ABOUT THE GREENLINING INSTITUTE

The Greenlining Institute envisions a future where communities of color can build wealth, live in healthy places filled with economic opportunity, and are ready to meet the challenges posed by climate change. With equity practice and systems change guiding us, we incubate and advocate for new ideas and build bridges with diverse communities and partners to ensure that race is never a barrier to opportunity. Greenlining is committed to building and maintaining a diverse staff and a welcoming workplace. We encourage womxn, people of color, LGBTQIA , and differently-abled applicants to apply.

Greenlining the Block (GTB) is a start-up initiative and incubator developed by The Greenlining Institute to support the leadership and expertise of communities of color to prepare for and maximize federal, state, and local infrastructure investments to drive effective climate action that meets community needs. Greenlining the Block works to strengthen community-based organizations (CBOs) to move climate capital projects from shovel-worthy to shovel-ready. Our current portfolio includes 24 CBO-led climate capital projects in Stockton, Oakland, Eastern LA, San Diego, Denver, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Detroit and Charlotte. These are large capital projects building resilience community centers, clean transportation infrastructure, housing, remediation/farms/parks, clean energy, and workforce development. On each project we are part funder, technical assistant, policy researcher and co-developer.

ABOUT THE POSITION

In the role of Senior Program Manager for Greenlining the Block, you will act as a pivotal progress-driven technical project manager and negotiator, empowering community-based organizations in historically redlined areas to develop community capital projects, concept design to construction. Your expertise will guide selected organizations through the complexities of design development, site control/acquisitions, and capital stacking through offering direct assistance, funding, external technical consultants, and seminars. This role requires a blend of skills in technical assistance, community empowerment, budgeting, capital stacking, site acquisition, design development, evaluation and partnerships with community-based organizations collaborating with institutions in public/private scenarios. Your goal is to facilitate projects that not only meet environmental standards but also contribute to building generational wealth and political power in the community. You will have the freedom and expectation to self-initiate actions and communications, and develop broader tactics, to execute efficiently to maximize project development. If you are passionate about making a tangible difference in high need, risk and reward communities, and have the skills and initiative to bridge the gap between technical built development and community-led visions, this role is for you.

MAJOR AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

Technical Assistance and Community Empowerment

• Provide direct technical assistance to partners
• Negotiate and execute procurement tasks and contracts for Greenlining the Block technical assistance funding program. This includes but is not limited to: Assessing readiness, pitching TA approaches, navigating project political coalitions, matching consultants, developing RFQs and contracts, facilitating interviews, verifying site and scope details, e-sign and deliverable based fund disbursement. TA providers are professionals in design, site control and capital stacking, e.g. architects, fee developers, brokers and grant writers
• Build morale and self-determination within community organizations throughout the project lifecycle while layering in persistent focus on project development % progress
• Train and learn from CBOs while working together to build their capacity and ours
• Monitor each project’s equitable community leadership and engagement, ensuring projects are inclusive and representative of community voices while maximizing anti-displacement strategies

Budgeting/Capital Stacking

• Review hard/soft cost detailed budgets and suggest value engineering
• Provide high level, “back of napkin” ballmark cost estimates based on design information
• Act as an advisor and connector for prioritizing and selecting loans, grants, government appropriations/allocations, tax credits (e.g. LIHTC) and other financial opportunities for projects
• Guide community-based organizations through financial structuring and capital stacking (the layers of capital that go into purchasing and operating a commercial real estate investment), ensuring optimal resource utilization for project success
• Provide intermediate expert advice and optimization on financial risks, opportunities, and long-term business plans of projects
• Build a referral list of GTB project-aligned bankers associated with CDFIs, Community Reinvestment Act, EPA Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, and other special products

Site Acquisitions/Control

• Advise on site control roadmap processes, e.g. due diligence, zoning restrictions, letters of interest, purchase and sale agreements, closings, price negotiations, and use of government land through shared agreements or surplus land acquisitions
• Facilitate the formation of project development partnerships with institutions informally, and formally with memorandums of agreement, to enhance project scope and impact
• Advise projects to optimize their legal structures for ownership, easements, land banking, long-term leases, limited equity ownership structures (CLTs) and non-profit setup

Design Development/Entitlements

• Coordinate with GTB Director to align work with a strategic understanding of each project’s design development stage, e.g. concept, schematic, permitting, bidding, construction
• Advise and assist in adding financial layers of proformas and net operating income statements (NOIs) to design development activities to ensure feasible designs early on
• Learn and communicate best practices for early 5-30% community centered concept design
• Assist partners with identifying entitlements from regulatory agencies

Evaluation and Partnerships:

• Implement existing monitoring and evaluation frameworks to track project progress, and set up new systems as needed
• Provide regular updates to community organizations and involved institutions, facilitating a transparent and collaborative environment
• Research and position GTB within the community development ecosystem to maximize capacity building, capital flows and real estate ownership
• Lead partnerships and engagement with stakeholders within communities, government, universities, advocates, private sector, etc.

Other General Duties

• Assist with efforts to strengthen commitment and support from funders, including giving input to possible grant proposals and building funder relationships
• Contribute to mentoring or supervising Greenlining’s Leadership Academy participants
• Contribute to a work environment and culture that is centered on equity and inclusion

Qualifications, Skills and Abilities:

• Two years experience as a manager in community development, real estate development, capital project management, architecture/engineering or related field
• Bachelor’s Degree required. Master’s Degree preferred. Or significant, proven work experience
• Demonstrated commitment to Greenlining’s mission and experience in advancing social justice, equity and inclusion for people of color
• Proven ability to work with emotional intelligence, navigating individual and team conflicts productively, with empathy and integrity
• Ability to prepare well organized written reports and other communications
• Ability to deliver effective presentations to diverse groups and present complex information in a meaningful way and adjust style and content to each unique audience and circumstance
• Proven track record of achieving results through supporting the leadership and expertise of community-based organizations in communities of color to prepare for funding from federal, state, and local infrastructure climate readiness and climate mitigation investments through offering direct assistance, funding, external technical consultants, and seminars
• Excellent research skills with the ability to synthesize, translate, and implement information from multiple sources into a coherent strategy and workable plan
• Strong project management skills to manage multiple priorities, stakeholders, and workflows
• Proven capital project management of multiple priorities, stakeholders, and workflows
• Ability to work with independence and drive responding creatively and strategically when confronted with complex and multifaceted opportunities and challenges
• Ability to monitor progress towards goals, track measures of success and report back through project completion
• Ability & willingness to travel as needed to site visits in California, possibly nationally
• Experience using Slack, Asana, Google Suite, and Microsoft Office Suite strongly preferred
• Experience working with media, including print, radio, television, and social media
• Fundraising experience
• Experience coaching and managing staff

This position will report to the Greenlining the Block Director and is classified as salaried, exempt (FLSA).

The scope of responsibilities is not limited to those listed above and may change as organizational needs evolve. Specific work plan goals are developed each year to inform performance targets.

Compensation and Benefits

Salary based on experience. Superb benefits including health, vision and dental insurance premiums covered at 100% for employees and dependents as well as Life and Long-Term Disability Insurance. We provide a 5% annual salary match that is immediately vested to your 401(k) retirement plan. Work-life balance is supported with a 35-hour work week and hybrid work schedules. Many other generous paid time off programs including vacation, sick leave, paid parental leave and 14 paid Holidays.

Starting Salary Range: $85,000-$100,000

Reports To: Greenlining the Block Director

Classification: Exempt