Associate Director of National Technical Assistance

As a national nonprofit, our mission is to foster strong, equitable communities where vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties are transformed into assets for neighbors and neighborhoods. We are former practitioners and policymakers who understand that today’s neighborhoods have been shaped by decades of unjust and racist housing, land use, and lending policies—and we are driven by the promise of safe, healthy housing in inclusive neighborhoods that serve and provide opportunity and dignity for all.

The expertise and passion of our staff is unmatched, and Community Progress is highly regarded as the nation’s leading resource for communities that seek more equitable, effective, and efficient solutions to address vacancy and abandonment. In all our work, we seek to ensure that all communities have the policies, tools, and resources they need to effectively and efficiently acquire and activate vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties in support of equitable development, inclusive neighborhoods, and resilient communities.

Our state-of-the-art technical assistance has been provided to more than 300 communities in over 35 states. We have also helped incubate, grow, and evolve the national land bank movement, with many land banks now playing a more active role in addressing the housing affordability crisis, tackling racial inequities, and supporting disaster recovery efforts.

More information is available at www.communityprogress.net, and a catalogue of written deliverables produced by the National Technical Assistance Team can be found at tinyurl.com/CCPNTAPublications.

Job Summary:  The Center for Community Progress is seeking an experienced, innovative, and perceptive candidate to serve as Associate Director of National Technical Assistance, joining a small team of passionate thought leaders and technical experts who care deeply about racial equity and justice.

The Associate Director will serve as a core member of the National Technical Assistance (NTA) team, assisting the Director of National Technical Assistance (NTA) in shaping, implementing, and managing the portfolio of work of the NTA program. Working alongside some of the nation’s top experts on topics such as delinquent property tax enforcement, housing and building code enforcement, land banking, and alternative land use, this individual will contribute to and at times lead the delivery of technical assistance to communities across the country that are seeking effective stabilization and revitalization strategies in support of equitable, inclusive neighborhood development.

Given the highly collaborative environment within Community Progress, this position will also support special internal projects or help brainstorm new organizational initiatives and programs, which will create exciting and dynamic opportunities to connect our technical work with policy and research, fundraising, and educational programming in service to diverse constituencies across the country, including local governments, land banks, state agencies, nonprofits, and neighborhood groups. This position will also assist with the internal administration, operations, and strategic direction of the NTA Program Area.

The Associate Director position is full-time. While Community Progress staff and Senior Advisors work from locations across the country, in offices and remotely, the organization has hubs in Washington D.C., Michigan, and Georgia. If possible, our preference is to have this position operate from one of those hubs.

Individuals who are self-starters, able to lead projects, and pride themselves on solving complex problems alongside diverse constituencies in pursuit of building equitable and just communities are encouraged to apply.

Duties & Essential Job Functions

• Cultivate, support, and lead technical assistance engagements with local partners, such as local governments and land banks, which will include developing scopes of work and budgets, managing a small project team, delivering technical support, ensuring timely completion of high-quality deliverables, including written reports, and presenting results to a broad range of state and local partners;
• Work with the Director of National Technical Assistance to determine the strategic direction of technical assistance efforts, and help implement program goals consistent with the organization’s Strategic Plan and Equity Action Plan;
• Work with the Director of National Technical Assistance to ensure effective management and implementation of key administrative functions, including, but not limited to, evaluation metrics, internal reporting, budget development and management, website content management, funder engagement, and professional development;
• Develop and manage special projects designed to challenge and improve the ways in which Community Progress and the field address the negative impacts of vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties, with a strong focus on racial equity and economic justice;
• Develop and present trainings on practices, policies, and programs specific to vacancy and abandonment that support equitable communities for diverse audiences, including a broad range of stakeholder groups throughout the country;
• Conduct outreach to develop new technical assistance partnerships and projects;
• Build strategic partnerships with local, statewide, and national organizations across the country to support the aims of and broaden the reach of Community Progress’ technical assistance efforts;
• Stay current on innovative practices, policies, and programs affecting vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties throughout the country; and
• Other duties as assigned by Director of National Technical Assistance.

Reporting Relationships: This position does not have any full-time staff directly reporting to them.

Qualifications

• Have a demonstrated commitment to public and community service with an enthusiasm for Community Progress’s mission and a shared commitment to equity, inclusion, and justice;
• Be a strategic thinker, excellent communicator, competent public speaker, and effective project manager;
• Possess knowledge of and prior work experience related to the challenges facing America’s communities and neighborhoods as they relate to chronic disinvestment, vacant properties, land reuse and revitalization, and of effective policy and programmatic responses;
• Demonstrate high quality writing skills including the ability to summarize and synthesize on-the-ground observations and link those observations to strategic recommendations related to policy, practice, programs, and partnerships;
• Have experience in program management and administration, including demonstrated competencies in developing budgets, meeting deadlines, and managing grants;
• Possess the ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously, adapt to changing directions;
• Be extremely detail-oriented and work well under pressure and tight deadlines;
• Have strong relationship-building skills, commitment to nonpartisanship, and a demonstrated ability to collaborate with individuals, groups, and policymakers with opposing points of view and diverse political perspectives;
• Be able to work independently as well as collaboratively within a dynamic team of creative thought leaders; and
• Be willing to travel frequently (when such conditions allow for safe travel).

Required: Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of five (5) years of experience in the public sector (local government, state government, etc.), nonprofit sector with a focus on community development or housing, or other closely related experience. Preferred Graduate degree in law, public administration and/or policy, or related field, a minimum of seven (7) years of experience in the public or nonprofit sector with a focus on community development or housing, with at least three (3) of those years working directly on policies and/or programs related to the prevention and reuse of vacant properties.

Salary and Benefits:  The Center for Community Progress is offering a salary for the position of Associate Director of National Technical Assistance between $75,000 and $90,000 annually, commensurate with experience and skill sets. Additionally, the Center for Community Progress provides an excellent and comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, 401k match, access to flexible spending accounts, and generous personal time off benefits.

Application Instructions: Interested applicants should submit cover letter, resume, and two writing examples that demonstrate excellent and concise writing skills. At least one of these examples must demonstrate the ability to communicate complicated concepts or new ideas to a broad/general audience.

All materials should be sent in a single PDF by 3:00 pm ET on Friday, April 9, 2021, to Michael Bochnovic, Special Assistant to the President and CEO, at mbochnovic@communityprogress.net.