Position: Community Organizer and Project Outreach Coordinator
Location: Laredo, Texas
Hours: 40 hours, exempt
Salary: $50,000+ commensurate with experience
Benefits: 2% employer contribution into a SIMPLE IRA, employee sponsored health care, paid holidays, 10 days earned sick leave per calendar year, 10 days paid vacation per calendar year, escalating with years of service

ABOUT RGISC

Founded in 1994, the Rio Grande International Study Center (RGISC) is a research and advocacy environmental nonprofit dedicated to protecting and preserving our region’s most important natural resources including the Rio Grande, our only source of drinking water. RGISC’s mission is to preserve and protect the Rio Grande-Rio Bravo, its watershed, and its environment through awareness, advocacy, research, education, and binational collaboration for the benefit of present and future generations. Our work focuses on water security, river restoration, air quality, habitat protection, neighborhood engagement, and climate resilience. By advancing science-based and community-driven initiatives, we can foster a deeper connection to nature and empower Laredoans to help conserve a vital river ecosystem and the biodiversity that it sustains.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Community Organizer and Project Outreach Coordinator role is largely field-based position responsible for strengthening RGISC’s presence and relationships within Laredo communities most directly affected by environmental, public health, and infrastructure challenges. This role focuses on community organizing, relationship-building, and project-based outreach, and serves as a consistent and trusted point of contact between RGISC and impacted individuals and groups.

This position is designed to advance RGISC’s environmental goals and strategies in South Texas by deepening community participation, identifying and supporting neighborhood leaders, and fostering long-term trust across multiple RGISC initiatives related to air, water, and land. 

The position will support several priority initiatives that involve community organizing around air quality, tree canopy, tree equity, neighborhood engagement, border wall advocacy, and rapid response moments. The individual in this role will work to recruit community members to attend and participate in local events and ensure that community voices are heard and meaningfully integrated into our project goals and decision-making.  Success in this role is measured by the strength and durability of relationships built, the input of community members, the credibility that RGISC maintains in the field, and the organization’s ability to engage communities thoughtfully and consistently with complex and sometimes polarizing environmental issues. RGISC works with frontline communities to support just and equitable environmental goals that shift existing power structures and build civic engagement. While some office-based coordination is required, the role is intentionally oriented toward on-the-ground engagement, with flexibility to meet people where they are in a warm, open, and friendly manner.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Community Organizing & Relationship Building

• Maintain a weekly and visible presence in priority neighborhoods to build long-term relationships with residents, informal leaders, and community connectors.
• Assist with door-to-door canvassing and the coordination of local meetings and events.
• Identify, cultivate, and support neighborhood leadership connected to RGISC’s core initiatives, to participate in events and provide input into project goals.
• Identify local venues, vendors, and businesses to support community events.
• Build relationships with key decision makers that can advance our project goals.
• Build trust through consistent engagement, transparency, and follow-through, particularly in communities with historic distrust of institutions.

Project-Based Outreach & Engagement

• Support community outreach and participation across RGISC initiatives that include:
  • CompARTE Laredo (11 inner city neighborhood initiative along the river and Zacate Creek)
  • Adelante con Árboles (8 campus partnership with Laredo ISD to boost tree canopy and teach urban forestry and climate change principles)
  • Border Wall advocacy (community awareness, dialogue, and engagement in a polarized context)
  • PM2.5 / Binational Air Council (hyperlocal air sensors network, community participation, and binational coordination support with Nuevo Laredo partners)
• Translate complex or technical projects into clear, accessible conversations rooted in community concerns and lived experiences.
• Serve as a connector with decision makers and technical experts, and target communities to increase awareness, build confidence, and boost civic participation.
• Support community meetings, workshops, canvassing efforts, and town halls with an emphasis on messaging, facilitation, and trust-building.
• Conduct media interviews and make presentations before different groups and entities
• Help gather local stories and images to assist in preparing visual content.

Community Insight & Internal Coordination

• Gather and synthesize community feedback, concerns, and insights to inform project teams and organizational leadership with team partners and management.
• Coordinate closely and communicate frequently with internal project managers and staff to align outreach approaches and messaging across initiatives.
• Help prevent misinformation and confusion by ensuring consistent, grounded communication in the field.

Supporting Organizational Goals

• Strengthen RGISC’s role as a trusted, credible, and community-centered organization
• Contribute to long-term movement-building by connecting people, projects, and issues across neighborhoods
• Support documentation and internal communication necessary to sustain organizing and outreach work
• Perform other relevant work duties, as assigned by the Executive Director.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE 

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent lived and professional experience in community organizing, community engagement, social justice, public health, environmental studies, education, communications, or a related field
• Demonstrated experience in community organizing, community engagement, outreach, or grassroots work, particularly in historically underserved or overburdened communities
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build trust across diverse perspectives, including in emotionally charged or polarized environments
• Comfort with field-based work, including frequent time spent in neighborhoods, evenings, afterhours, or weekends as needed, and informal engagement settings
• Ability to communicate clearly and respectfully with community members, partners, and internal teams
• Strong organizational judgment, including the ability to prioritize relationship-building over short-term outputs
• Excellent time management skills, self-starter, and ability to work within a team to advance creative problem-solving solutions to the work
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) with strong written and verbal skills
• Project management strengths: planning, timelines, partner coordination, budgeting, and follow through
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office/SharePoint application and virtual meeting apps, Teams and Zoom; comfort with social media/content basics
• Valid driver’s license and insurance, and reliable transportationend events.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience working on issues related to environmental justice, public health, water, air quality, land use, or infrastructure
• Prior involvement in arts-based, youth-focused, or culturally rooted community programs
• Experience supporting community meetings, town halls, or workshops in complex or high-tension contexts
• Familiarity with cross-border or binational community engagement
• Experience working alongside technical teams while serving as a bridge to community understanding
• Deep knowledge of Laredo neighborhoods, community networks, and informal leadership structures.
• Willingness to learn new skills.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Reports to Executive Director or designee; collaborates across RGISC program areas.

DEADLINE: Accepting applications until the position is filled.

DISCLAIMER

The information presented indicates the general nature and level of work expected of employees in this classification. It is not designed to contain, or to be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, qualifications and objectives required of employees assigned to this job.

RGISC is an equal opportunity employer where an applicant’s qualifications are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other basis prohibited by law.