Project Associate, National

National Project Associate Job Description

The Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) is seeking a full-time Project Associate in our National Department.

About UHAB

UHAB empowers low- to moderate-income residents to take control of their housing and enhance communities by creating strong tenant associations and lasting affordable co-ops. Since 1973, UHAB has helped form hundreds of tenant associations and transformed troubled rental buildings into 1,200 affordable co-ops, providing homeownership opportunities for over 25,000 families. With democratic community control at the core of our mission, we work to sustain this thriving affordable housing community for this generation and those to come.

We organize residents to be active participants and decision-makers in shaping their neighborhoods. UHAB’s programs address a full spectrum of affordable housing needs: from building resident power and organizing tenants as community leaders, to developing thousands of units of affordable housing across the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, to making loans to first-time homeowners, to preserving affordable co-ops through training, education, and technical assistance. UHAB’s programs address the needs of future generations through long-term solutions: developing new affordable co-ops, increasing energy efficiency and introducing renewable technologies, and strengthening housing policy.

At UHAB, we’re more than a housing nonprofit, we’re a movement for economic justice and community empowerment. We offer a supportive, values-driven workplace where your work makes a tangible impact on people’s lives.

About UHAB National

UHAB National works with communities across the country to build the knowledge, capacity, and local infrastructure needed to develop and sustain permanently affordable co-op homeownership. Drawing on UHAB’s more than 50 years of experience with resident-controlled affordable housing in New York City, we help local organizations and practitioners adapt cooperative housing strategies to their own communities and create sustainable, permanently affordable, community-controlled homes.

UHAB provides training and technical assistance to organizations that want to support and develop permanently affordable cooperative homeownership, and cities or regions that want to strengthen their infrastructure to support and develop such co-ops.

UHAB National advances this work through several interconnected strategies. Our National Incubator brings together practitioners from across the country for an intensive learning experience combining virtual classes, independent project work, peer learning, and an in-person gathering in NYC. We provide direct technical assistance and serve as a Cooperative Development Consultant to organizations developing new permanently affordable co-ops. We also partner with cities and regional networks to assess and strengthen local cooperative housing ecosystems and help create the conditions for new affordable co-op development.

Beyond individual projects, UHAB National is helping build a stronger national field for permanently affordable cooperative housing. We convene and support alumni of our Incubator programs so practitioners can continue sharing resources, model documents, best practices, strategies, and lessons learned. We also develop educational resources, presentations, and training materials for a range of audiences and are expanding self-paced and other accessible learning formats to make this expertise available to more communities.

Position

The National Project Associate will coordinate and help facilitate classes for practitioners across the country who are learning to support and develop permanently affordable co-op homeownership. The audience is nonprofit developers, community land trust staff, cooperative developers, lenders and city officials. Working closely with the Director of UHAB National, the Project Associate will help develop and refine these training courses and assist the department Director to develop new curricula and other materials. The ideal candidate will be committed to UHAB’s mission and vision and interested in translating complex housing and cooperative development concepts into clear, engaging educational materials and supporting participants with different levels of experience. The position will also support technical assistance engagements, relationships with Incubator alumni and national partners, and the day-to-day coordination needed to grow UHAB National’s work.

Position Tasks & Responsibilities: An individual in this role can expect to support UHAB National’s training, technical assistance, and program initiatives by coordinating educational programs, developing and maintaining training resources, engaging with participants and partners, and supporting the day-to-day administration of national projects.

Training and Curriculum Development

• Assist with the delivery of training, primarily virtually and occasionally in person, for a national audience.
• Support the development of live and self-paced training programs, including curriculum development, script writing, class materials, and video production.
• Research, develop, and update training content and educational resources based on program needs.
• Create, edit, and distribute training materials through email, UHAB’s Learning Management System, and other appropriate platforms.
• Maintain accurate training records, including participant attendance and certificates of completion.

Technical Assistance and National Programs

• Provide technical assistance and program support to organizations working with existing and emerging affordable housing co-ops.
• Coordinate with UHAB staff, Directors, consultants, and external partners on national initiatives, including incubator programs and consulting engagements.
• Maintain ongoing relationships and communication with alumni of incubators, training, and other UHAB National programs.
• Coordinate with vendors and external partners supporting UHAB National projects and programs.
• Maintain accurate program and contact information, including databases of prospective participants, program inquiries, incubator interest, and other national program contacts.
• Track and coordinate inquiries, responses, meetings, and follow-up with prospective partners, participants, and other contacts.

Communications and Program Coordination

• Work with the Director and UHAB Communications team to engage program participants, partners, alumni, and prospective participants through direct outreach, email campaigns, website content, and appropriate social media.
• Draft and edit reports, presentations, correspondence, training resources, and other materials supporting UHAB National’s work.
• Support the coordination, documentation, administration, and day-to-day implementation of UHAB National projects and programs.
• Assist with scheduling, meeting coordination, project tracking, and other administrative activities necessary to keep national initiatives organized and moving forward.

Required Qualifications

• 2–3 years of relevant professional experience in adult education, curriculum development, project or program coordination, community organizing, technical assistance, cooperative housing, or a related field.
• Demonstrated commitment to cooperative housing, affordable homeownership, democratic member ownership, resident participation, and inclusion.
• Strong organizational, communication, and follow-up skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently in a primarily virtual environment.
• Proficiency with workplace technology and virtual platforms, including Zoom, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, and Google Workspace.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, collaborative environment and quickly develop knowledge of UHAB’s cooperative and shared-ownership housing models.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience with limited-equity cooperatives, HDFCs, Mitchell-Lama housing, community land trusts, or other permanently affordable ownership models.
• Experience developing or delivering adult education, training, curriculum, or technical assistance.
• Spanish-language proficiency.

Interview Language: The interview process will be conducted in English. Applicants indicating Spanish-language proficiency will complete a portion of the interview in Spanish.

Location: UHAB’s work is carried out from our main office in Lower Manhattan This position is hybrid, requiring a minimum of 2 days per week working in the office, and may require attendance and travel at events across NYC and nationally.

Salary: The starting salary for an incoming staff member for this position is $63,388; the starting salary for current union members is adjusted for seniority.

UHAB offers a generous benefits package including free and affordable medical and dental plans; long-term disability insurance; a 403b retirement plan; medical and dependent care flexible spending accounts; 3 weeks of paid vacation for new employees and 4 weeks of paid vacation after 1 year of employment; 13 paid holidays, 3 Floating Holidays, 12 sick days, 8 remote flex days and 1 personal day per year. We are proud that UHAB’s staff is unionized with RWDSU. The candidate hired for this role will be part of the collective bargaining unit and benefit from the terms and protections of the union contract.

To apply: Please submit a cover letter and resume via the ADP application portal (applications without cover letters will not be considered).

Equal Opportunity Employer: UHAB works with a diverse community of tenants, community members and co-op shareholders and believes that the UHAB Staff should reflect this diversity. Women, people of color, LBGTQ+ people, and people with lived experience of economic and housing instability are encouraged to apply. UHAB is an equal opportunity employer.