, cultures, and languages, is religiously diverse, and is predominantly working-class and low-income. We have offices in New York City, Philadelphia, and the Washington, D.C. metro area.

Position Description: ACT seeks an experienced Civic Engagement Director to manage its civic engagement initiatives in New York, Pennsylvania, and DC/MD/VA chapters, including anticipation of expanding our political participation in a 501(c)(4) sister organization. The Civic Engagement Director will be responsible for designing, training, implementing, and managing programs in voter registration, voter education, and Get Out the Vote efforts and leading activities, such as door-to-door canvassing and phone banking, in our chapter locations as needed. This position works collaboratively with ACT’s Chapter Directors and Executive Director to advance our mission, goals, and objectives.

Key responsibilities include: 

• Campaign Development and Leadership: Work with Chapter Directors to develop campaign plans, set goals, develop lists and materials, build teams, and run programs.  
• Integrated Voter Engagement: Work with Chapter Directors to integrate voter education and engagement into chapter programs and campaigns.  
• Data Management: Organize and analyze contact data, including membership lists, voter lists, field/data tracking and demographic information. 
• Base-Building: Development and implementation of base-building strategies in conjunction with policy advocacy and membership.
• Development of Affiliated 501(c)(4): Working closely with the Executive Director and Deputy ED of Organizing and Membership, to launch a 501(c)(4) sister organization, campaigns, and seek fundraising opportunities. 
• Fundraising:  Working with the Executive Director and Development Director, raise funds to support civic engagement campaigns and programs.  
• Public Leadership:  Represent ACT in partnerships, coalitions, campaigns, and at public events. 

   Qualifications:

• At least 5 years of demonstrated experience in civic engagement programs, political campaigns, labor unions, or community organizing.
• Ability to develop and communicate plans, goals, strategy, and outcomes clearly and persuasively, orally, in writing and in digital presentation.
• Strong understanding of issues related to political participation, civic engagement in African communities and knowledge of the political landscape in Pennsylvania, New York, or DC/MD/VA preferred.
• Cultural competence and significant experience with African immigrant communities or within the social justice sector.
• Experience recruiting, training canvassers or volunteers, creating budgets, and tracking data with software including VAN/Voter files.
• Ability to succeed in a collaborative community environment, including accountability to goals, working independently, prioritizing, and thriving in a diverse group of staff, volunteers, and communities.
• Organized in a fast-paced campaign environment, work under time pressure, meet deadlines, and be flexible.
• Alignment with ACT’s mission and values.  
• Fundraising experience, particularly for electoral or civic engagement work, is desirable.
• Proficiency in English is required. Fluency in a widely spoken African language or French is desirable.
• BA/BS degree; Master’s degree preferred or relevant experience.

Application Process:

To apply, please submit your resume along with a brief cover letter describing your interest in the position.

Applicants are encouraged to submit applications by April 31st, 2025; however, applications will be accepted until the position is filled. We recognize that it is highly unlikely that someone meets 100% of the qualifications for the role. Studies have shown that people of the global majority and female-identifying candidates in particular are likely to “count themselves out” of otherwise well-matched opportunities due to this fact. If much of this job description describes you, please apply for this role. 

Equal Opportunity Employer

ACT is an affirmative action employer and strongly supports the social goals of affirmative action. We therefore make special efforts to recruit individuals from groups that are historically under-represented in professional environments, or that suffer from broader societal discrimination.