Open Position - Community Organizer

Community Organizer

We have a mission to spread happiness and we do that by showing what people can do when given a chance, by giving back and by making personal connections with our customers. We are a social enterprise with both a social and a business mission and they are indivisible. We are committed to diversity – more than half our employees have a differing ability – and to gratitude – we are fortunate to do what we do, and we Give Back – we have raised more than $450,000 for our charity partners.  We are a small business, yet all we want to do is change the world. And we do not want to remain small, we want to reach more people and have a bigger impact on the world.

We are looking for people who want to join our adventure, who want help us spread happiness. We are looking for people ready to commit to something larger than themselves, to having an impact in the world, to bring some more joy to the world. We are looking for people who are committed to excellence and want to work as part of a team where the mission matters more than politics or individual glory. We are looking for people who want to help us grow and who can grow with us so we can reach more people. 

The job in nutshell: We undertake a broad range of public and internal activities that we look to our Community Organizer to plan and organize. These events range from our Custom Sock Design Contest to company appearances at charity walks. You will coordinate visitors to our facility for tours as well as work groups with schools. You will work with our co-founders John and Mark to organize their speaking events and podcasts. And you will help plan and organize internal events ranging from company meals to planning days to learning events. We will depend on you for your creativity and organizational skills to plan and coordinate these activities. 

Much of our mission requires us to show the world what is possible, and our Community Organizer plays an essential role in making that happen. 

Interested? Read the job description carefully. Read about our mission and values at the end of this document. If you think this is the right job for you, send a cover letter telling us why you are the right person for this job and attach your resume. 

Overview 

We are in the business of spreading happiness and our Community Organizer plays a critical role in pursuing that mission. You will plan and organize our public and internal events. This requires creativity and a bit of showmanship as well as rigorous planning and attention to detail. We will depend on you for our public presentation. 

We want John’s Crazy Socks to be a great place to work and a place where each of us can do our best work. We are seeking people who view this opportunity as not just a job, not just a good career move, but a calling to make a difference in the world. Does this sound right for you? 

Here are the three criteria we will consider in hiring a person for this role: 

1. Mission: Do you understand and believe in our mission?
2. Culture: Do you share our values so that you will be a good fit in our organization and our organization will be the place where you can do your best work?
3. Skills: Do you have the skills to do the work?

Skills matter, but we have learned that culture and mission matter more. We have a diverse workforce and value diversity. We have put our mission and values at the end of this job description. Please read that information carefully to make sure we are a good fit for you. 

Our Community Organizer is the person who makes all of our public events happen. You take care of the details to make every event go off smoothly. Here are events and activities that we will look to you to plan and organize: 

• Company sponsored contests and events: Examples of these events include our Customer Sock Design Contest, Autism Can Do Scholarship, Anniversary Open House and our weekly online dance parties.
• Public Appearances by John and Mark and Company Employees: We participate in many public events like the Special Olympics Polar Plunge and Mark and John will make appearances at charity walks and fundraisers. You will help organize and coordinate these events.
• Speaking Engagements: John and Mark frequently make public speeches both in person and virtually. You will help organize these events and make sure that we leverage them for business opportunities by working with our B2B team.
• Podcasts Appearances: John and Mark appear on many podcasts, and you would help identify podcasts and arrange for their appearances.
• Tours and Work Groups: As part of our commitment to show what is possible for people with differing abilities, we host tours from schools and social service agencies. We also host work groups that give people their initial work experience. You will work with our Fulfillment Staff to organize these events.
• Internal Educational Events: We are a learning organization. You will help plan and organize internal learning events such as our Book Club, Lunch ‘n Learn and other learning sessions.

Since our public events are essential to our mission and brand, you will work as part of our marketing team and will also work closely with our B2B team.

You will mainly work from our Melville office, though we can arrange some remote work. There may be some travel involved if you need to join John and Mark for a speaking engagement or event out of town. Since you will organize our public events, you will need to attend local public events such as helping at a booth at a charity walk or Polar Plunge.

What is it like to work here? We invite you to share our mission to spread happiness and show what people with differing abilities can do. We work in a collegial environment that is fast paced, but not stressed out. No screaming, no tension. We enjoy each other’s company. Colleagues are supportive, not competitive. We work with meaning and purpose and share the happiness. If we can’t be happy on the job, how can we make our customers happy?

Your days will vary. You might be planning our Autism Can Do Scholarship, coordinating an appearance at a charity walk or lining up podcast appearances.  You will work in an open plan with other members of the John’s Crazy Socks Team.

Here are the traits that people who succeed here demonstrate: 

• Buy into the mission of delivering happiness
• Commit to excellence
• Be open, honest and transparent. We all make mistakes; the key is to admit them and learn from them.
• Never simply process, always look to do great work
• Learn, learn, and keep learning
• Work with the team as all of us are smarter than any one of us
• Believe in personal responsibility
• Look for ways to deliver WOWs
• Have fun

 Job requirements

•  Enthusiasm for the mission and job
• Look for opportunities to create fun events and to make events fun
• Be rigorous in organizing events. Use checklists and other tools to make sure events go off smoothly
• Pay attention to details
• The ability to work independently (we do not micro-manage)
• The ability to work on multiple-projects simultaneously
• The ability to write well: write clear, concise sentences and organize your ideas
• Basic computer skills (Word, Excel, Outlook)
• Good problem-solving abilities
• Curiosity
• Familiarity with social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)

 Here is what we offer: 

• Work with meaning and purpose
• A positive work environment
• $45,000 - $50,000 salary
• Benefits (health, dental, vision, 401(k), etc.)
• Staff lunch every Friday
• Bagel Tuesday
• A job you can enjoy and can make you feel proud

We think it is a great role and that this is a great place to work. But we are not for everyone. Consider the information we share and investigate our company (visit our website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, ask around). If what you learn excites you, then we urge you to apply. 

