Campaign Manager - Strategic Initiatives

ABOUT HOUSING CALIFORNIA

For nearly 40 years, Housing CA has worked to realize our vision of a California where all people have homes, health, and prosperity in thriving, sustainable communities. To realize this vision, we unite a diverse, cross-sector network of mission driven affordable housing developers, service providers, advocates, people who have experienced housing instability and homelessness, and other cross-sector, allied organizations and individuals work to increase the supply of safe, stable, affordable homes, prevent and end homelessness, protect low-income renters, and reverse the legacy of racial and economic injustice in our housing and homelessness systems. Learn more about our long-term policy agenda here and explore additional information about Housing CA on our website at www.housingca.org.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Campaign Manager leads the execution of statewide housing advocacy campaigns led by the Statewide Affordable Housing Advocacy Coalition (SHAC). Co-anchored by Housing California, SHAC convenes advocates and community leaders to protect critical housing and homelessness resources, secure near-term policy wins, and build momentum for long-term, permanent funding for housing and homelessness in California.

The Campaign Manager owns the development and implementation of campaign workplans, timelines, and cross-coalition alignment—ensuring that partners, consultants, and internal teams are working in sync to advance shared priorities across policy, advocacy, communications, organizing, and electoral work. As a central driver of SHAC’s campaign work, this role plays a key management function in serving as a key point of contact and coordinating coalition efforts, expanding strategic partnerships to grow our collective power, navigating the political landscape, and advancing near-term wins while building momentum for long-term, permanent housing solutions.

The ideal candidate is a highly organized professional who brings strong project management skills, coalition coordination experience, and a commitment to advancing racially just housing policy in California.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Campaign Implementation and Coordination

• • Make strategic recommendations and guide campaign direction in collaboration with the Strategic Initiatives Director and coalition leadership.
  • Lead implementation of coordinated campaigns advancing the SHAC agenda, including ballot measure preparation, legislative campaigns, and statewide advocacy initiatives.
  • Translate coalition strategy into clear campaign workplans, timelines, workstreams, and deliverables, ensuring partners understand roles, responsibilities, and milestones. This will include early planning for a long-term housing revenue campaign.
  • Manage campaign workstreams across policy advocacy, communications, organizing, and power building efforts to advance integrated campaign execution.
  • Track the political, legislative, and electoral landscape and flag opportunities or risks affecting campaign priorities.
  • Own and drive statewide campaigns through SHAC, including coordinating messaging, materials, and communications with partners and consultants, and leading grassroots advocacy efforts such as advocacy actions, endorsements, and legislative and regulatory engagement.
  • Manage campaign progress and regularly communicate updates to the Strategic Initiatives Director and coalition partners.
  • Lead regular partner check-ins to assess campaign effectiveness and adjust tactics as needed.

Project Management and Coalition Coordination

• • Establish and oversee the ongoing maintenance of core project management systems, including meeting structures, decision-making processes, workplans, timelines, and tracking tools.
  • Collaborate with SHAC organizations and SHAC co-anchors and Housing California leadership in managing and coordinating SHAC’s evolving leadership and governance structures.
  • Facilitate coalition coordination for legislative and ballot measure campaigns by establishing clear routines for planning, communication, and accountability across partners.
  • Cultivate and maintain strong working relationships with partners, community organizations, allied advocates, and cross-sector partners including labor, health care, environmental, and education organizations.
  • Serve as a primary point of contact for internal and external campaign coordination, ensuring effective communication, alignment, and engagement across Housing CA teams and coalition partners.
  • Lead engagement of board members, partners, and community leaders in campaign activities.

Organizational Collaboration

• • Represent Housing California and SHAC in coalition meetings, external events, and public engagements.
  • Assist with fundraising and reporting activities related to campaign and coalition work. Contribute to cross-departmental collaboration and assist with other organizational initiatives that further the strategic goals of the organization.
  • Contribute to organizational planning and actively support the development, implementation, tracking, and evaluation of strategic initiative and campaign goals and workplans.
  • Assist in the development and implementation of strategies and approaches that support ongoing organizational and team reflection and learning, including tracking and evaluating the effectiveness of our campaign work

