Grassroots Tenant and Worker Advocate

Job description

The Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization serving low-wage workers, tenants, and their families throughout the Kansas City region and Missouri. With legal representation, community education, and policy advocacy, HCJF helps tenants and workers address housing instability, eviction attempts, unsafe living conditions, wage theft, workplace discrimination, and other barriers to economic security.

HCJF carries out this mission through five major programs: the Right to Counsel (RTC) Program, which handles 600 eviction cases each year; the Safe Homes for All Program, which works to eliminate unhealthy conditions in residential rental housing; the Stable Homes Program, which challenges private business attempts to unlawfully opt out of affordability requirements imposed by the federal government; the Worker Power Project, which protects workers' rights as they organize for unions and fight to regain stolen wages; and the Heartland Leadership and Action Committees, which collaborates with tenants and workers that served as our clients to lead grassroots and democratic mobilizations. 

HCJF seeks a passionate and creative Grassroots Tenant Advocate to join our team. This role focuses on building strong relationships with tenants and low-wage workers to support impact litigation, expand community education, and strengthen grassroots leadership. The Grassroots Tenant Advocate will play a key role in connecting directly affected communities with legal advocacy efforts, ensuring their voices shape strategies for systemic change. We are a collaborative and supportive staff committed to winning better housing and jobs for all. 

Position Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience in organizing communities or coalitions to advance reforms to public systems; 

• Demonstrated commitment to valuing, highlighting and building the capacity of impacted communities to effectively organize initiatives;

• Demonstrated ability to plan, implement and coordinate successful community outreach and public education campaigns;

• Strong communication skills, including public speaking, facilitation, and one-on-one engagement;

• Self-starter with the ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently;

• Able to work collaboratively with coworkers;

• Deep commitment to social justice, housing rights, and/or workers’ rights;

• Extensive travel to both urban and rural areas around Kansas City, MO is required; and

• Must have a valid driver’s license;

• and Fluency in Spanish is preferred but not required.

Key responsibilities and duties include:

• Tenant & Worker Organizing

• Build and maintain relationships with tenants and low-wage workers to support campaigns tied to HCJF Legal Program areas.

• Investigate tenant habitability complaints and worker employment issues. 

• Collaborate and coordinate closely with HCJF attorneys to develop and sustain a multi-disciplinary and community-informed approach to HCJF’s various advocacy efforts.

• Conduct outreach through door-knocking, phone banking, and community events.

• Community Engagement, Know Your Rights & Public Education

• Plan, coordinate, and implement “Know Your Rights” workshops and other public education events alongside attorneys. 

• Collaborate with legal staff to translate complex legal concepts into accessible information.

• Facilitate meetings, town halls, and community forums with tenants and workers.

• Leadership Development & Collaboration

• Work closely with community leaders to support a leadership committee of tenants and workers.

• Cultivate external relationships with national, regional, and local partner organizations and allies to strengthen collective impact.

This is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, skills, efforts or requirements or working conditions associated with the job. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed as assigned.