*Candidates must apply through Community Vision’sADP Career Centerto be considered.

WHO WE ARE

Community Vision partners with mission-driven organizations across California to secure the spaces that help communities thrive. As a nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI), we provide flexible financing and strategic advising to help our clients purchase, preserve, and develop social purpose real estatesuch as affordable housing, health clinics, and cultural centers.

Grounded in our belief that community ownership of community assets is one of the most powerful tools for cultivating thriving communities, promoting economic justice, and building power, we work to create lasting community assets that enable stability, agency, and self-determinationhelping communities build power through place.Learn more about our work.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Community Vision is hiring its first-ever Senior Strategic Initiatives Officer as part of its Strategic Initiatives team. This role will play an important part in strategizing and leading priority initiativesincluding catalytic capital, community-led grantmaking programs, and emerging community-controlled housing strategieswhile using thoughtful learning and evaluation approaches to surface and drive new opportunities for community impact across California.

As a program architect, builder, and leader, the Senior Strategic Initiatives Officer will deliver high-impact programs that further community ownership of community assets. The role will develop the framework for gathering feedback from clients and stakeholders, research and recommend best practices and emerging models, design and pilot new initiatives, develop funding proposals, and support robust programs connected to real estate development, acquisition, and long-term community stewardship.

This role is ideal for someone with an entrepreneurial spirit and experience in program leadership and the community development ecosystem who thrives at the intersection of program implementation and program innovation. It’s an excellent opportunity for someone with a passion for innovative community-centered real estate and capital strategies. It requires a strategic thinker who can manage complex initiatives day-to-day while also contributing to learning, thought leadership, and the design of new approaches that advance community ownership of community assets across California.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Program Implementation & Operations (60%)

Program Management:

• Provide direction and leadership over one or more programs, ensuring smooth execution and high-impact outcomes
• Manage program timelines, milestones, and deliverables, proactively addressing challenges autonomously
• Architect and lead a full re-granting process, including program design, selection committee recruitment and management, applicant outreach, application review, grant disbursement, compliance, and grantee support.
• Track program budgets and resource allocation, ensuring efficient use of funds

Data, Reporting and Evaluation Strategy:

• Design and oversee the data infrastructure for new initiatives in Salesforce and ensure the system has accurate, up-to-date client and project information
• Track and synthesize program data and impact metrics into reports for internal decision-making
• Lead stakeholder engagement and qualitative research with program participants, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders to understand qualitative outputs and outcomes
• Prepare and/or inform funder reports and grant applications with compelling data and storytelling
• Ensure alignment with funder and stakeholder requirements, acting as the primary point of contact for program accountability and performance standards
• Act as a strategic feedback loop, identifying trends to inform program improvements

Research & Program Development (35%)

Research & Knowledge Management:

• Monitor and report on trends in affordable housing policy, community land trusts, real estate finance, and community development to provide strategic recommendations
• Analyze program data and client feedback to identify what drives success and where new opportunities for impact are emerging
• Capture institutional knowledge and translate it into transferable resources
• Create knowledge repositories and best practice documentation that the team can easily access
• Contribute to thought leadership through articles, white papers, presentations, and webinars

Program Design:

• Translate lessons learned into hypotheses for new programs and areas of targeted research for new programs
• Design and pilot programs with clear theories of change, implementation and budgeting plans, and evaluation frameworks
• Lead and support community listening and co-design processes to ensure initiatives are grounded in lived experience and advance community ownership
• Lead and engage with cross-functional teams across the organization to successfully fundraise for new and continuing programs
• Support the development of funding proposals

General (5%)

• Participate in internal work groups as needed to support organizational initiatives
• Undertake special projects as requested
• Develop relationships with relevant community and organizational partners
• Engage in professional development to enhance skills and knowledge
• Other duties as assigned

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Ideal qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in program management, research, affordable housing, nonprofit real estate, community development, or related fields
• Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning, Public Policy, Real Estate Development, Business Administration, or related field, or an incremental four years of professional experience as a substitute
• Experience with both program design and operational management, ideally in a non-profit or social-impact context
• Strong research and analytical abilities, can synthesize complex information and draw actionable conclusions
• Program design experience demonstrated by building or enhancing programs from concept to implementation
• Project management expertise and ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and keep initiatives moving
• Data proficiency and comfort with real estate and community-development data as well as using tools like Salesforce and Excel to make decisions and track progress
• Excellent written and verbal communication for creating materials, facilitating meet…