JOB DESCRIPTION: Insurgent Democratic Primary campaign for experienced Democratic Socialist organizer in progressive Western Queens district is now hiring a FIELD DIRECTOR (FD) to oversee a district-wide operation.
The Field Director will help design and begin immediate execution on a quick-ramp plan to register, activate and genuinely empower voters in a progressive and diverse but socioeconomically segregated district in Western Queens for a 25-year WoC community activist, Disability rights advocate and teacher, and will supervise any additional staff and paid canvassers as budget and organizing permit, each of whom may in turn manage a particular territory within the district. (The budget for the FD position itself, and for all other staff roles, are already raised and earmarked. Assuming performance goals are met and the working relationship is mutually satisfactory, this position is secure and funded through Primary Day.) The FD will be responsible for recruiting, hiring, cultivating, managing, troubleshooting on behalf of and leading by example for a diverse team of volunteers, interns and staff in a highly-competitive Democratic Primary race, starting immediately and ending Primary Day 2026.
The FD will report directly to the Campaign Manager, with frequent interactions with the Candidate, interns, volunteers, endorsing organizations, community leaders, and any others as necessary.
The FD will be expected to:
Reverse-timeline, plan and execute a winning, numbers-based, district-wide Field strategy, with targeted outreach to specific communities being of paramount importance;
Lead by example, building a regionalized but district-wide organization and immersing themselves in the trenches of that organization;
Delegate and train appropriately, ensuring both full role empowerment and QA/QC;
Empower and energize staff and volunteers;
Help target multiple overlapping outreach strategies;
Oversee Field logistical operations such as staging location recruitment, house party setup, stationery supplies, literature management, technology, etc;
Troubleshoot early and effectively, such that the organization is refined every day until Primary Day; and
Ultimately deliver the number of votes necessary to win a highly-competitive Primary on an ultra-short timetable.
The FD will be responsible for instituting a culture of discipline, energy, camaraderie and meaning, wherein volunteers and staff can see the real-world impact of the possibilities offered by this race, and are motivated by contextualization, building success and reliable support to return as often and work as hard as possible toward the team’s ultimate success.
REQUIREMENTS:
For this role, demonstrated success mobilizing volunteers is a must (if not electoral success, demonstrable and clearly-outlined explanation of how your work ethic, attitude, and knowledge of organizing principles proved decisive in the growth of a volunteer-led organization).
2-3 professional references are required that can speak to your passion for organizing and to your ability to empower staff and/or volunteers to feel bought-in and improve their performance.
Familiarity with VoteBuilder and other common Democratic tech tools, or ability to learn quickly, is extremely important.
Because this is a full-time-plus position of great responsibility over a short timeframe, the ability to work with all different kinds of people and to keep a cool head under intense pressure is critical.
NOTE: We will be fighting several machines simultaneously. The ability to put work, candidate quality and the principles of democratic community involvement above in-group popularity is a requirement for a cultural match. Our job is to ensure the community is consulted and all parts are included in positive ideological shifts, including public housing residents, immigrants and other groups traditionally left out of Leftist organizing for reasons of inertia, bias and lack of creativity. You will be well-supported, well-trained, given the benefit of the doubt at all times and working with joyful and capable comrades, with a genuinely kind and empowering Candidate and Campaign Manager.** But this is not a cookie-cutter or front-runner race. We can and will win, but we will not be the cool kids in citywide politics at the start - though we are appreciated by, and getting a great reception from, the community itself! If this is not you - if you’re looking to simply learn and coast with a race already assumed to win - no hard feelings, but this will not be your ideal environment!** We are assembling a team that enjoys a challenge and risks being questioned in service of the ideals we believe in, because NYC still has machines and they must be dismantled so we don’t risk passing machine tendencies on to the next generation of NYC politics.
If this sounds like a fun and worthy challenge… ** we think so, too! Send us an email and let’s talk.**
PREFERRED:
Familiarity with Queens’s basic demographics and political setup is extremely helpful.
Familiarity with NYC’s recent electoral history, with all its many complexities, will be important for best performance of this job.
Familiarity with blast email and text platforms, and the ability to both quickly deploy them under tight deadlines and pre-load them in advance, in order to avoid emergencies, is strongly preferred.
Comfort with and strength in Google Sheets, including basic text and number formulas, will help your acclimation process greatly.
Familiarity with Bengali, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin and/or Cantonese is a plus, but is not required.
SALARY AND BENEFITS: Competitive, negotiable based on experience, campaign-culture fit and qualifications.
TO APPLY: Submit resume, cover letter and 2-3 references to HiringAssemblyQueens@gmail.com, and put “Field Director” in the Subject.
We are an equal-opportunity employer. Women, LGBTQ+ folks, Disabled folks and People of Color are strongly encouraged to apply.