WHO YOU ARE

• • Committed to Justice: You demonstrate a deep and ongoing commitment to racial, gender, disability, economic, and housing justice and consistently work to uphold these values in your leadership and practice. You center the needs and experiences of low-income Californians in complex policy and advocacy work.
  • Mission Aligned: You bring professional experience in housing justice or a closely related field such as community development, urban planning, health equity, criminal justice reform, education, disability justice, food insecurity, climate justice, or labor. 
  • Policy and Systems Experience: You have 3+ years of experience working on systems and policy change, preferably on behalf of low-income communities and communities of color. You bring familiarity with California or local political landscapes. 
  • Project Management and Execution: You have 3+ years of project management experience. You excel at bringing structure to complex work. You are skilled at translating big-picture goals into clear deliverables, workplans, timelines, and coordination systems that help staff, consultants, and diverse partners stay aligned, accountable, and moving toward shared outcomes.
  • Versatile Collaborator: You have experience coordinating work across staff, consultants, and partner organizations and building strong, collaborative relationships.
  • Adaptive and Solutions-Oriented: You are tenacious, flexible, resourceful, and thrive in dynamic environments. You are comfortable navigating ambiguity and using creative problem solving to advance change.
  • Clear and Effective Communicator: You are a strong written and verbal communicator who can engage effectively with policymakers, media, community-based organizations, residents of affordable housing, people experiencing homelessness, advocates, funders, and cross-sector partners.
  • Coalition Management: You have experience supporting coalitions or collaborative advocacy efforts and value inclusive decision-making that centers impacted communities.
  • Learning- and Results-Oriented: You embrace learning and adapting, thriving in an environment where continuous improvement and flexibility are valued. You are tenacious and committed to moving change in complex and evolving environments.
  • Willingness to Travel: You are willing and able to travel throughout California and attend early morning or evening obligations.

Additional experience that would be welcomed, but is not required: 

• • Familiarity with affordable housing, homelessness, and tenants’ rights programs or policy.
  • Lived experience of homelessness or housing insecurity or experience working with people with lived experience of housing instability.
  • Experience with advocacy tools, campaign data systems, or project management platforms
  • Experience in budget management.

Our ideal candidates may have experience that does not directly match the qualifications above, and we encourage people with equivalent experience to apply.

COMPENSATION, BENEFITS, AND LOCATION

This is a full-time, exempt position that reports to the Strategic Initiatives Director. The salary range is between $85,000-$110,000, depending on experience. This is a one-year, limited-term role with the intention to transition the role into a longer-term position based on organizational need and funding.

Benefits package includes fully paid medical, dental, and vision for employee and 25% paid medical, dental and vision for dependents, paid parental leave, long-term disability and group life insurance coverage; commuting subsidy; cell phone/at home internet subsidy; 403(b) retirement plan with 3.5% employer contribution; generous vacation (3+ weeks, depending on tenure), sick leave (8 hours per month + employees start with 8 hours of leave), 12 paid holidays; organization-wide closure during the last week of December and a shortened workweek during the summer legislative break; training and professional development opportunities; and a hybrid work environment.

This is a hybrid position based out of our office in Sacramento. This position is expected to participate in regular travel (mostly in California).

OUR CULTURE

Housing California is committed to creating a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive workplace that fosters a culture of belonging, ongoing learning and collaboration, and supports, stabilizes, and incentivizes people to join the Housing California team and stay for the long game.

We value having staff who come from communities that are most impacted by the issues we address. We especially encourage Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and people of color; people from families that have immigrated to the U.S.; people who have been unhoused or experienced housing instability; women; LGBTQIA+ people; system-impacted people; and people with disabilities to apply for these positions.

We aim for our work to be both effective and sustainable; we balance required travel during some parts of the year and the fast-paced legislative calendar with a commitment to our team’s mental and physical health.

HOW TO APPLY & HIRING PROCESS

We will accept applications until the position is filled. The interview process will include one 30-minute screening call followed by three 60-90–minute interviews and a written/presentation activity. To apply for the Campaign Manager position please visit this link.

COMPENSATION, BENEFITS, AND LOCATION

This is a full-time, exempt position that reports to the Strategic Initiatives Director. The salary range is between $85,000-$110,000, depending on experience. This is a one-year, limited-term role with the intention to transition the role into a longer-term position based on organizational need and funding.

Benefits package includes fully paid medical, dental, and vision for employee and 25% paid medical, dental and vision for dependents, paid parental leave, long-term disability and group life insurance coverage; commuting subsidy; cell phone/at home internet subsidy; 403(b) retirement plan with 3.5% employer contribution; generous vacation (3+ weeks, depending on tenure), sick leave (8 hours per month + employees start with 8 hours of leave), 12 paid holidays; organization-wide closure during the last week of December and a shortened workweek during the summer legislative break; training and professional development opportunities; and a hybrid work environment.

This is a hybrid position based out of our office in Sacramento. This position is expected to participate in regular travel (mostly in California).

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