Communications & Development Associate

The Homeless Action Center (HAC) is a community-based legal services program founded in 1990 to provide legal services to people who are homeless in Alameda County. HAC’s specialty is public benefits advocacy, with a focus on Social Security disability benefits and a goal of stabilizing and increasing clients’ income so that they can obtain sustainable housing and health care. Employing a client-centered model and harm reduction framework, HAC’s staff work closely with other legal and social services programs to assist clients in meeting their emergency and longer-term needs during the process of obtaining benefits. HAC is committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and working diligently toward an anti-racist organization and society. Please refer to www.homelessactioncenter.org.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

The Homeless Action Center is committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and working diligently toward an anti-racist organization and society.HAC’s Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) and Social Impact and the Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI) Committee, with the support of other dedicated staff, have put in a tremendous amount of work towards positively impacting change around diversity, equity, inclusion and racial justice. HAC employs DEI principles at all stages of the hiring process, collects and analyzes data on staff demographics and retention, and periodically engages with consultants to assess the organization’s culture, facilitate processes and working groups, and make recommendations with implementation strategies for improvement. HAC’s Executive Director has declared that DEI will be one of the organization’s top priorities and the Management Team, in partnership with staff, continues to strive to increase DEI within HAC.

POSITION SUMMARY

HAC seeks a Communications & Development Associate who will be responsible for planning, implementing, managing, and evaluating HAC’s communications as they relate to the organization’s fundraising and who will assist in fund development activities as part of the Development Team. The ideal candidate will have experience in traditional and social media, as well as fundraising in a nonprofit organization. The Communications & Development Associate reports to and works closely with the Development Director, as well as collaborating on communications and development projects with HAC’s Executive Director and Deputy Development Director.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Performing various day-to-day communications duties as needed, including, but not limited to, copyediting and proofreading programmatic materials, and drafting communications materials for use in traditional media stories and HAC’s online presence, including news releases, daily and weekly social media posts, brief video pieces, and email communications
• Creating and maintaining relationships with local newspapers, TV, and radio stations, keeping an updated list of media contacts, and connecting proactively with those contacts on a regular basis
• Helping to research, cultivate, and sustain relationships with current and potential individual donors, including processing gifts and thanking donors, as well as government, foundation, and corporate funders
• Supporting Development Team staff with quarterly digital and paper communications with individual donors, including eNewsletters, annual report, and snail mailing of twice-annual solicitation letters
• Developing a content plan for HAC’s social media channels and regularly updating through posts, as well as tracking and analyzing HAC’s social media performance
• Building HAC staff capacity for responding to media requests and coordinating information shared on issues related to homelessness in conjunction with the Executive Director and HAC’s Media Team
• Updating the organization’s list of media coverage of HAC, and making available to the Development Team content from media coverage for use in grant proposals
• Managing HAC’s website using WordPress to edit and create new content, including monthly blog posts, and working with colleagues to ensure storytelling approach and key organizational messages are accurately and consistently communicated to supporters and prospective supporters
• Serving as project manager for short- and long-term communications campaigns
• Performing other related duties, as assigned

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Highly relevant work experience over at least a four-year period
• Computer skills including Microsoft Office Suite and web platforms
• Excellent verbal, writing, analytical, interpersonal, and leadership skills, with high-level attention to detail
• Creative thinker and open-minded problem solver with a calm and flexible demeanor
• Resourceful, including ability to independently research and reach out to and collaborate with colleagues to gather information, answer questions, and solve problems
• Able to prioritize and juggle multiple deadlines with varying degrees of urgency regarding deadlines, from a couple of hours to a week or month
• Knowledge of homelessness and issues surrounding homelessness in the Bay Area, as well as a desire to work with homeless people

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience working in a social justice organization
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field
• Working knowledge of the issues affecting our unhoused and disabled clients
• Experience with WordPress and donor databases such as Little Green Light

ORGANIZATION VALUES AND CORE COMPETENCIES

HAC’s Core Competencies are the skills we expect all of our staff to have and continually develop – regardless of role or level. These core competencies are the skills that reflect how we live our values, support a consistency of staff experience across HAC, and help us understand what is expected of us and where we have room to grow.

1. Harm Reduction

This value requires us to meet our clients where they are on their path in life and co-create strategies for survival with the resources available. Harm reduction is in contrast to a model that conditions the receipt of services on abstinence, socially acceptable behavior, or gratitude. Harm reduction empowers others to make choices to reduce the harms associated with the experiences of precarity, lack of access to treatment, health care, and permanent housing. A harm reduction and trauma informed mindset and ethos requires the following competencies:

• Centering client dignity and autonomy
• Interacting with our clients without fear or judgment
• Ability to interact with people experiencing severe mental illness, under the influence of substances, and at times displaying antisocial and offensive behavior

1. Radical Compassion

We expect our staff to have a demonstrated commitment to social change. Everyone deserves second chances – especially our clients – and we are not afraid of conflict in the service of solving problems and making HAC better. This value is about prioritizing relationship building and how we treat each other. Compassion at HAC also means understanding that socioeconomic systems, not individuals, are responsible for poverty. Compassion at HAC means:

• Practicing empathy in all interactions
• Having understanding and radical love for our clients first, for each other as colleagues, and for ourselves
• The ability to have difficult conversations, manage conflict, and face confrontation with humility, kindness, and respect

