Director of Community & Economic Development, Urban Affairs Coalition

Posted by Urban Affairs Coalition on September 21, 2015

POSITION SUMMARY:
CED, a program of UAC, is currently looking for an individual to fill the position of Director of Community & Economic Development (CED). The individual selected for this position will report to the Chief Operating and Information Officer and will work closely with UAC’s Executive Director, the senior management team, and will contribute to the strategic planning of CED and UAC.

The CED program helps low to moderate income individuals in the Philadelphia region move from the margins to the economic mainstream by bringing capital to communities through financial education, asset-building and loan programs for homebuyers and small businesses, foreclosure prevention, employer-assisted housing, consumer advocacy and building bridges to financial institutions.

The Director of CED is the lead support staff to the committee of outside partner organizations called the CED Committee. The CED Committee is composed of approximately 40 members representing banks, bank regulatory agencies, community development organizations, government development agencies and intermediaries. It is the organizational hub of CED activities.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Director of CED is responsible for managing relationships with partners, program development and delivery, strategic planning, consumer advocacy, budget and contract management, fundraising, and staff management. This individual will represent CED to internal and external constituents.

Responsibilities include:
 Facilitate the action initiatives of the CED Committee. Provide leadership and/or staff support to its task forces and subcommittees. These currently include:

Foreclosure Prevention Task Force, Financial Education Subcommittee, and CDFI
Capacity-Building Initiative for small business lending. Low to Moderate Income
Lending, and the Employer-Assisted Housing Subcommittee;

 Leverage and develop partnerships with CED Committee Members, like minded collaborative, non-profits, universities, and area employers to achieve programmatic and advocacy goals with special emphasis on the evaluation and development
opportunities to engage banking community around program and policy initiatives, volunteer opportunities, gaining CRA credit and industry exposure;

 Work effectively with the public, nonprofit and for-profit sectors, especially with financial institutions, community development organizations, and bank regulatory agencies;

 Obtain foundation, government and corporate funding. This includes: cultivating sources, exploring interests, submitting proposals and progress reports, meeting with funders, and managing relationships;

 Develop and manage the departmental budget including restricted and unrestricted revenue streams;

 Supervise and/or directly manage departmental programs;

 Evaluate program performance and develop feasible short and long-term funding strategies for program initiatives;

 Analyze community economic development issues as they emerge from subcommittee members, academic writings and scholarly research, and media coverage for the purpose of articulating policy and programmatic solutions. Work with subcommittees to develop advocacy and program action plans to positively impact low to middle income households;

 Maintain and cultivate memberships with existing and prospective Committee Members;

 Contribute to public policy analyses, position formulation, and advocacy. This includes: providing position papers and testimonies at government hearings;

 Develop content for quarterly CED Committee meetings. Meeting coordination includes: developing agenda, arranging meeting facilities and guest speakers;

 Develop and manage multi-mode communication strategies to effectively support departmental objectives;

 Supervise, motivate, and evaluate CED staff members, including college interns.

QUALIFICATIONS:
 Excellent verbal communication skills to make public presentations at conferences, meetings, hearings and educational programs and to facilitate subcommittee meetings and task forces;

 Excellent written communication skills to write funding proposals, essays/articles, official reports, etc.;

 Demonstrated record of success and proven commitment to social and economic justice and empowerment of disadvantaged groups in a democratic and capitalist society;

 Ability to evaluate of initiatives and programs against organizational and industry benchmarks;

 Understanding of nonprofit budgeting;

 Proficiency in Microsoft Office products (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.);

 Willingness and ability to attend frequent meetings in Center City Philadelphia, meetings/events in urban neighborhoods, and out-of-town meetings/events;

 Local knowledge of Philadelphia Community Development industry helpful.
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EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
 A Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field. A Master’s degree in urban planning and/or economic or community development, financial education is preferred;
 Minimum of 3-5 years’ experience in community development, relevant policy and advocacy, financial education, urban planning and/or economic development;
 Experience in the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) area of banking or bank regulation;
 Demonstrated experience in effectively managing a staff;
 Demonstrated ability to raise funds;
 Experience in public speaking;
 Demonstrated ability to recognize and evaluate unique opportunities for program development and policy and education initiatives that will strategically enhance the CED’s position as thought leader and its access to funding.

Competitive salary and benefit package commensurate with experience.
Interested applicants should send their resume no later than September 4th to:
Urban Affairs Coalition (UAC)
Attn: Sandra Higginbotham-Briddell
Human Resources Department
Email: shigginbotham@uac.org
UAC/CED is committed to a diverse workforce. Women & minorities are encouraged to apply.