Overview

About MHANY

MHANY Management, Inc. (“MHANY”), a mutual housing association, is a not-for-profit community and housing development organization that owns and manages over 2,500 affordable rental apartments throughout New York City and in Patterson, New Jersey. MHANY also provides free-of -charge counseling for first time home buyers and foreclosure prevention for homeowners. MHANY’s mission is to promote social, racial and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers.

MHANY has a unique approach to housing preservation and development; we are deeply committed to real affordability sustainable over generations, and we devote time, money and energy resources to remaining connected to our residents and supporting them in becoming leaders in our buildings and the neighborhoods where they live. Our goal as an organization is to make life changing impacts with our residents.

Position Overview

Resident and Community Engagement Organizers will work to connect MHANY residents and community members to the mission and work of MHANY Management Inc. (MHANY). The goal is to engage MHANY residents and identify personal, familial and community needs that go beyond their immediate housing situation and then take collective action to address and improve social, economic and racial justice for MHANY residents and the low-income people who live in the surrounding community.

Organizers will work with residents in a focused set of MHANY neighborhoods within New York City and will interface with various members of the MHANY organization as appropriate. They will work collaboratively to identify resident and community issues, prioritize appropriate actions, access and analyze data, identify and leverage resources, improve resident capacity through training, and develop and implement participatory projects that give residents power and a stake in the planning processes that affect resident quality of life and ultimately impact structural racial, economic and social disparities.

This position is based out of MHANY’s office in Brooklyn, New York, and requires a good deal of travel within New York City. This is a full time, in-person position, and will require attending meetings and events in evenings and on weekends as needed. Successful candidates must be hard working, self-motivated, skilled at communicating with people from a broad range of backgrounds and believe in MHANY’s values and be driven by its mission.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Resident and Community Engagement Organizer include but are not limited to:

Organizing and Direct Action

  • Recruit and manage a diverse resident team, representative of a building or development’s diverse subgroups, including religious affiliations, ethnic identities, cultures, languages, age groups, and histories of community organizing and civic engagement;
  • Develop and implement a comprehensive engagement plan, with a clear strategy, benchmarks, and outcomes, to create partnerships and gain a solid understanding of key resident priorities;
  • Attend in-person, teleconference, virtual meetings, and community events, including; council meetings, community board meetings, and tenant meetings;
  • Conduct research and engage experts to create meetings and action agendas that introduce residents to a variety of interventions strategies and/or frameworks for power building and problem-solving;
  • Facilitate resident and stakeholder planning meetings that support engagement, problem identification, problem-solving, practice and action steps, and memorialize plans in a centralized, digital platform;
  • Facilitate resident team meetings and manage meeting invites, agendas, note-taking, and resident task support and execution;
  • Track action steps by recording, consolidating, and sharing meeting notes with key strategic partners; team members, and the resident public;
  • Champion ongoing resident outreach and communications to raise awareness of priorities and implement creative initiatives to address concerns;
  • Work with the Social Media team to leverage traditional media, social media, and public education campaign strategies to share updates, action steps, and resident priorities and activities;
  • Support resident voices and resident power for quality-of-life initiatives by defining challenges and identifying opportunities for solutions;
  • Support resident teams in the development and execution of maintenance plans for existing quality-of-life projects;

Research and Evaluation

  • Track and evaluate ongoing organizing strategies by completing Weekly Activity Logs;
  • Complete a comprehensive, monthly narrative report detailing strategies, problem-solving approaches, set-backs, and outcomes;
  • Ensure continuity and progress of resident participation goals through the consistent creation, filing, and distribution of meeting agendas and meeting minutes in a digital, designated, and centralized location;
  • Collaborate with other MHANY staff and team partners including New York Communities for Change and The Black Institute to implement systems that support effective project planning and data collection.

Administration

  • Work and communicate closely with MHANY staff and team members to support and advance all project tasks and timelines;
  • Work with the MHANY maintenance team to ensure spaces are accessible for residents’ use, this includes keeping spaces clean with regulated temperature;
  • Work with the MHANY finance team to plan and purchase for promotional materials, resident engagement, and project activities;

Skills and Qualifications

  • Minimum of 3 years of related work experience
  • Bachelor’s degree preferred
  • Strong interpersonal skills
  • Ability to work independently and productively as well as collaboratively with internal staff and external stakeholders
  • Must be open to working some evenings and weekends
  • Demonstrated research, writing and analysis skills
  • Commitment to social, racial and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers
  • Fluency in Spanish is a plus

Location

This position is based in Brooklyn, NY and requires travel throughout New York City.

Salary Range

$50,000.00 – $60,000.00 per year