Director of Policy

Key things to know about this role

The Director of Policy will lead and strengthen a focused policy operation to advance the mission of a high impact, growing nonprofit.

Policy is one leg of a “three-legged stool” model for how Compass pursues its mission, with the other legs being: (1) direct implementation of programs and (2) field-building, training, and technical assistance to other practitioners. These three areas of work mutually support and strengthen one another in pursuit of the organization’s mission and goals. No leg is primary.

Compass has engaged in policy advocacy for many years. In 2022, the organization formally launched a dedicated policy team as part of its seven-year strategic scaling plan to expand internal capacity for policy change work and advance the organization’s mission.

Directors at Compass serve as functional leaders and are actively engaged in the day-to-day work that they lead. They are senior leaders reporting to members of the Executive Team.

This role combines frontline work as the organization’s primary representative on matters of federal policy with duties as the internal leader of all policy-related work, such as setting overall policy strategy and sequencing annual work plans, ensuring the policy department is adequately resourced with paid staff and external contractors to carry out its work, managing a budget, and so on.

About Compass

Compass is an innovative, mission-driven organization that supports families with low incomes to save for their future and access greater economic opportunity. We believe in our clients and in their ability to achieve their goals and dreams. We operate high-quality financial coaching and savings programs and pursue opportunities to shape the national approach to poverty through practice and policy change. Compass is also an emerging leader in a national effort to leverage housing assistance as a platform for economic mobility. We are looking for people who want to be part of taking our programs and our impact to the next level.

Our mission is to partner with families with low incomes to build assets as a pathway out of poverty. We focus on reaching families led by Black and/or Latinx women.

To achieve our mission, we operate client-centered savings and financial coaching programs, deliver training and technical assistance to other practitioners, and shape policy solutions that dismantle barriers to asset building.

For more information, please visit our website, www.compassworkingcapital.org, or click here to learn more about our strategic plan.

About The Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program

Congress created the FSS program in 1990 as an employment and savings program for families in federally subsidized housing. The program combines a powerful savings incentive with service delivery to support residents in reaching their goals. It is the nation’s largest asset-building program for families with low incomes.

Since 2010, Compass has partnered with public housing agencies and other affordable housing providers to operate an asset-building model for the FSS program — the first nonprofit organization in the country to do so.

About the Job

Reporting to the Chief External Affairs Officer (CEAO) and in collaboration with the CEO and other senior leadership, the Director will drive Compass’ ambitious policy objectives in our new strategic plan while working to strengthen and elevate the policy function at Compass.

All Compass staff embody the following core competencies:

• Ownership: Steps up and follows through to consistently deliver high-quality work.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Champions the value of diversity and the creation of inclusive spaces.
• Growth Mindset: Embraces challenges and setbacks as the fuel for learning and development.
• Teamwork: Contributes actively and collaboratively with colleagues to achieve shared goals.

Primary Responsibilities

• Elevate and strengthen Compass’ reputation as a national thought-leader among members of Congress, the administration, and current and potential allies in our field, within these areas of focus:
  • HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program,
  • Asset-building and economic mobility, particularly within the context of affordable housing, and
  • Racial equity and the racial and gender wealth divides.
• Advance and expand relationships with HUD staff, federal elected officials, and current and potential allies in our field – such as housing trade groups and other aligned special interest groups.
• Drive progress on a campaign to secure Congressional authority to test a new approach to delivering HUD’s FSS program through the Helping More Families Save Act (S.970), a key aspect of Compass’ current strategic plan.
• Identify and coordinate internal and external resources needed to achieve Compass’ policy goals, such as paid staff, external contractors, and partnerships. Supervise a Policy Manager and manage or reposition currently contracted work with a team of external lobbyists.
• Effectively leverage the CEO’s time and expertise to engage in federal policy work, in collaboration with the CEAO.
• Lead organizational focus and decision making on when to accelerate or deprioritize work on various policy objectives in response to evolving conditions and emerging opportunities on the ground.
• Lead an informal coalition of housing, policy, and related organizations with a shared interest in expanding the scope and impact of the FSS program. This coalition first came together in 2014 to advocate for multifamily owners’ eligibility to offer FSS and has continued to work together to expand federal funding for the program, among other priorities. The coalition currently meets monthly on Zoom and is actively seeking new organizational partners to strengthen its advocacy efforts.
• Represent the organization at industry conferences, policy forums, and stakeholder meetings to advance FSS program goals and build strategic partnerships, with travel expectations of 1-2 times per month during peak seasons of February-May and September-October.
• Refine and ensure proper implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for policy advocacy activities, coalition management processes, and stakeholder engagement protocols, including lobbying disclosure reporting requirements and comprehensive tracking systems to ensure regulatory compliance and effective program implementation.
• Cultivate opportunities for Compass clients, including members of our Program Committee and Compass Ambassadors, to shape our policy agenda and engage directly in policy advocacy, such as by coordinating state or federal briefings, Hill visits, site visits, etc.
• Develop tools to effectively communicate about Compass and our policy objectives with various stakeholders and increase Compass’ visibility as a respected voice on policy within our field.
• Play a leading role in longer-term planning and goal-setting for Compass’ policy work, including:
  • Potential further expansion of the policy team; with support from HR, manage recruitment, onboarding, and supervision of any additional hires to the policy team
  • A long-term scope and objectives for state-level work in Compass’ major markets (currently Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago with potential additional major cities), which is currently led by the CEAO
• Build strong relationships with and leverage the talents of colleagues, such as program, development, strategy, communications, and administrative team members to strengthen awareness of and support for policy work throughout the organization.
• Inform ongoing reporting on the progress of our policy work to the Executive Team, Board, funders, and other stakeholders.

