Director of Operations

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

As a senior leader at AHMA, The Director of Operations plays an integral role in the organization’s overall operational development as well as leading and implementing organizing strategy.

Background Information:

Abundant Housing Massachusetts, Inc. (AHMA) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit housing advocacy organization formed in 2020. AHMA believes that Massachusetts is for everyone. Our mission is to stand up for abundant housing for all in communities across Massachusetts. We drive policy at the state and local level by identifying pro-housing changemakers, building the power of local organizers, and connecting a statewide network.

AHMA’s vision for Massachusetts is to create, sustain, and enhance:

• Abundant housing for all;
• A housing market that lets people move when they want, where they want, not when they have to;
• Communities with racially and economically diverse residents;
• Development patterns that facilitate low/no-carbon lifestyles; and,
• Education on effective organizing tools to overcome our history of racial segregation.

The AHMA network encompasses hundreds of members statewide and over a dozen affiliate organizations/coalition partners across the state who are advocates for housing in their own communities. To make AHMA’s vision a reality, AHMA builds the capacity of our network to enact pro-housing changes at the local level. AHMA’s work is empowered by a team of seven, three active volunteer committees and a committed working board of directors.

We are building a track record of success in movement building and pro-housing policy change:

• Across the state, we have built the capacity of and seeded the launch of dozens of affiliated local pro-housing groups that engage in grassroots advocacy tactics, all with the goal(s) of educating themselves, and their neighbors towards challenging exclusionary zoning, increasing housing production and affordability and working towards a vision of walkable, livable communities. AHMA convenes groups across the state to build solidarity across the state for a longer-term movement.
• At the state level, our advocacy helped lead to the legalization of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) by-right statewide within the 2024 Housing Bond Bill. The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities projects 8,000-10,000 new homes across Massachusetts in the next five years due to this policy. This is the strongest statewide ADU law in New England, and by some accounts the strongest east of the Rockies.

To learn more about our work, we encourage you to read our curated blog authored by staff and members of our network.

Job Description

Job Opening: Director of Operations

Number of Openings: 1

Status: Full-time

Time Frame: Applications will be accepted and candidates will be interviewed on a rolling basis with a goal of onboarding the Director by the end of 2024.

The Director of Operations Position- Toward a New Phase of Growth and Impact:

Having more than doubled our staff and membership numbers in the last three and a half years, AHMA has reached an exciting inflection point as an organization and the new Director is poised to co-lead a new phase of growth and impact for the organization.

As a senior leader at AHMA, The Director of Operations plays an integral role in the organization’s overall operational development as well as leading and implementing organizing strategy.

The Director oversees the day-to-day operations of the hybrid office environment, ensuring that it runs efficiently and that all members of the team have what they need to succeed- creating and implementing policies and procedures, developing strong relationships with employees, and planning for future organizational development.

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Director will supervise and lead a team of two regional organizers and a communications and media advocacy manager. Through supervision of organizing staff, the Director will lead overall grassroots & digital organizing strategy by building on AHMA’s success of building local pro-housing group infrastructure and leading grassroots organizing centered on zoning reform.

Core Responsibilities include:

50% Operations/Org. Culture

• Drive an organizational culture that centers employee well-being by amending and/or creating new processes, systems or policies that foster a sense of belonging.
• Serve as a member of the executive leadership team. Partner with the Executive Director and Board of Directors in executing the development of medium to long-range strategic plans for all areas of responsibility and an overall organizational strategic plan.
• In partnership with the Executive Director, support fundraising initiatives through donor cultivation and signature fundraising events.
• Responsible for ensuring efficiency in operations. This involves identifying areas for improvement and implementing strategies to streamline processes.
• Identify and champion opportunities for streamlining and improvement of technology, including integration across applications and workstream efficiencies.
• Manage Employee Relations and processes, such as quarterly and annual performance reviews and facilitating internal restorative justice circle conversations, as needed.