1. Redemption

We show up to this work with an understanding that HAC's clients are not the typical clients of a legal services organization. We do not condition representation on perfect behavior, and we are prepared to give multiple chances. Redemption at HAC means:

• We do not end relationships with clients because a client said the wrong thing, missed an appointment, or refuses to engage in drug treatment or health care
• We do not give up on our clients
• We go above and beyond for as long as it takes

1. Excellence

By excellence, we mean the quality of the services we deliver, the culture we foster, and our commitment to growth and learning. We expect excellence to look like:

• Attaining successful outcomes for our goals and objectives
• Demonstrating cultural humility by taking a learning stance and being open to our clients and colleagues’ cultural experiences
• Growing professionally and always learning in order to deliver outstanding work product
• Collaborating across teams and being proactive in offering solutions to challenges

1. Honor

We feel honored to be able to do this work at this time in this community. Our clients entrust us with their most difficult and private struggles and we are able to offer some relief. It’s hard work, and it has meaning and is honorable as well. What this means in practice is:

• We show up with integrity, an open mind, and heart
• We are able to deal with workplace stress and change
• We are adaptable and responsive
• We all make mistakes, take responsibility for them, and extend each other grace

1. Justice

Justice is the systematic fair treatment of all people, resulting in equitable opportunities and outcomes for all. It is not just the absence of discrimination and inequities, but also the presence of deliberate systems and supports to achieve and sustain equity through proactive and preventative measures. To embody justice at HAC, everyone:

• Is committed to advancing racial equity
• Has been directly impacted by inequity or has lived experience of solidarity with oppressed groups
• Has a deep understanding of the intersectional impact of race, class, gender, disability, and other kinds of injustice.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Work is reviewed frequently. The employee performs a variety of routine work assignments within established policies and procedures, and receives instructions on new policies and projects.
• Our offices have open spaces and thus can be loud and chaotic. While we are a working law office, the layout, as well as the nature of our work, can mean that it is louder than a “typical” office space.
• We have animals – cats and dogs – in our offices.
• This position at times involves interacting with people living in homeless encampments. Encampments may be especially chaotic, and may have debris, drug paraphernalia, rodents, and other possible hazards.
• Occasional need to interact with clients that may be expressing anger both appropriately and inappropriately.
• The worker is occasionally exposed to perfume or scents in personal care products used by employees, clients, and visitors.
• The worker is occasionally exposed to cleaning products.
• The work environment includes traveling using various modes of transportation.
• The work environment may include driving an agency vehicle.
• This is a hybrid position based at our Berkeley office with an expectation of working in the office at least two days per week.

SALARY & BENEFITS

• Starting salary commensurate with experience, starting at $90,000 per year. Salary scale is examined at least annually. This is a full-time salaried exempt position with regular working hours from 9am-5pm, Monday through Friday with a 1-hour unpaid lunch from 12pm-1pm.
• Employer paid insurance: health, vision, and dental, as well as $150,000 basic term life insurance and AD&D policy, long-term disability insurance and employee assistance program. Coverage includes 100% employer paid medical, dental and vision insurance premiums for employee and dependent spouse/domestic partner or children; when adding spouse/domestic partner and children, 100% of the child premiums and 50% of the spouse/domestic partner premiums are paid by HAC. Additional optional life insurance, short-term disability, accident, and critical illness plans available.
• Optional Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for healthcare or dependent care available.
• 50% Subsidy for Commuter Check program.
• Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) in the amount of $200 subsidy per month for all staff who have student loans, regardless of salary or loan amount.
• 403(b) account available with employer contribution of up to 4% of annual salary.
• Generous vacation, holiday and sick time.

TO APPLY

Please submit your cover letter and resume as a single PDF attachment to recruitment@homelessactioncenter.org when applying.

In order to best serve our clients and our community, HAC is committed to creating an equitable and inclusive workplace in which differences are acknowledged and valued. Please address the following question(s) in your cover letter: How has your personal background or experience, professional or otherwise, prepared you to contribute to social justice, racial equity, and diversity among our staff? What is your style of problem solving and conflict resolution?

HAC is committed to equity in hiring. We encourage people of color, women, people with disabilities, older people, LGBTQIA people, and members of other historically oppressed groups to apply. It is HAC’s policy to prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type and to afford equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, pregnancy, medical condition or genetic information, experience of incarceration, veteran status, national origin, disability, marital, or other protected status. HAC will conform to the spirit, as well as the letter, of all applicable laws and regulations.

DISCLAIMER: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Nothing in this job description restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

• Employer paid insurance: health, vision, and dental, as well as $150,000 basic term life insurance and AD&D policy, long-term disability insurance and employee assistance program. Coverage includes 100% employer paid medical, dental and vision insurance premiums for employee and dependent spouse/domestic partner or children; when adding spouse/domestic partner and children, 100% of the child premiums and 50% of the spouse/domestic partner premiums are paid by HAC. Additional optional life insurance, short-term disability, accident, and critical illness plans available.
• Optional Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for healthcare or dependent care available.
• 50% Subsidy for Commuter Check program.
• Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) in the amount of $200 subsidy per month for all staff who have student loans, regardless of salary or loan amount.
• 403(b) account available with employer contribution of up to 4% of annual salary.
• Generous vacation, holiday and sick time.