Qualifications and Skills

• 5-7+ years relevant experience, such as in a policy or legislative affairs role at a mission-driven organization, government housing agency (HUD, state, or local), elected official’s office, multifamily property owner, affordable housing finance company, or real estate policy/advocacy organization.
• Experience (professional and/or lived) in one or more of the following policy domains: asset building, racial equity, affordable housing, and/or community development
• Experience working with HUD policy and budget processes
• Familiarity with federal appropriations process
• Existing relationships with policymakers, advocates, and other asset-building, housing, and/or anti-poverty organizations
• Strong interpersonal, communications, writing, public speaking skills
• Ability to organize complex groups of stakeholders to focus on and advance policy goals
• Strong alignment with Compass mission and values
• Cultural humility; openness to and respect for others’ cultures, identities, and lived experiences
• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to creatively problem solve, prioritize, create actionable plans, manage, and deliver tangible outcomes in a growing organization

Equal Opportunity Statement

Compass Working Capital is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider applications for all positions, without regard to age, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, creed, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, military status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Compass Working Capital is committed to ensuring individuals with disabilities receive the accommodations required for them to interview for a position on our team. Should you require accommodations, please contact hr@compassworkingcapital.org.

As a contractor of Boston Housing Authority, Compass also provides hiring preference to Section 3 residents. Section 3 Residency is defined as being an authorized resident of Boston Housing Authority or a “low-income resident” of the Boston Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Suffolk, Norfolk, Middlesex, Essex, Plymouth, Strafford (NH), and Rockingham (NH) Counties.

As a contractor of Philadelphia Housing Authority, Compass also provides hiring preference to Section 3 residents. Section 3 Residency is defined as being an authorized resident of Philadelphia Housing Authority or a “low-income resident” of the area where the HUD-assisted project is located.

For the purposes of Section 3, "low-income" is defined as 80% of the Area Median Income. To learn more information about Section 3 income eligibility, please refer to the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Website.

Benefits

The salary range for this role is $105,000-$125,000, commensurate with experience, with a $5,000 sign-on bonus. We’ll promote your professional growth and development by providing access to a competitive salary and benefits package and additional employee benefits that include but are not limited to:

Healthcare: medical, dental, vision: Compass covers up to 80% of employee premiums and 80% for dependents. There is no waiting period to enroll in health insurance.

• Retirement plan 401(k) & 3% match
• Parental Leave: Employees who have been employed for at least three (3) months are eligible to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. *Employee must be with the organization for six (6) months to receive up to six (6) weeks of full pay from the organization.
• Life insurance & disability Insurance
• Paid time off: Employees receive up to 21 vacation days, 10 sick days, 3 personal days, and 8 holidays per calendar year, plus the final week of the calendar year off as an organizational wide holiday. All employees enjoy a two-hour early closure starting the Friday after Memorial Day through the week of Labor Day.
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• Professional development & certification
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Office closed the final week of calendar year
• Equipment: $200 one-time stipend for work from home expenses
• Internet Reimbursement: Up to $40 per month for personal internet expenses.