Architect / Urban Design Partner – PromiseHousing (Volunteer)

Description

Architect / Urban Design Partner – PromiseHousing (Volunteer)

Organization: Mentor A Promise

Division: PromiseHousing

Location: Remote with NYC-based collaboration as needed

Type: Volunteer (Unpaid, Senior Professional / Advisory Role)

About Mentor A Promise & PromiseHousing

Mentor A Promise (MAP) is a nonprofit organization supporting children and youth ages 5–18 experiencing housing instability in New York City. In addition to mentorship and education, MAP advances long-term housing solutions that address the structural conditions impacting families.

PromiseHousing is MAP’s housing and real estate development division, focused on creating dignified, sustainable, and community-centered housing. Design excellence is central to this work—ensuring homes are safe, accessible, cost-efficient, and responsive to the lived experiences of families and children.

Role Overview

The Architect / Urban Design Partner – PromiseHousing serves as a design leader and thought partner, supporting housing concepts from early planning through schematic and design development. This role centers trauma-informed, family-friendly design, ADA and universal design principles, and cost-efficient, code-compliant layouts that can be realistically delivered within nonprofit development constraints.

This role is ideal for a licensed architect, urban designer, or experienced design professional interested in applying their expertise to equitable, human-centered housing solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead or advise on architectural and urban design concepts for PromiseHousing projects
• Integrate trauma-informed, family-centered design principles into unit layouts and shared spaces
• Ensure designs meet ADA requirements and universal design best practices
• Develop cost-efficient, constructible, and code-compliant layouts aligned with project budgets
• Collaborate with development, construction, and engineering partners to align design with feasibility
• Support site planning, massing studies, unit mix strategies, and circulation design
• Assist with zoning analysis and design responses to regulatory constraints
• Ensure all designs reflect PromiseHousing values of dignity, safety, and long-term livability

Qualifications

• Professional experience in architecture, urban design, or housing design
• Strong understanding of residential building codes, accessibility standards, and design constraints
• Ability to balance design quality with cost, constructability, and compliance
• Experience collaborating with multidisciplinary development teams
• Clear communication and design documentation skills
• Alignment with MAP’s equity-driven, community-centered mission

Preferred Skills

• Licensed Architect (or equivalent professional credential)
• Experience with affordable housing, nonprofit development, or community-based projects
• Familiarity with trauma-informed or human-centered design frameworks
• Knowledge of NYC zoning, building codes, or urban context
• Experience mentoring junior designers or collaborating in advisory roles

Commitment

• Volunteer professional role within the PromiseHousing division
• Approximately 5–10 hours per week
• Minimum 6-month commitment preferred
• Remote collaboration with periodic NYC-based design coordination

What You’ll Gain

• Opportunity to shape housing design that directly impacts families and children
• Meaningful application of trauma-informed and universal design principles
• Collaboration with mission-driven developers, planners, and nonprofit leaders
• Professional recognition and letters of recommendation upon completion
• The chance to leave a lasting, built legacy rooted in dignity and care

How to Apply

Interested candidates should apply directly through Idealist.

Help design housing that heals, welcomes, and lasts—where architecture becomes a foundation for stability, safety, and hope.

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with our organization. At this time, volunteer opportunities are limited to individuals based in the United States due to legal, safeguarding, data-privacy, and programmatic requirements. We appreciate your interest in our mission and your understanding of these constraints.