WHC Hiring Social Impact Coordinator

JOB DESCRIPTION – SOCIAL IMPACT COORDINATOR

Our Social Impact Mission

Established in 2018, the Washington Housing Conservancy (WHC) is a nonprofit organization (501c3) that disrupts housing market forces to prevent displacement and promote opportunity for moderate to low-income Washington-area residents. We fuse a social impact mission with private-sector real estate capital and expertise to preserve housing that is affordable and generate the kind of stability that lets residents experience the opportunity to grow and prosper. By acquiring and preserving mixed-income properties for essential middle to low-income workers—such as teachers, first responders, grocery clerks and hospitality workers and their families—we challenge the cycles of displacement that entrench barriers to diversity and inclusivity and help residents focus on their future, instead of the uncertainty of escalating rents. WHC is committed to creating thriving, inclusive mixed-income communities throughout the DC region. Our operating principles are the following: 

• Advance Racial Equity, Sense of Belonging, and Inclusion
• Innovate, Improve and Be Agile
• Maximize Resident Choice, Voice, and Success
• Promote Trust and Respect 
• Aim for Universal Quality

WHC currently owns and manages over 1,600 units across four properties and plans to own and operate over 5,000 units of affordable housing over the next five to seven years.

WHC acquires properties in high opportunity neighborhoods and rents them to a racially and ethnically diverse, mixed-income population. WHC partners with property management companies at our properties to promote social impact for residents. 

Housing, and how it is managed, can reinforce social exclusion or promote social inclusion. It can also provide conditions for economic mobility. We are committed to promoting community building, economic mobility, and advancing racial equity and inclusion. Joining WHC will provide you with the opportunity to be part of a cutting-edge start-up social impact venture disrupting the local housing market. 

What You Will Do 

The Social Impact Coordinator is responsible for helping to implement a social impact strategy to enable all residents to achieve housing stability and economic mobility at WHC properties. The Social Impact Coordinator is primarily a site-based position and is expected to work closely and collaboratively as part of a larger team, with property management staff, WHC staff and consultants, residents, and other partners to coordinate and execute targeted social impact strategies. The Social Impact Coordinator will report directly to the Social Impact Program Manager, who will provide guidance and supervision throughout the role. While all team members will work collaboratively to help achieve this goal, the Social Impact Coordinator will have the responsibility to partner with property management staff and residents of WHC communities to support and hold one another accountable to this vision of change. The Social Impact Coordinator will serve as a strategist, coach, supporter, implementor and documenter of the emergent social impact strategy. WHC aims to promote housing stability and economic mobility through four core strategies: inclusive property management, placemaking, community building and human capacity and wealth-building. The Social Impact Coordinator will be responsible for implementing strategies and programming that advance these four core strategies in an integrated way. The Social Impact Coordinator will bring a curiosity and interest about people in WHC communities and the place where they live, intentionally building relationships with residents, staff, and resource partners, facilitating connections and support networks toward helping all residents thrive and achieve their personal goals. They will have a particular focus on creating a diverse, socially cohesive environment and connecting residents across lines of difference such as race, ethnicity, income, and social background.

As a Social Impact Coordinator, your primary responsibilities include: 

• Actively engaging residents, curating moments when they can have leadership in community life, solve problems, and support other residents.
• Designing and implementing community building activities to bring residents together around shared concerns and interests and create a sense of belonging, agency, and mutual support in the housing community.
• Learning from WHC and its consultants and capacity builders about best practices and helping property management staff learn and adopt the programs, practices and policies that foster WHC’s mission.
• Meeting with residents individually and in small groups to understand their needs and aspirations so that they can be connected to other residents and community support that is tailored to their personal goals.
• Collaborating with the Social Impact Program Manager, providing consistent updates on tasks, programs, and progress toward social impact action plans.
• Developing an annual social impact action plan for assigned properties, referencing WHC’s business plan and SMART goals to regularly track and report year-to-date performance. 
• Creating and implementing procedures and best practices for documentation and tracking/monitoring progress on social impact goals.
• Encouraging and assisting with the creation and hosting of resident-led programming and weekly/monthly events based on resident interests.
• Overseeing social impact initiatives at multiple sites in varied locations which will require weekly site visits to train onsite team members in resident engagement and assist with the design, rollout, and implementation of social impact programming.

What You Bring 

Our culture is important–we intend for our communities to be unique and special, and so is our team. We are committed to the highest standards of service, integrity, creativity, and teamwork. Along with those qualities, the Social Impact Coordinator will also bring: 

Experience 

• Community building and engagement, property management, placemaking, social services and/or another helping profession that involves promoting individual and community social impact
• Working in multi-racial and multi-cultural teams
• Relationship building with people from different socio-economic backgrounds
• Experience with anti-racism training preferred
• Experience with the challenges of economic instability and deprivation
• Sales, marketing, and communications experience preferred 

A college degree is preferred but not a requirement. At least three years of relevant life or professional experience is required. Education can be substituted for two years of relevant work experience. People with degrees in urban and regional planning, social work, urban studies, public affairs/public policy, or ethnic studies are strongly encouraged to apply. 

Personal Attributes

• Strong interpersonal skills and superior verbal and written communication 
• Exhibits genuine curiosity (especially about people, their stories, aspirations, and needs) and desire to learn from others
• Creative problem solver
• Personable and enjoys interacting and working with others
• Self-awareness around identity, unconscious bias and participation in perpetuating or dismantling systemic racism
• Natural inclination towards learning and professional development
• Courage and a forward-thinking mentality and an innovative, creative spirit
• Comfortable initiating conversations with residents via pop-up encounters, phone calls, etc.

Key Skills 

• Event planning and execution
• Strong project management skills
• Creative, out of the box thinker
• Effective individual and group communication
• Conflict resolution and mediation techniques
• Demonstrated time management and organizational skills
• Strong computer proficiency including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
• Social media and technology proficiency
• Spanish language proficiency 

The position requires 40 hours/week. Traditional office hours fall between 9am-6pm. However, the Social Impact Coordinator may need to work adjusted hours depending on the schedule of community events and programming, including working evening and weekend hours. This position also requires travel between various WHC properties within the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area.

Even if you only have a few of the specifications listed above, we still encourage you to apply! 

How We Support You 

The targeted annual salary range for this position is $62,000 – $75,000 commensurate with experience.

In addition to providing employees with a great place to work, WHC focuses on supporting employees both personally and professionally with a wide range of industry-leading benefits* including: 

• Medical and prescription plans
• Tax-deferred 401(k) plan with company match
• Life insurance 
• Generous paid time off
• 20% housing discount at WHC communities (select number available)
• Ongoing training and professional development

How To Apply

Please email your cover letter and resume to info@washhousing.org with “SOCIAL IMPACT COORDINATOR” in the subject line. Resumes will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the position is open until filled.

*The list of benefits above only identify certain benefits currently available. Benefits and other terms of employment may change at any time. WHC is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other protected class, in accordance with applicable law. 

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