Fair Oaks, California
Posted: 28-Nov-22
Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Type: Full Time
Salary: $185,000-$210,000 DOE
Categories:
Salary Details:
Preferred Education:
NeighborWorks Alaska is seeking an experienced affordable housing professional to strengthen and grow this highly respected organization. The new Executive Director will inherit a $15M budget, a real estate portfolio of nearly 1000 units and a staff of over 60 professionals. Priorities for the new Executive Director include maintaining the existing properties, strategically planning to acquire and/or build more affordable housing, addressing homelessness, investing in neighborhood revitalization, and strengthening staff teamwork. In total, the ideal candidate will both optimize the organization’s achievement of its mission and ensure the organization’s financial sustainability.
Organizational Overview :
NeighborWorks Alaska’s mission is to improve the quality of life for families and individuals by preserving homes, creating new housing opportunities, and strengthening neighborhoods. NeighborWorks Alaska (NWAK) celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2020 (more history here) and today provides an extensive array of community development services including affordable rental housing, home preservation, lending for homeownership, counseling, neighborhood revitalization, housing construction and rehabilitation, project consultation, and supportive housing.
NeighborWorks Alaska has been a force for change in meeting a wide array of affordable housing and support services’ needs, a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization, and touches the lives of thousands of Alaskans each year. With high costs of living and economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, NWAK’s vision, services and commitment to statewide impact are even more compelling in 2022 than ever before.
NeighborWorks Alaska believes that all Alaskans should have access to quality affordable housing and is honored to do this work. NWAK’s North Star is where “thriving families, strong communities, and stable housing flourish in areas either rural or urban.” These values are what inspires NWAK to revitalize neighborhoods - the places where people live, work, and play- and to directly support housing solutions. NWAK envisions a future where all Alaskans have a place to call home in vibrant, inclusive, resilient communities of choice, regardless of income, geography, background, age, or other barriers.
NWAK goes beyond housing to strengthen low-income neighborhoods, communities, and populations by encouraging investments, building relationships, and marshalling resources for the benefit of the community. NWAK believes that collaboration is the most powerful way to achieve the goal of building community through neighborhoods, by working together, sharing skills and knowledge, and pooling resources to meet community needs. NWAK also works toward providing residents opportunities for civic engagement, leadership development and connections to the wider community. The organization brings people together to focus on what makes a community a positive place to live, supports people in how to work with a diversity of opinions and backgrounds, and to build strong, vibrant, and sustainable neighborhoods, including improving physical aspects of communities and effective community services.
Programs:
NeighborWorks Alaska provides quality affordable housing in Alaska by investing in its properties, making new acquisitions, and helping to serve those who are hardest to serve. Organizational goals include maintaining the current portfolio for economic vitality and expanding both the NWAK portfolio and affordable housing options for homeless, underserved, and other vulnerable populations.
- Rental Housing. NWAK owns and manages 985 rental homes, across fourteen properties, and serves thousands of residents each year. NWAK is dedicated to providing quality, safe, and clean affordable apartment homes, from well-furnished three-bedroom units to practical efficiencies; all professionally managed, and located near schools, bus lines, and shopping. Many are also located close to major employment centers, including downtown, midtown, and southeast business districts.
- Supportive Housing. NWAK provides safe and stable housing opportunities to chronic and other homeless individuals and families with disabilities and without disabilities through NWAK’s HUD-funded grant programs and state-funded rental assistance grants. NWAK provides both “Conventional and Intensive Housing Support” (case management) to clients on the Resources and Initiatives to Support and Empower (RISE) program, sponsor-based Rental Assistance (SRA), CV-Transitions, AHFC Housing Stabilization & Recovery program (“Communities Helping All Neighbors Gain Empowerment” or “CHANGE”) and the Forest Park Optional Relocation Program. NWAK’s goals are to support access to housing, maintain and increase housing stability, increase client income, and exit individuals into self-maintained housing when possible. In 2022, approx. 450 homeless individuals received services within these programs. Additional detail about the permanent supportive housing program can be found here.
- Home Ownership. NWAK operates a HomeOwnership Center that assists underserved Alaskans to improve their financial conditions through home ownership and other financial tools that build wealth and improve Alaska’s communities, with organizational goals to grow products, sources of capital and serve even more people to prepare for, invest in, and retain ownership. The HomeOwnership Center provides financial counseling, home loans, and grants - including home modification and accessibility grants. NWAK also supports current homeowners by maintaining the health, safety, and value of their homes through repair and rehabilitation programs. In 2021, NWAK enabled improvement of 21 homes with basic repairs helping owners increase the value of their investments.
