Senior Grassroots Organizer

HIAS Inc; Silver Spring, Northern (MD, KY); On-site; USD 80,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

HIAS Inc. is seeking a Senior Grassroots Organizer to strengthen state and local advocacy for immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees.

You will lead a portfolio of priority states, developing strategies and mobilizing Jewish, multi-faith, and immigrant-rights coalitions. The role collaborates across Advocacy and Communications to shape messaging, trainings, and tools, while tracking outcomes and funding metrics.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant field or equivalent combination of education and experience required.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in grassroots/grasstops organizing, advocacy campaigns, coalition-building, community engagement or related work.
• Demonstrated ability to design and implement advocacy or organizing strategies with clear goals, timelines, metrics, and partner engagement plans.
• Experience building trusted relationships with diverse partners, including advocacy coalitions, faith communities, immigrant-rights organizations and community leaders.
• Experience working with Jewish communities, synagogues, Jewish social justice organizations, or broader Jewish communal engagement networks strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of immigration, refugee, asylum, detention, or immigration enforcement policy issues preferred.
• Experience working at the state or local level, particularly in one or more priority states, preferred.
• Strong written, verbal, facilitation, and public communication skills, including the ability to translate complex policy issues into accessible advocacy materials.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to identify field gaps, synthesize learning, and recommend practical campaign adjustments.
• Highly organized, collaborative, and self-directed, with sound judgment, discretion, cultural humility, and the ability to navigate complex community and coalition dynamics.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends and to travel domestically as needed.

Responsibilities

• Develops and manages HIAS’ state/local grassroots advocacy strategy for an assigned portfolio of priority states, ensuring alignment with national policy priorities, Community Engagement objectives, and available grant outcomes.
• Identifies state and local policy opportunities related to immigrant rights, immigration enforcement, detention, and related protection issues, and translates those opportunities into actionable grassroots campaign strategies.
• Builds, strengthens, and sustains partnerships with Jewish community institutions, multi-faith partners, immigrant-rights coalitions, and local/state advocacy networks to expand HIAS’ impact.
• Mobilizes HIAS’ community base and partner networks to participate in local and state advocacy campaigns, including campaign education, partner outreach, public engagement, and in-district advocacy opportunities.
• Designs and delivers advocacy trainings, briefings, campaign tools, and educational resources that equip partners and community stakeholders to take informed and coordinated action.
• Serves as a HIAS representative in relevant local, state, faith-based, and coalition spaces, ensuring external engagement is consistent with HIAS’ mission, values, and policy priorities.
• Collaborates with Advocacy, Communications, Revenue, and Community Engagement colleagues to develop campaign messaging, action alerts, toolkits, talking points, website content, and funder-facing materials.
• Tracks campaign progress, partner engagement, advocacy activities, and grant-related metrics; uses data and learning to inform strategy adjustments and contribute to donor reports and proposals.
• Monitors developments in assigned states and provides timely analysis and recommendations to inform HIAS’ broader advocacy and community engagement strategy.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Skills

Grassroots organizing

Coalition-building

Advocacy campaigns

Community engagement

Public communication

Education

Undergraduate degree or equivalent

Job description

Location(s): Hybrid or Remote - Silver Spring, MD or New York, NY or United States

POSITION SUMMARY

The Senior Grassroots Organizer will strengthen HIAS’ state and local advocacy capacity by building and mobilizing grassroots support for immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees, and other forcibly displaced people in the United States. Working within the Community Engagement team and in close partnership with Advocacy and Communications colleagues, the role will manage a portfolio of 3-4 priority states and advance campaigns that align with HIAS’ national policy priorities and local/state advocacy opportunities.

The role will be responsible for developing state-specific organizing strategies, cultivating Jewish, multi-faith, immigrant-rights, and cross-sector partnerships, and increasing community participation in advocacy efforts related to immigration enforcement, detention, and the protection of immigrant rights. Success will be measured by the strength and growth of partner networks, the quality and execution of state-level campaign strategies, and the role’s contribution to policy, legislative, and community power-building outcomes. Core to this work is a commitment to strengthen existing collaborations and building them anew in selected states and communities, ensuring that HIAS adds distinct value.

