Chelsea Community Organizer

Chelsea, MA

The Neighborhood Developers

The Neighborhood Developers (TND) is hiring a full time, hybrid Chelsea Community Organizer to lead its community building efforts in Chelsea and support the team’s work in Revere.  Do you believe people with lived experience should determine the solutions to our most pressing issues?  Do you care about housing justice?  Do you want to stop displacement?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this position could be for you!

TND is a non-profit community development organization with a mission to create strong neighborhoods enabling community members to secure a stable home, achieve economic mobility, and determine their own future.  We build affordable homes, support households to achieve greater financial mobility, and, through our Community Building program, organize community leaders on issues related to neighborhood conditions as well as social and housing justice.  TND’s headquarters is in Chelsea, where it has operated since 1978.  The organization was invited into Revere in 2010, and since 2018, we are also offering some of our services in Everett.  For more information see www.theneighborhooddevelopers.org.

Our Community Building team creates opportunities that build person-to-person and people-to-place relationships, focuses on developing the skill and will of residents to take on leadership roles at TND and in our communities, and encourages civic engagement and activism to promote approaches and policies that stop displacement and preserve economic, social, ethnic, and racial diversity.  You can find a great graphic representation of our approach here.  In this position, you will have the opportunity to work with a network of engaged and empowered members of our community, help them build their ranks on a flexible work schedule that requires some evening and weekend work.  We offer competitive compensation and good benefits.

Duties and Responsibilities

  • Build relationships with community members through 1:1 meetings.
  • Facilitate and support the activities and events of local resident groups.
  • Recruit residents to the local resident groups and for leading events, such as the annual Bosson Park Block Party.
  • Help plan and implement leadership development programs, such as the TND’s Board Leadership Boot Camp.
  • Build a culture of resident leadership, civic engagement, and collective action.
  • Create and implement a work plan for our community building efforts in Chelsea (with assistance from the Director of Community Building).
  • Identify emerging needs, issues, and trends among residents related to housing, economic, and social justice.
  • Supervise volunteers, fellows, and service members as needed.
  • Maintain accurate records, produce timely written and verbal reports.
  • Provide general assistance for TND events, as needed.

Desirable Qualifications:

  • A commitment to TND’s  mission.
  • 3-5 years community organizing, outreach, or equivalent experience.
  • Ideally, prior experience and/or familiarity with one or more of the following: (1) affordable housing development, (2) placekeeping, (3) community planning, (4) project management, (5) equitable neighborhood planning, and (6) public space design and construction.
  • College graduate or equivalent experience.
  • Proven experience building trusting relationships across race, ethnicity, class, and generation.
  • Understanding of and/or experience working with government systems.
  • Bilingual English-Spanish, English-Khmer, and/or English-Arabic.
  • Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team, committed to the larger whole.
  • Responsible, self-motivated, and able to carry out and prioritize multiple ongoing projects.
  • Genuine enthusiasm for meeting, motivating, and involving people in community activities and developing collaborative community and municipal partnerships.
  • Excellent oral and written communication and facilitation skills, warm and engaging presence.
  • Skillful organizer with demonstrated initiative for problem-solving.
  • Strong computer skills (we regularly use Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Canva, DropBox, Salesforce, and Zoom).

To Apply:

Send a cover letter and a copy of your resume.

TND is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in hiring and it is important to us to bring members onto our team who are passionate about our mission and reflect the BIPOC, immigrant, and linguistic backgrounds of the communities we serve.

Opportunity Communities (OppCo) provides human resources for TND. 


JOB CODE: 1000106