Senior Associate of Housing and Land Use Policy

Background: The Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing (SCANPH) is a regional membership organization promoting the production, preservation, and management of homes affordable to low-income people throughout Southern California. Our roughly 250 organizational members—including about 1,400 individuals—are based primarily in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. While SCANPH’s membership includes private businesses, property management companies, government agencies, and social service organizations, non-profit affordable housing developers are the organization’s core constituency. In its policy work, SCANPH engages decision makers at the local, regional, state, and federal level. Our work includes monitoring, advocating for, and commenting on policy initiatives and regulatory rulings that impact our members’ ability to develop and manage housing that is affordable for people with low incomes. It also includes conducting and presenting research that furthers affordable housing development throughout the region. In some cases, SCANPH initiates and leads public policy campaigns designed to enhance our members’ work.

About the Role: Streamlining the production and ensuring the long-term sustainability of affordable housing are key policy priorities for SCANPH’s advocacy work and will be for the foreseeable future. The desired outcome is more expedient development and financing processes, along with enhanced resilience for aging portfolios so that SCANPH members can more quickly deploy funding to develop and preserve affordable and supportive housing. SCANPH seeks a Senior Associate of Housing and Land Use Policy to research and propose policy recommendations, as well as build power to advance these efforts. The Senior Associate of Housing and Land Use Policy will report to the Policy Director, and the position is full-time.

Responsibilities:

Affordable Housing Production Streamlining and Preservation Policy:

• Focus research on streamlining opportunities in local governments that SCANPH can deliver to local elected officials and decision-makers with the intended goal of advancing policies that will expedite the development of affordable housing production.
• Develop and implement strategic plans for advancing policy solutions that comprehensively and effectively streamline affordable housing production locally;
• Explore and recommend strategies to preserve the physical and financial health of aging affordable housing portfolios, addressing issues such as deferred maintenance, capital improvements, and long-term financial viability;
• Identify key offices, departments, and decision makers within government as well as potential partners throughout the broad affordable housing community to help with streamlining and preservation efforts so such measures can be successfully deployed and implemented.

Planning and Land Use Policy:

• Facilitate SCANPH’s comments on behalf of our affordable housing developer members for legislative, regulatory, and land use policy;
• Monitor and analyze local, state, and federal policy impacting affordable housing;
• Advocate for the passage of state bills that SCANPH co-sponsors or supports;
• Write and submit support/oppose letters for bills on which SCANPH takes an official position.

Organizing and Mobilization:

• Work directly with SCANPH members to be able to clearly state their needs for specific policy changes;
• Facilitate meetings with SCANPH members and other partners to gather feedback and brainstorm policy solutions;
• Support the Policy Team in facilitating SCANPH’s monthly Policy Committee meetings;
• Participate in legislative visits (in-district visits with legislators, council members, and supervisors) and support with meeting preparation;
• Represent SCANPH in coalition meetings with other non-profits;
• Assist the Policy Team in carrying out coalition work with other non-profits to advance SCANPH’s mission.

Empirical Research, Reports, and Special Projects:

• Support the Policy Team on research topics that support SCANPH’s policy work;
• Be proactive in developing research topics that will advance the work of SCANPH and its members;
• Dedicate time to deep research and investigation on projects that may take months or longer to complete, providing the groundwork for long-term policy change;
• On an ad-hoc basis, take ownership of short to medium term projects that come up in response to needs brought to us by our members.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree; Master’s degree preferred.
• Two years’ experience in policy and advocacy and/or working with organized constituents.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively, including written and verbal presentations to a variety of individuals and organizations.
• Ability to lead organized groups of members, lead delegations to policy makers, and run membership and coalition meetings.
• Ability to work within a small staff and handle diverse duties.
• Familiarity with GIS mapping software is a plus.
• Ability to communicate in Spanish is a plus.

Working Conditions:

• This position will be a hybrid position, where remote work is available aside from a weekly in-person day at SCANPH’s office in Little Tokyo, Downtown Los Angeles.
• Frequent local travel required to in-person public meetings as well as meetings with members, coalition partners, and events/conferences

Salary and benefits: The starting salary for this position ranges from $80,000 to $85,000 annually, depending on the applicant's qualifications and experience. SCANPH offers a generous benefits package, including healthcare and retirement.

Employment Status: Full-time, exempt position.

Preferred Start Date: As soon as position is filled.

SCANPH offers a generous benefits package, including healthcare and retirement.

Ability to communicate in Spanish is a plus.