This is a grant-funded position with an anticipated end date of September 30, 2028, and the possibility of a one-year extension contingent upon funding availability and organizational need.

Note, this position is based at our headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland or our office in New York, New York, and we will consider a remote option for applicants who live outside of commuting distance to either of our offices and are based in other states in which we are registered (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia).

The salary range for this position is $80,000-90,000.00.

The states being considered for this portfolio include California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

BROAD-BASED OUTCOMES

The Senior Grassroots Organizer will be accountable for building measurable grassroots advocacy capacity in a defined portfolio of states. Success in the role will be demonstrated through stronger Jewish, multi-faith, immigrant-rights, and cross-sector coalitions; increased partner participation in local and state advocacy campaigns; and progress toward policy or legislative outcomes that advance the rights and protection of immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees, and other forcibly displaced people.

Over time, the role is expected to help strengthen HIAS’ state and local advocacy infrastructure by identifying priority policy opportunities, developing aligned campaign strategies, mobilizing community partners, and ensuring that HIAS’ grassroots engagement efforts are connected to national policy and advocacy priorities.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Develops and manages HIAS’ state/local grassroots advocacy strategy for an assigned portfolio of priority states, ensuring alignment with national policy priorities, Community Engagement objectives, and available grant outcomes.
• Identifies state and local policy opportunities related to immigrant rights, immigration enforcement, detention, and related protection issues, and translates those opportunities into actionable grassroots campaign strategies.
• Builds, strengthens, and sustains partnerships with Jewish community institutions, multi-faith partners, immigrant-rights coalitions, and local/state advocacy networks to expand HIAS’ impact.
• Mobilizes HIAS’ community base and partner networks to participate in local and state advocacy campaigns, including campaign education, partner outreach, public engagement, and in-district advocacy opportunities.
• Designs and delivers advocacy trainings, briefings, campaign tools, and educational resources that equip partners and community stakeholders to take informed and coordinated action.
• Serves as a HIAS representative in relevant local, state, faith-based, and coalition spaces, ensuring external engagement is consistent with HIAS’ mission, values, and policy priorities.
• Collaborates with Advocacy, Communications, Revenue, and Community Engagement colleagues to develop campaign messaging, action alerts, toolkits, talking points, website content, and funder-facing materials.
• Tracks campaign progress, partner engagement, advocacy activities, and grant-related metrics; uses data and learning to inform strategy adjustments and contribute to donor reports and proposals.
• Monitors developments in assigned states and provides timely analysis and recommendations to inform HIAS’ broader advocacy and community engagement strategy.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant field or equivalent combination of education and experience required.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in grassroots/grasstops organizing, advocacy campaigns, coalition-building, community engagement or related work.
• Demonstrated ability to design and implement advocacy or organizing strategies with clear goals, timelines, metrics, and partner engagement plans.
• Experience building trusted relationships with diverse partners, including advocacy coalitions, faith communities, immigrant-rights organizations and community leaders.
• Experience working with Jewish communities, synagogues, Jewish social justice organizations, or broader Jewish communal engagement networks strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of immigration, refugee, asylum, detention, or immigration enforcement policy issues preferred.
• Experience working at the state or local level, particularly in one or more priority states, preferred.
• Strong written, verbal, facilitation, and public communication skills, including the ability to translate complex policy issues into accessible advocacy materials.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to identify field gaps, synthesize learning, and recommend practical campaign adjustments.
• Highly organized, collaborative, and self-directed, with sound judgment, discretion, cultural humility, and the ability to navigate complex community and coalition dynamics.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends and to travel domestically as needed.

EXTERNAL REPRESENTATION

All employees are expected to represent the organization in alignment with HIAS' mission, vision and values. Some employees of HIAS are expected to speak externally on behalf of the organization with clients, donors, affiliates, partners, etc. as part of their work-related responsibilities. Applicants for these roles acknowledge and accept the inherent risk associated with external representation of HIAS.