Senior Program Manager, Faith in Housing

Organization:

LA Voice believes all people have power and a voice. Every day we amplify that power by uniting diverse faith voices and equipping grassroots leaders to organize for what their communities need, winning systemic changes that improve the lives of all county residents. We are an interfaith, multi-racial, multi-cultural organization of 70 faith and spiritual communities that represent more than 50,000 families in Los Angeles County. (See our Facebook page L.A. Voice or website www.lavoice.org). Our core strategic values are: exponential growth of grassroots leadership; bridging to belong across differences; and confrontation with power for social transformation leading to racial equity and inclusion.

Our diverse and experienced team works with communities across the county to create a Los Angeles with racial equity and abundant life for all.

LA Voice is a member of Faith in Action, the largest grassroots spiritual and congregational organizing network in the U.S. and a member of PICO California, an effective, highly respected grassroots organization playing a significant role to turn the tide toward inclusion and equity and create a state of belonging.

Position Summary:

LA Voice is seeking a full-time Senior Program Manager to lead the innovative and impactful Faith in Housing program, which supports faith institutions who own property to build affordable and/or permanent supportive housing on their property.

The Faith in Housing Program accelerates housing creation by creating a pipeline of faith communities interested in building affordable housing on religious-owned land and guiding them through the process of making it a reality. Congregations are sitting on acres of land strewn throughout every neighborhood in Los Angeles County, and much of this land is underutilized. This creates an exciting opportunity to use this land to meet some of the challenges of affordable housing production and supply, while also increasing economic sustainability for congregations.

Since its launch in 2019, LA Voice’s Faith in Housing program has guided numerous congregations through the discernment, feasibility, and RFP process. By serving as intermediaries and advisors, we create effective partnerships between congregations and developers, and the program has a growing list of congregations and religious institutions in various stages of predevelopment or discernment.

Congregations who join the Faith in Housing Project do not just receive support in the housing development process. They are invited to engage deeply with the root causes of our county’s housing crisis and join our multifaith network working towards systemic change, creating a network of faith institutions that are both making concrete contributions towards the development of housing and amplifying LA Voice’s impact across the county.

The Senior Program Manager will be the primary leader for the Faith in Housing Program and its integrated strategy across LA Voice’s work. We are seeking an experienced programmatic leader with a demonstrated track record of developing and leading complex programs, particularly those that involve a diverse network of stakeholders.

Essential Functions (to include, but not limited to):

• Be the primary strategic leader for the Faith in Housing Program’s work to develop affordable housing on faith lands, working with partners, consultants and potentially staff to be hired to achieve the following:
  • Conduct outreach to congregations throughout the county, building relationships with congregational leaders who have property that is eligible for development.
  • Work with individual congregations to design conversations and process that facilitates their leadership’s discernment about housing development
  • Support the creation of discernment processes in interested congregations and facilitate each one until the congregation reaches a decision.
  • Serve as a go-between between congregations and other parties involved in the process, ensuring that the congregation understands each step of the process
  • Develop or adapt management tools for the project (e.g., checklists; best practices; learnings), outreach materials and support materials.
  • Conduct thorough evaluations and communicate best practices to our partners
  • Develop a “hub” of partners who can provide necessary technical expertise such as feasibility studies, pre-development work, and legal support.
  • Coordinate with partners including Congregational Land Partners and others to seek out potential opportunities for development across the County of Los Angeles.
  • Build pipelines between congregations involved Faith in Housing and LA Voice’s organizing work by providing political education on the affordable housing crisis and facilitating connections with the organizing team.
• Support recruitment, development and retention of individual and institutional donors for program
• Work with organizing team to develop campaigns related to the challenges that arise in housing development projects (e.g. legislation akin to SB4)

Qualifications Required:

• Minimum five years experience overseeing complex programs in the nonprofit or social impact sector
• Significant knowledge of housing development process and policy
• Deep familiarity with the issues of housing and homelessness
• Evidence of ability to work with diverse religious, racial, and geographic communities
• Driven, self-disciplined and flexible
• Group development skills; experience nurturing, managing, and guiding teams of people successfully toward shared goals
• Familiarity with congregational life in some form
• Facility working with clergy and people of faith

Other Possible Qualifications:

• Experience in community organizing or other professional community leadership role
• Experience in fundraising and/or grant writing
• Fluency in Spanish or other language related to our work
• B.A. or Masters degree
• Experience in housing development, real estate or property management

Compensation and Benefits:

• This is a full-time, salaried position.
• The job includes regular evening work and some weekend work. The role requires frequent travel within LA County, in addition to weekly staff meetings at our offices in Downtown LA.
• Salary is competitive for the region and based on experience and demonstrated capacities, in a range from $85-$110,000. LA Voice’s compensation structure was developed from best practices in equitable and transparent compensation, and includes a generous benefits package including matching 401(k); 15 days paid vacation increasing to 20 after three years of service and 25 after five years (plus holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year); and medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• LA Voice is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant because of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), or any other basis protected by law.