Housing Advocacy Coordinator or Organizer

NLIHC seeks 3 new individual housing advocacy coordinators or organizers (position dependent on experience) who will be responsible for building relationships with advocates across the country, mobilizing them to take action on NLIHC’s federal policy priorities and campaign efforts, and maintaining and expanding NLIHC membership with individuals and organizations. Housing advocacy coordinators and organizers are part of the Field Team and report to the director of field organizing.

Housing advocacy coordinator salary range: $67,000-$90,000, dependent on experience.

Housing advocacy organizer salary range: $87,000-$102,000, dependent on experience

Responsibilities:

  • Build and maintain relationships with NLIHC state and tribal partners, members, people directly impacted by housing instability and homelessness, and other housing and homelessness advocates and service providers.
  • Conduct outreach to maintain and expand NLIHC’s membership with individuals and organizations through monthly mailings, emails, and phone calls.
  • Mobilize NLIHC’s network of advocates to take action on federal affordable housing policy issues.
  • Present at meetings and conferences in DC and around the country to share NLIHC’s research, policy priorities, and how advocates can get engaged in NLIHC’s work.
  • Respond to requests for information from NLIHC state and tribal partners, members, the media, and the public.
  • Track field activity in assigned region and promote activities of NLIHC’s network, especially state and tribal partners and members, through NLIHC’s communication platforms.
  • Create and maintain advocacy tools in collaboration with the Policy Team, such as NLIHC’s Legislative Action Center, advocacy toolkits, how-to tutorials, sample emails and phone call scripts, and sign-on letters.
  • Contribute to field communications, including NLIHC’s weekly e-newsletters Memo to Members and Partners and The Connection, calls to action and other eblasts, website pages and materials, blog posts, social media, and NLIHC’s Tenant Talk publication.
  • Maintain contact database in Salesforce and other platforms. Produce membership reports and lists as needed to support the work of NLIHC.
  • Identify and cultivate potential new state and tribal partners in places where NLIHC seeks to build a stronger base of advocates.
  • Support planning and implementation of NLIHC’s annual Housing Policy Forum, including speaker recruitment and organizing participants of Capitol Hill Day.
  • Participate in NLIHC staff meetings, staff training, monthly state and tribal partner Zoom meetings, and other meetings as assigned.
  • Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

  • A housing advocacy coordinator will have a bachelor's degree (master's degree preferred) and up to 2 years of experience in policy advocacy, community or macro organizing, membership coordination, or direct assistance to low-income communities. People with lived experience of housing instability or homelessness who want to shape housing policy at a national level, with experience in lieu of a degree, are encouraged to apply.
  • A housing advocacy organizer will have a master’s degree and at least two years of work experience in policy advocacy, community or macro organizing, membership coordination, or direct assistance to low-income communities. An additional three years of work experience in lieu of a master’s degree will be considered.
  • Ability to work in a diverse, fast-paced environment and have strong organizational skills, oral and interpersonal communication skills, networking skills, writing skills, and attention to detail.
  • Strong commitment to social, racial, and housing justice and knowledge of the fundamentals of affordable housing or homelessness.
  • Demonstrated ability to cultivate positive relationships with marginalized individuals, including those with lived experiences with housing insecurity and homelessness.
  • Demonstrated experience and ability to recognize and respond to the ways race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity intersect to further promote racial equity and social justice.
  • Ability to travel to speaking engagements several times a year.
  • Proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite and Zoom. Familiarity with Salesforce, Mailchimp, GiveSmart, or Phone2Action a plus.

An equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, NLIHC offers a competitive benefits package. This is a full-time position located in Washington, DC on a hybrid work schedule. Interested candidates should submit a resume, cover letter, and two writing samples to Sarah Saadian, senior vice president of public policy and field organizing, and Brooke Schipporeit, director of field organizing, at: [email protected] and [email protected].

NLIHC Internship Opportunities

The National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated to achieving racially and socially equitable public policy that ensures people with the lowest incomes have quality homes that are accessible and affordable in communities of their choice.

NLIHC accepts applications for our internship positions on a continuous, rolling basis. Interns are highly valued and fully integrated into our staff work. We seek students passionate about social justice issues, with excellent writing and interpersonal skills. 

Summer, Fall, and Winter interns are expected to work 25 hours a week. Two-semester placements are possible. NLIHC provides modest stipends.

A cover letter, resume, and writing sample are required for consideration. In your cover letter, please specify the position(s)/semester for which you are applying. Communications/Media/Graphic Design interns should also submit three examples of graphic design work (attachments or online portfolio).

The available positions are:

Spring (Jan. to May), Summer (June to August), and Fall (Sept. to Dec.):

Policy Intern. Tracks new legislation, attends and summarizes congressional hearings for the Memo to Members newsletter, participates in visits to congressional offices, develops materials for use in lobbying the House and Senate to achieve NLIHC’s policy agenda, and updates the NLIHC Congressional database. 

Interested students should submit their materials to Kim Johnson via email at: [email protected].

Field Intern. Supports the NLIHC Field team to engage advocates across the country and mobilize them to take action on NLIHC’s policy priorities. Tasks may include data entry and database maintenance in Salesforce, managing the organization’s general email inbox, mailing renewal letters to members, writing articles for the weekly Memo to Members e-newsletter and other outlets, planning and implementing NLIHC Events such as convenings with partners and the annual Policy Forum, building relationships with advocates across the country, and mobilizing the field to act on federal policy priorities.

Interested students should submit their materials to Brooke Schipporeit via email at: [email protected].

Research Intern. Assists in ongoing quantitative and qualitative research projects writes weekly articles on current research for Memo to Members, attends briefings, and responds to research inquiries. Quantitative skills and experience with SPSS a plus.

Interested students should submit their materials to Andrew Aurand via email at: [email protected].

Fund Development Intern. Supports NLIHC fund development activities and events that enable the Coalition to obtain the necessary resources to fulfill its mission of ending homelessness and housing poverty in America, including researching prospective funders, monitoring incoming donor data, coordinating mailing campaigns, maintaining client relations management data, and other fundraising activities. The individual will also support NLIHC with other key operational needs. The fund development intern will report to the NLIHC development coordinator. NLIHC seeks someone with strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and communications (oral, interpersonal, and written) skills, as well as a strong commitment to social justice. Experience using Salesforce is a plus.

Communications/Media/Graphic Design Intern. Assists with designing collateral material such as brochures, flyers, infographics, and social media imagery, and updating content on the NLIHC website. They also prepare and distribute press materials, assist with media research and outreach for publication releases, work on social media projects, maintain a media database, and track press hits. Some experience with graphic design and Adobe Creative Cloud (Illustrator, InDesign, and/or Photoshop) is needed. 

Interested students should submit their materials to the Communications Team via email at: [email protected].

Our Homes, Our Votes Intern

Our Homes, Our Votes is NLIHC’s nonpartisan campaign to boost voter turnout among low-income renters and educate candidates about housing solutions. The intern will assist with creating and updating template resources and other communications materials for partner organizations, organizing campaign meetings and webinars, writing updates for the Memo to Members & Partners newsletter, monitoring ballot measures related to housing and homelessness, and assessing the impact of campaign activities. This position reports to the Our Homes, Our Votes project manager.

The Our Homes, Our Votes campaign seeks someone with strong written and oral communications skills, strong organizational skills, a demonstrated commitment to civic engagement, and ability to remain strictly nonpartisan in all campaign activities. Past experience with nonpartisan voter engagement campaigns and/or other election-related work is a plus. 

Interested students should submit their materials to Courtney Cooperman via email at: [email protected]