If you think we are the right place for you and this is the right job for you, we would love to hear from you. Please follow these instructions: 

1. Write a cover letter. In the letter, explain why you want this job and why you are the right person for this job.
2. Attach a resume.
3. Send the cover letter and resume to working@johnscrazysocks.com.
4. Please do not call or walk in.
5. We will not accept resumes without a cover letter.

 Thanks for considering John’s Crazy Socks. 

Our Mission 

We are a mission driven organization committed to spreading happiness. We were born out of the love between a father (Mark) and son (John) and a desire to make people happy. 

Because John has Down syndrome, we have a focus on showing what people with differing abilities can do. That means we hire people with differing abilities and we do all we can through videos, social media shares, warehouse tours, hosting work groups, speaking engagements, advocacy and donations to share the world what people with differing abilities can do. We are a small company, yet all we are trying to do is change the world. 

We know that Giving Back is essential and it is baked into everything we do. Our mission, our values and our business are personal. What we do matters. 

To fulfill this mission, we have created a social enterprise where we have both a social mission and a business mission. It is not enough to simply sell stuff; we need to have a purpose and make our values manifest in all that we do. We serve more than a profit motive, we serve our staff, our customers and our community. 

We built our organization on five pillars: 

• Inspiration and Hope: Employing people with differing abilities and showing what they can do.
• Giving Back: We start by pledging 5 percent of our earnings to the Special Olympics and many of our products raise money for charity partners like the National Down Syndrome Society and Autism Speaks.
• Awesome Products You Can Love: Starting with our socks, everything we offer must be fun and spread happiness.
• Making It Personal: Exemplified by the hand-written thank you note and candy that we put in every package, we make a personal connection with our customers.
• Making this a Great Place to Work:We want John’s Crazy Socks to be a place where people feel valued and respected and can do their best work. 

Our Culture 

We have a definite culture that we continue to nurture. Our culture reflects our mission and the values of all of us who work here. 

What We Believe and Who We Are 

1. Spreading Happiness: Everything we do manifests our desire to spread happiness with our colleagues, customers and community. We are passionate in our desire to wow people, to delight them, to make them smile inside and out. We want to lift others up and in doing so, we raise ourselves up. Spreading happiness comes first and everything follows.
2. Showing What People Can Do When Given an Opportunity: We see abilities, not disabilities. We seek the good in people. We build on empathy, compassion, and encouragement. We are welcoming and inclusive. We are the isle of misfit toys.
3. Fun:We love having fun epitomized by John dancing at work. We make work enjoyable. We are never boring or corporate. We can laugh at ourselves and love to laugh with others. Being fun means we get a little crazy sometimes, after all, we are John’s Crazy Socks. We share that fun with everyone.
4. Teamwork: We start by doing our job but are quick to help others. We know that all of us are smarter than any one of us and that together we can accomplish far more than we can alone. Our focus is on the mission and not competition with our colleagues. We respect and value our colleagues. We learn from our colleagues every day. We are egalitarian: the best idea wins. We show support and kindness, there is already too much meanness in the world. We enjoy collaboration and treasure our diversity.
5. Giving Back: We are fortunate to do what we do and are grateful. We are not takers: we give back with our spirit, talent, time and money so we can lift others. Each of us has a personal responsibility to give back to the community by giving our time, energy and expertise. It is not enough for the business to make donations. Giving back is a personal commitment of each person working here. That means volunteering, joining walks, helping in the community.
6. Dream Big: We are on a great big adventure. We are bold. We are risk takers. We are creative and love to innovate. We will reach beyond our grasp. Yes, we may fail, but we get right back up. We walk the path that others may not take and relish in that journey. We are not like every other company, do not follow in the paths made by others and do not live by their norms. We have an obligation to our dreams and that helps spread happiness. After all, we are trying to change the world.
7. Strive for excellence: No excuses. Our dreams are worthless if we do not execute. Our dreams are the promises we make, the execution makes the dreams real. We will go the extra step to get things done. If something does not work, we admit it and change it. If we can make something better, we do. We never settle and we never stop improving. It is all part of our journey.
8. Constant Learning: Things will constantly change, so we need to keep learning to stay ahead of changes. We need to learn to keep improving what we do. We need to learn so we can forge our new path. Personal development is important to us, and we take time for our personal growth. We read, we take online courses, we watch webinars, we attend conferences, we take field trips and more. The learning never stops. Without each of us learning and growing as individuals, the organization cannot learn and grow.
9. Open and Honest Communication:We are honest and transparent. We are human, we admit our vulnerability and have nothing to hide. We earn trust through our openness. We all make mistakes; the key is to admit and learn from our mistakes. We are direct in our communications. We are good for our word. No BS. No games. We become better people and a better organization by being honest, learning and evolving.
10. Commitment: Our mission and our values mean nothing without a deep personal commitment to them.