Company Description
The International Living Future Institute is a non-profit organization whose mission is to catalyze the transformation toward communities that are culturally rich, socially just and ecologically restorative. ILFI’s flagship program is the Living Building Challenge, the world’s most ambitious and holistic performance standard for resilient, healthy, and green buildings. ILFI offers other certifications, transparency labels, education, and events that enable organizations and individuals to communicate their commitment to a healthier world.
We believe that the building industry can shift dramatically far faster and more radically than many assume. We also believe that the industry can and should address ecological impact, social impact, health impact and cultural impact as intersecting issues. Living Buildings are beacons for change, data points for skeptics, inspirational stories for young people, and test beds for innovation. We seek to affect change in the building industry by envisioning a Living Future and showing it’s possible to embody that future in practice and policy.
Job Description
STATUS: Full-time, exempt
REPORTS TO: Director, Affordable Housing (Programs + Innovation Group)
LOCATION: Remote, within the United States
The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) is seeking an experienced program manager in the building industry with knowledge of the affordable housing sector and equity in the built environment to serve as Affordable Housing/Equity Manager. ILFI’s Affordable Housing Program seeks to facilitate use of the Living Building Challenge (LBC) in affordable housing by supporting project teams, creating resources and education, sharing stories of innovations of affordable housing leaders, and acting as a hub for the affordable housing community to connect with and support each other. The Affordable Housing/Equity Manager should have a passion for sustainable and healthy affordable housing and equity in the built environment. In particular, a passion for healthier materials in affordable housing will be vital to this role. The Affordable Housing + Equity Manager will have the opportunity to help shape how ILFI furthers climate, health, and equity through our affordable housing and equity work.
The Affordable Housing/Equity Manager will work collaboratively to support a cohort of affordable housing project teams pursuing the Living Building Challenge (and other ILFI certifications) and to create resources, educational materials, and events to help distribute information about ILFI and our affordable housing work more broadly. The Manager will also support the definition and creation of resources for centering equity in the broader built environment. The Manager will work closely with external stakeholders and may also include presenting information about our affordable housing work in public forums and/or writing articles for ILFI’s Trim Tab blog; therefore, excellent written and verbal communication skills will be critical to success in this position.
JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
External Stakeholder Engagement
- Facilitate quarterly project team calls and quarterly office hour calls with the affordable housing cohort.
- Support facilitation of community engagement activities including quarterly equity steering committee meetings and virtual engagement activities related to ILFI’s equity work.
- Assist in program improvements to promote peer exchange, resource sharing, and educational training and content.
- Help to support a healthy materials cohort with external partners and support the creation of resources and educational presentations.
- Assist ILFI’s Impact Group to provide timely and accurate answers to technical support inquiries from affordable housing teams.
- Seek feedback from external stakeholders and partners for program updates, testimonials, case studies, and data for resource development.
- Maintain and/or establish working relationships with partners, including project teams, higher education institutions, external networks and collaboratives, and others in the affordable housing sector and working towards more equitable built environments.
- Support the development of grant proposals and deliverables as needed, to further support healthy and sustainable affordable housing and equitable communities.
Resource Creation and Development
- Conduct research (including interviews, surveys, literature reviews, and other) and assist in the development of affordable housing and equity resources.
- Support equity analyses of ILFI’s Standards.
- Contribute to revisions of ILFI’s Program Manuals to reflect learnings from research and community engagement.
- Maintain and further develop resources such as the Materials List for Affordable Housing and case studies.
- Maintain current knowledge about healthy materials, holistic regenerative design, ILFI’s programs, and subject matter expertise in affordable housing and equity in the built environment.
Sharing and Distributing Information
- Help develop equity, healthy materials, and affordable housing related educational content in coordination with ILFI’s Education department.
- Assist in planning and execution of ILFIs annual Affordable Housing Summit, including promotion, content development, outreach to speakers, and presentation of information.
- Develop content and present information about ILFI and its Affordable Housing Program at industry conferences, events, and publications (including ILFI’s blog, Trim Tab) to improve the content and understanding of ILFI’s mission, vision, and work in affordable housing and equity.
Qualifications
We know that you may not have all the skills listed below and we encourage you to apply if you meet the majority of the requirements.
- Bachelor’s degree in architecture, urban planning, building science, construction management, engineering, or other directly related field OR extensive professional experience beyond the minimum required in a directly related field.
- 3-5 years of professional experience in architecture, planning, real estate development, engineering, construction management, sustainability consulting, or other related experience.
- Passion for sustainability initiatives in the affordable housing sector and equity in the built environment.
- Commitment to diversity, equity, and creating an inclusive work environment.
- Familiarity with ILFI’s philosophy, certifications, and labels.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including willingness and ability to present information virtually and in person and to lead meetings of external stakeholders.
- Demonstrated project management experience and ability to manage multiple types of projects with simultaneous timelines.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Master’s degree in architecture, urban planning, building science, construction management, engineering, or other directly related field.; OR extensive professional experience beyond the minimum required in a directly related field.
- Experience applying and/or researching sustainability standards, especially Living Building Challenge and other ILFI standards and experience with healthy materials, especially using ILFI’s Red List and Declare.
- Experience designing and conducting inclusive community engagement in virtual settings.
- Direct experience developing, designing, or building affordable housing projects and familiarity with the financing and regulatory structures.
- Experience working across virtual teams and with remote management.
- Living Future Accreditation (LFA) and/or LEED Accreditation. Candidates not already Living Future Accredited will be supported in achieving their LFA within one year of being hired.
Additional Information
Our mission at Living Future is to build a future that is socially just, culturally rich, and ecologically restorative. We are committed to that vision within our organization and work to create a team that is equitable, inclusive, and diverse by hiring and supporting staff from a wide variety of backgrounds. We are committed as an organization to foster better cultural competency, equity and diversity within our culture and policies and work to support staff in every phase of their career.
The salary range for this position is $59,000 – $63,000 and is supplemented by ILFI’s generous benefits package that includes employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents as well as employee life insurance, short-term disability, and a 403(b) retirement plan. Annual time off benefits include three weeks of paid annual leave, 12 days of sick leave, 19 days of paid holidays, and paid volunteer time.
ILFI offers a collaborative, team-oriented and mission-driven remote-first workplace with staff distributed across the United States. We offer a $50/month stipend to offset home internet costs.
Please include a resume and cover letter with your application. The position will remain open until filled. We will begin reviewing applicants on November 21, 2023.