Managing Director

Starting Salary : $65-95,000 annually with benefits, depending on skills, experience and qualifications. Candidates with executive level experience and qualification may be eligible to apply for Chief Operating Officer (COO) position with commensurate pay and benefits.

Position Summary

Voice of the People Chicago, an affordable housing and collaborative service non-profit organization based in the Uptown Community, is expanding its services more broadly with hiring of a Managing Director of the Voice Owner’s Network Program (VON) Program. This includes a Technical Assistance Center and start-up administration for a nationally significant Dovie Thurman Affordable Housing Trust. The organization seeks a manager with broad experience in financing and community development, and a passion for problem solving and advocacy in support of property owners and their key staff / vendors in asset management, property management and resident services.

Within the historically diverse Uptown community, Voice has inspired, enabled and supported the acquisition, management and development over 57 years, making possible 2,000 units of affordable housing, including a portfolio of fourteen properties maintained by the organization, where it connects residents to support services, economic opportunities and civic / leadership opportunities. With Uptown now being a reinvesting and gentrifying community in a larger vicinity of the north lakefront, where every affordable housing development is experiencing serious challenges in property management and social / economic stability, literally every property is “at‑risk” of sale to the marketplace.

The Managing Director (MD) of the Voice Owner’s Network (VON), under supervision of Voice’s Executive Director, will oversee networking and technical assistance efforts to support owners to increase incomes, decrease costs, access technical and enhance professional development for key staff and vendors in the continuation of affordable housing. The Managing Director will additionally be charged with administration of VON’s largest project with the newly incorporated Dovie Thurman Affordable Housing Trust. In this, the MD will implement the Trust’s strategies for organizational member benefits development; and spearhead education and outreach for potential new affordable housing owner‑members with qualifying developments.

MD Duties and Responsibilities

• Acts as liaison and coordinator of internal and external services in support of VON Program and projects, including with Voice executive / administrative, finance / compliance, fundraising and resource development, and resident services staff;
• Develops and implements, with executive and leadership input from Voice and Trust boards, strategic plans for organizational development, member benefits development and related advocacy, and marketing / branding, education and outreach, including engagement with Voice Housing Policy Committee and Speaker’s Bureau;
• Supervises Owner Services Specialist, administrative support and interns for the VON Program, and special projects like the Affordable Housing Ownership Database and Mapping Project, which can inform program planning, services to address owners’ identified needs, and outreach to prospective Trust members;
• Represents organization in preservation advocacy within Uptown, in coalition with advocate partners, including for projects at risk of market sales, and in collaboration with citywide and statewide coalitions and support groups;
• Maintains relations with government and political representatives, acting as resource on financing, zoning and planning matters;
• Schedules and facilitates networking and technical assistance services for VON Program, convening consultations, professional networking, and training that benefits asset managers, property managers and resident service providers tasked with sustaining quality affordable housing;
• Supports work of key staff in Voice Fundraising and Resource Development for the Dovie Thurman Affordable Housing Trust; and developing accounting, personnel and benefits, governance systems;
• Maintains relations with funders, lenders, investors and technical assistance providers of VON or Trust affiliated owners;
• Administers planning and evaluation of VON Program and Trust, during start-up period, including annual reporting and objective setting, and quarterly progress reporting for leadership of two boards, and reporting to funders as required; and,
• Acts as chief spokesperson and community relations manager for the Dovie Thurman Affordable Housing Trust, an organization that brings owners together with a commitment to service‑enriched, permanently affordable housing, and benefits that supports social and economic viability of developments over time.

General Qualifications & Requirements

A position‑related degree from an accredited college or university, plus at least five years of experience in community development. Candidates must have a working knowledge or informed experience in affordable housing finance, property management and resident services and possess excellent verbal and written communication skills. Knowledge and experience with affordable housing – rental, ownership, cooperative and shared equity housing. Experience and proficiency of work with communities of people with racial, economic, age and needs diversity is essential. Certifications and capacity for technical support in affordable housing property management is preferred, as is work experience with community land trusts or shared equity housing. Candidates with executive level experience and qualifications may be eligible to apply for Chief Operating Officer (COO) position with commensurate pay and benefits.

Apply and Contact Us

Email cover letter to Michael Rohrbeck, Voice’s Executive Director, with resume, writing sample(s) and references to careers@uptownvoice.org

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