Director of Services and Engagement

Housing Corporation of Arlington (HCA) is a 40-year old nonprofit community development corporation with a mission to provide affordable, stable housing and empower residents in order to build a supportive and equitable community. Learn more at: www.housingcorparlington.org

Our work is carried out by seven full-time employees who support each other within a collegial environment that respects work-life balance. We aim to be intentional in how we carry out our work in order to meet diversity, equity and inclusion values. We look forward to welcoming another person into our team and benefiting from their unique energy and perspective.

HCA owns and operates a growing portfolio of 208 rental units in Arlington, all of which are, or will be, deed restricted for affordability; provides social services for our tenants and other low-income families to help them remain stable and housed; and helps low-income families bring their voice and influence to housing and other issues they care about. Our affordable housing portfolio is growing. We have a 43-unit affordable housing development under construction in 2026, and another 40-unit affordable housing development now seeking financing.

As our housing portfolio grows, so must our social services and civic engagement /community organizing work. The new position of Director of Services and Engagement is needed to lead and guide the growing social services and civic engagement work and to help carry out this work on the ground.

In addition to some direct provision of social service and civic engagement work, the Director of Services and Engagement will be the direct report for HCA’s Social Service Manager and Civic Engagement Coordinator. The Social Service Manager runs HCA’s Homelessness Prevention Program, providing grants to help HCA tenants and others remain in their homes, and connects tenants with other benefits and services to help them remain stable and housed. The Civic Engagement Coordinator staffs HCA’s Tenant Council, where tenants identify issues of concern to them and advance the solutions they desire. The Civic Engagement Coordinator also oversees other civic engagement efforts throughout the year.

The Director of Services and Engagement will report to the Executive Director.

HCA has a well-earned positive reputation throughout the Arlington community, and strong working relationships with several departments in the Town of Arlington and with other nonprofits.

Position Responsibilities:

• Help develop strategic goals and plans for social service and civic engagement/community organizing work and support internal systems that track outcomes.
• Provide supervision and guidance for HCA’s Social Service Manager to support the continued effective implementation of resident services for HCA tenants and HCA’s Homelessness Prevention Program.
• Conduct intake and provide direct services and/or referrals for community members who are not HCA tenants needing assistance. Direct services may include helping residents sign up for food assistance, social security or other benefits, or assisting on a housing search. Referrals may be for eviction legal support, employment services, mental health counseling, or other needs, and will include training people, as needed, in how to access forms and programs online.
• Provide guidance and supervision to HCA’s Civic Engagement Coordinator to support tenant leadership development, effective tenant leadership and facilitation of the HCA’s Tenant Council, and other engagement and organizing efforts that the Coordinator will staff.
• Enhance and expand HCA’s civic engagement and advocacy efforts around local and state housing policy, and conduct engagement around local and state voting and elections. With the Executive Director, Board, and HCA Tenant Council, identify priority issues, and then develop strategies and ensure their implementation. This work may include participating in coalitions that are already in the lead to advance legislation that HCA decides to endorse.
• Enhance and expand popular education programs for HCA tenants and others around tenant rights and responsibilities, affordable housing development process and finance, how local and state government works, how HCA works, and other topics to help HCA members become more effective local leaders.
• With support from the Executive Director as needed, staff the HCA Board’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.
• Represent HCA on the Arlington Human Services Network and/or on other local or regional committees as useful; maintain strong working relationships with local and regional agencies to whom HCA may refer residents for assistance and vice versa.
• Support organizational wide efforts as appropriate, such as the HCA Annual Meeting and annual Walk for Affordable Housing.

Position Qualifications:

• Passion for social justice, drive to work towards justice goals, and a high level of integrity.
• Ability to apply a racial equity and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) lens to the work.
• At least five years working in nonprofit direct social services, affordable housing resident services, and/or community organizing, with increasing responsibility, including supervisory experience. Understanding of, and demonstrated success in, community organizing work preferred.
• Experience in organizational growth and/or programmatic growth.
• Highly self-directed, with demonstrated ability to develop and implement program goals, strategies, and work plans in alignment with an organizational vision and goals.
• Direct experience working with low-income households and an understanding of the challenges families face as a result of income inequality.
• Ability to communicate effectively and develop trusting relationships with people of all racial, educational, cultural, and economic backgrounds.
• Experience tracking program data in a database and ability to analyze outcomes using data.
• Highly organized; able to manage multiple areas of work at once while meeting deadlines.
• Flexible, adaptable, and able to think creatively to solve problems.

Work Schedule: This is a full-time position. HCA operates under a hybrid schedule, with full-time employees required to work from our Arlington offices and work sites at least 3 days per week. Employees may set their own work hours, as long as they are generally working during HCA’s core hours of Monday through Friday, 10 am – 3 pm.

HCA offers health insurance (covering 80% of the premium), sick leave, three weeks of vacation in the first year and more thereafter, all state and national holidays, and a 401(k) retirement plan through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ CORE-Empower program.

In addition to fluency in English, conversational and written skills in Spanish or Haitian Creole is preferred.