Affordable Housing Climate & Resiliency Project Associate
The Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) is seeking a full time Affordable Housing Climate & Resiliency Project Associate in our Member Services department. The primary function of this role is to work with low-income cooperative homeowners to reduce carbon emissions and energy costs. All candidates must be English/Spanish bilingual.
About UHAB
UHAB empowers low- to moderate-income residents to take control of their housing and enhance communities by creating strong tenant associations and lasting affordable co-ops. Since 1973, UHAB has helped form hundreds of tenant associations and assisted in the transformation of some 1,600 troubled rental buildings into 1,350 affordable co-ops, providing homeownership opportunities for residents of more than 30,000 apartments. With democratic community control at the core of our mission, we work to sustain this thriving affordable housing community for this generation and those to come.
We organize residents to be active participants and decision-makers in shaping their neighborhoods. UHAB’s programs address a full spectrum of affordable housing needs: from building resident power and organizing tenants as community leaders, to developing thousands of units of affordable housing across the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, to making small loans to first-time homeowners, to preserving existing affordable co-ops through training, education workshops, technical assistance, and regulatory compliance. UHAB’s programs and activities address the needs of future generations through long-term solutions: developing new affordable co-ops, creating energy efficient and solar power opportunities, and strengthening housing policy.
About our Affordable Housing Climate & Resiliency Programs
UHAB’s Affordable Housing Climate & Resiliency Programs, a division of our Member Services department, engages residents in low-to-moderate income co-ops to promote affordability and sustainability through energy efficiency. The Climate & Resiliency Programs team enrolls co-ops in energy efficiency programs, helps co-ops follow energy codes, and guides co-ops through exploring and obtaining renewable and efficient upgrades. Projects will include providing guidance on electrification of heating, cooling, and water systems, assessing feasibility and cost of solar arrays and heating system repair/replacements, collecting and analyzing building survey information, calculating the end of useful life of systems, calculating GHG emissions, and performing cost benefit analysis for converting to beneficial electrification, all with the goal to coordinate strategies to reduce energy usage in buildings.
Position
The Affordable Housing Climate & Resiliency Project Associate at UHAB will support the reduction of carbon emissions in the affordable housing community of building owners and residents. Spanish fluency is required.
Responsibilities
- Grow and expand our services to improve access to energy efficiency, sustainability, and resiliency programs, and oversee delivery of efficiency measures.
- Conduct trainings and seminars on a range of building operations and maintenance topics
- Perform intake and assessment of co-op buildings and make recommendations on implementation plans towards achieving energy reduction goals.
- Conduct outreach and support for renewable energy adoption, including electrification and solar.
- Provide budgets and analysis to determine financial feasibility of capital projects and funding sources.
- Establish and foster relationships with partners, stakeholders, and elected officials to identify and coordinate resources and program offerings.
- Communicate with co-op Board of Directors, shareholders, and managers to deliver information, enroll buildings in programs, publicize new laws, rules, regulations, etc.
- Maintain and develop educational resources and trainings for efficient and resilient communities, and for energy reduction programs.
- Provide individualized guidance to co-ops by phone, email, and in person (when permissible),offering resources, information, and referrals.
- Provide progress reports, and meet regularly with supervisory staff to discuss progress, goals, and areas for improvement.
- Contribute educational articles and features to print and online newsletters and the website.
- Establish, cultivate and maintain trusting relationships with many individuals and groups, including leaders and residents of co-ops, property managers, funders and lenders, and government officials.
Qualifications
- Fluency in oral and written Spanish.
- Self-motivation (as there is a lot of space for new project building), creativity.
- Excellent organizational, multitasking, follow-up, and interpersonal skills, careful attention to detail.
- Ability to communicate complex ideas, orally and in writing, in a clear and accessible way.
- Strong communication skills within a team.
- Ability to work as part of a team or individually in a fast-paced environment that values and requires openness, transparency, and information sharing.
- Ability to establish, cultivate and maintain relationships promoting solidarity, inclusion and respect with many different types of individuals and groups
- Support of equity and justice for diverse populations.
- Strong commitment to social and economic justice and grassroots mobilizing.
- Understanding and interest in cooperative housing and alternative ownership models.
- Interest in serving and supporting low-income residents.
- Interest in project management and learning about and discussing the technical aspects of cooperative living (heating systems, solar panels, legal agreements, etc.).
- Community outreach and organizing experience, or experience with cooperative housing is a plus.
- Leadership development, team building, or conflict resolution skills are a plus.
- Experience working with media and/or elected officials is helpful.
- Experience training adults is helpful.
- At least one year prior experience working as a community or labor organizer, project manager or other related employment in NYC strongly preferred.
Location
UHAB’s work is carried out by over 30 staff members in our main office in Lower Manhattan. During the COVID pandemic we are working almost completely virtually, but expect to return to the office. This job will involve visits to co-ops in neighborhoods throughout the City, often in the evenings.
Annual salary
$52,041 annually. UHAB offers a generous benefits package including 100% employer paid medical and dental insurance; long-term disability insurance; medical and dependent care flexible spending accounts; 3 weeks of paid vacation for new employees and 4 weeks of paid vacation after 2 years of employment; 14 paid holidays, 12 sick days, and 1 personal day per year; and bereavement leave.
How to apply
Email a cover letter and resume with “Project Associate- Member Services” as the subject line to UHAB, at jobs@uhab.org.
Applications without cover letters will not be considered.
UHAB is an equal opportunity employer. Women, people of color, LBGTQ+ people, and people from low-income and working-class backgrounds are encouraged to apply