Met Council on Housing Seeks Executive Director

Met Council on Housing is seeking an experienced, visionary leader to serve as its next Executive Director.

About Us:

Founded in 1959, the Met Council on Housing is a membership organization in New York City dedicated to building tenant power to fight for safe, decent, and affordable housing for the city, as embodied by our motto: housing for people, not profit. We organize over one thousand active dues-paying members and communicate with an audience of 45,000 tenants across the city. We have most recently fought for and helped win a 23-month eviction moratorium and the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. Our historic efforts span decades’ worth of changes to housing policies, from the Rent Stabilization Law of 1969 to the 2004 Child Lead Paint Poisoning Prevention Act, to rent freezes for NYC tenants in 2021, 2020, 2017, and 2016, to far-reaching strengthening of rent and eviction protections in the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019. 

Met Council on Housing’s programs, all of which are tenant-assisted, include tenant organizing, a telephone hotline, a free walk-in clinic, a monthly newspaper, and a weekly radio show. The organization serves one million rent-stabilized and -regulated NYC households, with a focus on those who are most vulnerable to displacement, such as working class and low-income New Yorkers. We organize across the city, doing building and neighborhood-wide organizing against displacement. Met Council on Housing currently has a staff of five, including the Executive Director.

Met Council on Housing’s programs, all of which are tenant-assisted, include tenant organizing, a telephone hotline, a free walk-in clinic, a monthly newspaper, and a weekly radio show. The organization serves one million rent-stabilized and -regulated NYC households, with a focus on those who are most vulnerable to displacement, such as working class and low-income New Yorkers. We organize across the city, doing building and neighborhood-wide organizing against displacement. Met Council on Housing currently has a staff of five, including the Executive Director.

Position:

The Executive Director will lead Met Council’s tenant organizing, housing justice campaigns and membership development. The ED will report to the Board of Directors and provide strategic direction and organizational management.

Responsibilities

• Work with staff, board, and tenant membership to help reshape and grow the organization’s culture for a new phase of tenant organizing
• Create and implement a strategy to engage the organization’s membership in achieving housing justice for NYC tenants that: 
• intentionally connects the organization’s coalition, mutual aid, campaign and building work;
• is intersectional and works to dismantle racial and social inequality; and
• develops leadership opportunities for members.
• Lead an ongoing process to build a more racially just, equitable and inclusive organization that offers safety and belonging to its members, staff, and boards;
• Supervise the Director of Programs and Advocacy, and Tenant Organizers;
• Engage and communicate with the staff, board, membership, funders and movement allies around the activities and campaigns of Met Council.
• Direct the organization’s fundraising activities including an annual gala event.

Qualifications

1. Experience with organizing for social justice and building a vision to win political change - not necessarily limited to housing justice but also other struggles such as environmental justice, anti-mass incarceration, labor organizing, etc.
2. Demonstrated ability to strengthen existing community relationships, work cooperatively with stakeholder groups inside and outside the organization in pursuit of shared goals, and resolve conflicts effectively.
3. Demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity, equity and inclusion. Willingness and ability to build an intersectional understanding of workplace culture that supports an inclusive and healthy working environment.
4. Demonstrated commitment to housing justice.
5. Experienced nonprofit leader with proven ability to provide strong, stabilizing management and lead organizations through times of transition, reorganization, and growth.
6. Strong organizational abilities with excellent written and verbal communication and facilitation skills.
7. At least 2 years of fundraising and financial management experience.
8. Spanish proficiency strongly preferred.

The salary range for this position is $80 to $100K, with medical, vision and dental benefits, and generous vacation.

Met Council on Housing is an equal opportunity employer. Veterans, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

To apply, send resume and cover letter to jobs@metcouncilonhousing.org with “ED Search” in the subject line. Applications received before March 31, 2022 will be prioritized.