Latino Economic Development Center

The Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC) is a non-profit community development organization founded in 1991. LEDC’s mission is to serve as a catalyst that drives the economic and social advancement of low-to-moderate-income Latinos and other underserved communities by equipping them with the skills and tools to achieve financial independence, acquire personal and business assets, and create generational wealth. We achieve our mission through small business development and financing, homeownership counseling, tenant services, and affordable housing preservation.

Bilingual Tenant Organizer – Washington, DC

We are currently looking for a Bilingual Tenant Organizer at our DC location! This position is part of our Tenant Services team and reports to the Tenant Services Program Manager. The Tenant Services team works with low-income tenants in Washington DC to exercise and protect their rights when their building is for sale, fight for better conditions in their building, and collaborate with city-wide campaigns to preserve affordable housing and prevent displacement. DC has unique housing protections that allow tenants to stay and decide what happens to their building when it is for sale, but they must act quickly as a group to exercise and protect those rights. Tenant Organizers support tenants in learning about and deciding between two main options when their building is for sale: 1) purchase the building themselves and convert it to an affordable housing cooperative, or 2) decide who purchases the building and negotiate a contract ensuring benefits to the tenants, such as improved conditions or rent protections.

Position Summary

• Outreach to tenants through methods such as door knocking, posting flyers, texting, and phone calls.
• Plan and facilitate tenant association meetings.
• Lead training on tenant rights and resources.
• Organize tenants to form and strengthen tenant associations to purchase their building, improve conditions, or negotiate with the building owner and/or policymakers.
• Coordinate and provide translation and interpretation during tenant meetings.
• Complete the necessary paperwork to ensure tenants can exercise their rights when their building is for sale, and coordinate with attorneys, potential buyers, and/or investors.
• Provide technical assistance to tenants who wish to establish or strengthen a tenant or cooperative association, keep their building affordable, improve conditions at the building or exercise an option to purchase, or organize a rent strike.
• Develop tenant leadership, including recruiting, identifying, and supporting tenants to lead in their buildings, join city-wide campaigns, and build tenant power throughout the city.
• Organize campaign activities including planning events and actions, mobilizing tenants, preparing spokespeople, creating materials, coordinating communication with the press.
• Advocate with the DC government to improve or create programs benefiting low-income tenants, i.e., to strengthen existing rent control laws or prevent eviction.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Location & Schedule

This position reports to our DC office, located at: 1401 Columbia Rd NW, Unit C-1, Washington, DC 20009.

This is a full-time, exempt role which requires 40 hours per week with some evening and weekend hours. The Tenant Services team has a typical schedule of 12-8 pm, Monday – Thursday, 10am – 6pm on Friday. Some travel may be required.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree & 1 year of relevant experience, or equivalent combination of experience and education.
• Bilingual in English and Spanish and/or Amharic.
• Strong writing, public speaking, and computer skills.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to work with limited supervision.
• Culturally sensitive and respectful of people from various economic and social statuses.
• Grounded in anti-oppression values and practice. Outstanding interpersonal communication and the willingness to develop working relationships with a wide variety of people.
• Candidates must be based in or willing to relocate to Washington, DC.

Nice-to-haves:

If you…

• have strong general knowledge of DC communities and related housing issues,
• at least one year of volunteer and/or paid experience with community organizing, popular education, or providing direct services to low-income people of color,
• possess strong conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques,
• work well with others, are a good listener, think creatively and work independently,
• have a strong desire to help others from a diverse group of individuals, including limited English-speaking communities.

…we strongly encourage you to apply!

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $ $52,564 - $61,008 annually, dependent on experience and team budget. LEDC is proud to offer a generous benefit package including healthcare, vision, dental, disability and life insurance plans available to employees at no cost, sick, vacation and personal days and more!

How to Apply

Send your cover letter and resume to housingjobs@ledcmetro.org, with a subject line of: Bilingual Tenant Organizer. No phone calls please!

Notices

Equal Opportunity

Equal access to programs, services, and employment is available to all qualified persons. Those applicants requiring accommodation to complete the application and/or interview process should contact

HR@LEDCMetro.org

All applicants are considered for all positions without regard to race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, personal appearance, national origin, ancestry, physical/mental disability, medical condition, military/veteran status, genetic information, marital status, ethnicity, alienage, or any other protected classification, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

E-Verify

LEDC participates in the federal government’s E-Verify program, which confirms employment authorization of all newly hired employees and most existing employees through an electronic database maintained by the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security. For new hires, the E-Verify process is completed in conjunction with the Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification on or before the first day of work. E-Verify is not used as a tool to pre-screen candidates. For up-to-date information on E-Verify, visit e-verify.gov.

Background Checks

Given our industry, the types of services we offer and communities we serve, the organization may obtain consumer reports, or investigative consumer reports, in connection with your employment application. Investigative consumer reports include investigations conducted by consumer reporting agencies through personal interviews on information as to character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living.

You may make a written request for disclosure of the nature and scope of any investigative consumer report. Investigative consumer reports include record checks and may contain information culled from interviews with former employers, business references, and/or personal references. You can access a separate document entitled “Summary of Your Rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act”?here. Reports will be obtained from?Insperity Employment Screening, 19001 Crescent Springs Dr., Kingwood, TX 77339.

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