DIRECTOR OF CIVIL RIGHTS AND FAIR HOUSING

Organization

• Metro Housing Boston (formerly Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership) is a leading nonprofit dedicated to connecting the residents of Greater Boston with safe, decent homes they can afford. Metro Housing empowers families and individuals to move along the continuum from homelessness to housing stability. Serving more than 25,000 households annually, we work seamlessly to bridge the gaps among government, nonprofits, and corporations to continually increase our impact. With more than 30 years’ experience piloting and implementing housing programs, we have solidified our position as an industry-leading expert on navigating the affordable housing field.

Metro Housing|Boston’s mission:  “We mobilize wide-ranging resources to provide innovative and personalized services that lead families and individuals to housing stability, economic security and an improved quality of life.”

Overview

The Director of Civil Rights and Fair Housing is responsible for Metro Housing compliance with fair housing laws. The director prepares and conducts ongoing training and provides technical assistance in the area of fair housing laws and responsibilities for all staff, residents, and property owners and managers. The director reviews Metro Housing’s organizational outreach, material development, and web site development to ensure that they are compliant and supportive of fair housing. The director participates in policy development, analysis, implementation, and monitoring.

Reports to

Director of Housing Supports

Responsibilities May Include:

• Analyze agency’s policies, programs, and practices for compliance with fair housing laws and obligation to affirmatively further fair housing;
• Work with Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer on fair housing federal, state, and city policy advocacy;
• Identify ways to connect organizations working to improve housing issues so as to strengthen advocacy for all segments of the population requiring assistance;
• Day-to-day management of Fair Housing Program including review of reasonable accommodation and Violence Against Women requests and provision of technical assistance on all fair housing matters;
• Supervision of Fair Housing Client Advocates;
• Represent organization on external task forces, advisory boards, advocacy coalitions, etc.;
• Conduct internal and external trainings on fair housing and civil rights topics;
• Serve as Language Assistance Plan (LAP) Officer and consult with staff to monitor implementation and compliance with state and federal regulations;
• Serve as Section 504/ADA Officer and consult with staff to monitor compliance with accessibility regulations on state & federal level;
• Conduct internal investigations on allegations of discrimination under agency policies and consult with Executive Director;
• Collaborating with the Board DEI Committee and outside vendor for completion of the Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) audit and implementation of the action plan;
• Participate in senior staff meetings;
• Work closely and collaboratively with senior staff members;
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s Degree preferred. Minimum of five years’ experience in fair housing on federal, state, and local levels with a broad knowledge of housing issues and specialized housing programs. Applicable work experience may be considered in place of degree;
  • Minimum of five years of outreach, training (staff and targeted populations), and advocacy experience;
  • Familiarity with fair housing issues that affect all protected classes and the housing industry, including compliance;
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
  • Ability to manage several tasks at once, anticipate and identify problems, and suggest solutions in a timely manner;
  • Strong presentation skills;
  • Accurate and detail oriented;
  • Ability to represent Metro Housing in a professional manner;
  • Demonstrated success in tracking program outcomes, accurately assessing client needs, managing co

Preference Given To:

• Candidates with multilingual skills (verbal and written). We are seeking candidates that speak and write English and at least one of the following languages (for interpreting and translation): Vietnamese, Cape Verdean Creole, Portuguese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Toisanese, and Spanish.
• Candidates who live within two miles of Metro Housing|Boston’s headquarters at Roxbury Crossing.

Salary & Benefits

Salary dependent on experience. Please include salary requirements with cover letter and resume. Excellent benefits. Please see website: http://metrohousingboston.org/

This is an exempt position.