50% Organizing/Member Engagement Leadership

• Coordinate overall membership engagement for the organization through signature annual event planning and supervision of a regional organizer, digital organizer and communications manager.
• Build relationships with other mission-aligned organizations and represent AHMA via community events, speaking engagements and more, as needed.
• Through the supervision of (2) Organizers:
  • Coordinate existing MBTA-CA Advocacy campaign(s) in support of zoning for multi-family housing in key regional communities (~15).
  • Provide direct support to grassroots leaders in targeted communities, including but not limited to: developing organizational structures and strategies for small to medium sized grassroots organizations, designing outreach/educational templates for effective communications, conducting power mapping, and managing constituent databases and digital organizing tools such as Scale2Win, Action Network and Every Action.
  • Facilitate learning opportunities via organizer training and workshops with the purpose of sharing organizing best practices, building leadership capacity and skills, and community/relationship building
• Through the supervision of (1) Communications & Media Advocacy Manager:
  • Increasing AHMA’s visibility in the media landscape via strategic press opportunities, social media, speaking engagements and more.

Desired Qualifications:

• Commitment to the AHMA mission, vision, and to the importance of addressing the housing supply and affordability crisis.
• At least 5 years experience in electoral/political campaign field work, community organizing/engagement, or issues-based advocacy, preferably within MA.
• At least 2 years of experience in organizational leadership, non-profit operations, and/or administration or transferable skills from related areas.
• Previous supervisory experience, within organizing and/or communications, is strongly preferred.
• Excellent people management skills; empathy and enthusiasm when building and maintaining professional relationships; ability to coach, develop, and motivate others to achieve outcomes.
• Strong equity analysis and practice with an understanding of how racism, and other forms of oppression, impact systems, relationships, culture and one’s own lived experience.
• Experience facilitating groups both in-person and online and prioritizing inclusion of all voices, experiences, and backgrounds
• Experience tracking volunteer engagement in a database, particularly with NGP Van or EveryAction.
• Excellent Communications skills with some experience managing website applications such as WordPress and/or social media and media advocacy.
• Ability to interact positively with a wide breadth of people, including AHMA members and volunteers, municipal leaders, elected officials, and the general public including those who may be opposed to our work.
• Proven ability to foster leadership development, recruit and retain volunteers.
• Highly organized and comfortable tracking deadlines, details and moving multiple projects simultaneously.
• Familiarity with housing policy, land use planning, zoning, real estate development, or urban policy or planning is a plus.

Many folks who are impacted by biased professionalism standards, such as women, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, immigrants, and individuals with disabilities, tend to only submit an application if they meet every requirement listed. At AHMA, we are always looking for enthusiastic candidates who are the best fit for the role, both culturally and through experience. If you believe you’d be a good addition to our team, we look forward to your application!

AHMA is a hybrid work environment with staff splitting time between work-from-home, organizing in various communities and co-working in a downtown Boston location. On average, full-team in office coworking days happen once a week. This position does require living in MA, with the ability to participate in in-person events on a regular basis.

Abundant Housing MA is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and an affirmative action employer. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion and are committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

Benefits and perks include:

• Unlimited Paid Vacation time plus 10 paid holidays per year.
• Competitive health plan with 80% of premium paid by employer, including medical, dental and vision options.
• 401(k) retirement plan with 100% employer contribution on the first 5% of employee contributions.
• Coworking membership at the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) (50 Milk St, Boston, MA), which employees are encouraged to use even outside of full team gatherings. The CIC is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Reimbursement of up to $500 (per employee’s tenure at AHMA) for work-related personal technological expenses, in addition to employer-provided technology such as a laptop, ipad, etc (to be returned to employers at the end of employment).
• Employer covered expenses for MBTA- related transportation for commuting to the Downtown office location in Boston and all work-related travel needs.
• Paid opportunities for employee professional development, including yearly travel opportunities for pro-housing conferences and gatherings with the Welcoming Neighbors Network (a national pro-housing network AHMA is a founding member of)