- Community Engagement. NWAK works to build communities that are more equitable, inclusive and equipped to be resilient, healthy, vibrant places – in which residents and leaders that serve them are empowered to drive and sustain positive change. NWAK focuses our program on neighborhoods with endless potential, including Fairview, Russian Jack, Spenard, and Midtown. NWAK’s community engagement processes bring residents together to generate solutions and take collective actions to build stronger and more resilient communities. NeighborWorks® Alaska works with local community members and partner organizations to design, implement, and sustain projects that benefit the community and our residents
Living in Anchorage & Alaska:
Alaska living is attractive and unique, with many natural and outdoor opportunities, as well as special cultural traditions that draw communities together. Anchorage is spectacularly beautiful, and is shaped by 7 mountain ranges. The area includes Cook Inlet, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, the Kenai Peninsula, Prince William Sound, and the Copper River Valley. Nowhere else in the United States can one spot a moose during the commute to work on a Thursday, be in the Bush for a remote hike on a Saturday and join friends for an arts event at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts or a craft beer and dinner on a Sunday evening. And you can catch a salmon downtown on the way to the Opera. Long summer days and short winter days promote both rugged individualism and outdoors activities and close community bonding, with creative and cultural events such as the Fur Rendevous (“Fur Rondy”) in February to keep people connected.
The Position and Key Priorities:
The new Executive Director will inherit a 501c(3) nonprofit organization with an enviable track record and community connections, a strong staff of 60 professionals, and a solid financial position. NWAK is a Community Housing Development Corporation (CHDO), and therefore its 15-person board of directors is comprised to meet CHDO composition requirements. The organization also has a HomeOwnership Center with its own Board of Directors that operates as a subsidiary.
To be able to leverage these existing capabilities, the new Executive Director initially will need to learn about the organization and the community, and build relationships and trust, by:
- Taking the time to understand each department and its current initiatives.
- Strengthening existing and building new relationships in the community to increase and generate greater awareness, partnerships, and other opportunities.
The new Executive Director will need to address the following key priorities in their first 18-24 months:
- Strengthen Staff Teamwork. Support and strengthen a collaborative staff team by providing professional and emotionally intelligent leadership and management support. Systematically develop a more cohesive and unified staff team by reducing/breaking down silos between departments. Refocus staff on strategic priorities.
- Strategic & Operational Planning: The new Executive Director should build on recent planning efforts and rapidly launch a strategic & operational/feasibility planning process in collaboration with board and staff which places an emphasis on the initiatives that current leaders believe are the best way to capitalize on NWAK strengths while delivering on its mission:
- Preserve several hundred units of the existing portfolio that need modernization
- Acquire and/or build more affordable housing. In first year, develop plan for housing development which includes annual housing production/acquisition goals, and development in at least one of NWAK’s target neighborhoods. Launch plan in year two.
- Continue and expand NWAK’s efforts to address homelessness; find additional funding sources.
- Invest in neighborhood revitalization
- Conduct a feasibility analysis on an objective assessment of NWAK’s organizational capacity and the current and expected external operating environment:
- Take a hard look at what services the organization wants to offer, focus/build on NWAK’s existing strengths, and make decisions about program growth, continuation or termination based on realistic, solid data.
- Make a practical determination about restructuring the home ownership program to improve effectiveness and outcomes.
- Ensure long-term financial sustainability of the organization by:
- Increasing fundraising including hiring of a proven development director early in new ED tenure
- Managing the entire organization, including launching the housing and neighborhood revitalization initiatives that flow from the strategic planning process, to be net-revenue positive.
Essential Qualifications:
NeighborWorks Alaska is seeking an outgoing, dynamic and innovative new executive leader with a passion for and a strategic perspective to bring to NWAK’s mission of improving the quality of life for families and individuals by preserving homes, creating new housing opportunities and strengthening neighborhoods.
The ideal candidate will have:
- A strong track record of nonprofit leadership and management that demonstrates success in building collaborative, successful teams. Private sector or government leadership and management experience coupled with significant experience in leadership roles on relevant nonprofit board(s) will also be considered.
- Significant expertise in nonprofit affordable housing development including experience with:
- The processes of housing development, community development, and rental programs,
- Accessing government funding and financing programs that provide the resources to develop affordable housing, and
- Managing and communicating to stakeholders the complexities of budgeting, financing, and accounting for the complexity of a large nonprofit affordable housing organization.
- A successful track record in relationship building including experience with political leaders, community engagement, and organizational partnerships.
- Proven ability to develop and successfully implement strategic/business plans.
- Philanthropic fundraising experience including experience soliciting major donors, corporate partners, and/or private foundations.
- Strong communication skills, including public relations, public and large group presentations, written communications, and communications with the broader community.
- Independence in thinking and an openness to new ideas and input from others. Demonstrated ability to listen to colleagues, partners, and community members whose points of view may conflict with theirs.
- Experience in working successfully with a nonprofit board of directors.
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, plus a minimum of ten years’ experience in a senior nonprofit management position, or equivalent experience.
Job Requirements:
- Ability to travel locally and nationally
- Willing to take a criminal background check
Application Process:
NeighborWorks Alaska has retained Jan Glick & Associates, LLC to facilitate this search on their behalf.
To apply, interested candidates should e-mail their cover letter and resume to: nwak@janglick.com.
Resume(s) received without cover letter will not be considered.
NeighborWorks Alaska is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and values diversity and its role in building a more inclusive culture and ultimately a more capable organization. NeighborWorks Alaska embraces diversity and equal opportunity. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.
