Senior Strategic Initiatives Officer

San Francisco/Oakland

January 2026

WHO WE ARE

Community Vision partners with mission-driven organizations across California to secure the spaces that help communities thrive. As a nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI), we provide flexible financing and strategic advising to help our clients purchase, preserve, and develop social purpose real estate—such as affordable housing, health clinics, and cultural centers.

Grounded in our belief that community ownership of community assets is one of the most powerful tools for cultivating thriving communities, promoting economic justice, and building power, we work to create lasting community assets that enable stability, agency, and self-determination—helping communities build power through place. Learn more about our work.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Community Vision is hiring its first-ever Senior Strategic Initiatives Officer as part of its Strategic Initiatives team. This role will play an important part in strategizing and leading priority initiatives—including catalytic capital, community-led grantmaking programs, and emerging community-controlled housing strategies—while using thoughtful learning and evaluation approaches to surface and drive new opportunities for community impact across California.

As a  program architect, builder, and leader, the Senior Strategic Initiatives Officer will deliver high-impact programs that further community ownership of community assets. The role will develop the framework for gathering feedback from clients and stakeholders, research and recommend best practices and emerging models, design and pilot new initiatives, develop funding proposals, and support robust programs connected to real estate development, acquisition, and long-term community stewardship.

This role is ideal for someone with an entrepreneurial spirit and experience in program leadership and the community development ecosystem who thrives at the intersection of program implementation and program innovation. It's an excellent opportunity for someone with a passion for innovative community-centered real estate and capital strategies. It requires a strategic thinker who can manage complex initiatives day-to-day while also contributing to learning, thought leadership, and the design of new approaches that advance community ownership of community assets across California.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Program Implementation & Operations (60%)

Program Management:

• Provide direction and leadership over one or more programs, ensuring smooth execution and high-impact outcomes

• Manage program timelines, milestones, and deliverables, proactively addressing challenges autonomously

• Architect and lead a full re-granting process, including program design, selection committee recruitment and management, applicant outreach, application review, grant disbursement, compliance, and grantee support.

• Track program budgets and resource allocation, ensuring efficient use of funds

Data, Reporting and Evaluation Strategy:

• Design and oversee the data infrastructure for new initiatives in Salesforce and ensure the system has accurate, up-to-date client and project information

• Track and synthesize program data and impact metrics into reports for internal decision-making

• Lead stakeholder engagement and qualitative research with program participants, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders to understand qualitative outputs and outcomes 

• Prepare and/or inform funder reports and grant applications with compelling data and storytelling

• Ensure alignment with funder and stakeholder requirements, acting as the primary point of contact for program accountability and performance standards

• Act as a strategic feedback loop, identifying trends to inform program improvements

Research & Program Development (35%)

Research & Knowledge Management:

• Monitor and report on trends in affordable housing policy, community land trusts, real estate finance, and community development to provide strategic recommendations

• Analyze program data and client feedback to identify what drives success and where new opportunities for impact are emerging

• Capture institutional knowledge and translate it into transferable resources

• Create knowledge repositories and best practice documentation that the team can easily access

• Contribute to thought leadership through articles, white papers, presentations, and webinars

Program Design:

• Translate lessons learned into hypotheses for new programs and areas of targeted research for new programs

• Design and pilot programs with clear theories of change, implementation and budgeting plans, and evaluation frameworks

• Lead and support community listening and co-design processes to ensure initiatives are grounded in lived experience and advance community ownership

• Lead and engage with cross-functional teams across the organization to successfully fundraise for new and continuing programs

• Support the development of funding proposals

General (5%)

• Participate in internal work groups as needed to support organizational initiatives

• Undertake special projects as requested

• Develop relationships with relevant community and organizational partners

• Engage in professional development to enhance skills and knowledge

• Other duties as assigned

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Ideal qualifications

• 7 years of experience in program management, research, affordable housing, nonprofit real estate, community development, or related fields

• Bachelor's degree in Urban Planning, Public Policy, Real Estate Development, Business Administration, or related field, or an incremental four years of professional experience as a substitute

• Experience with both program design and operational management, ideally in a non-profit or social-impact context

• Strong research and analytical abilities, can synthesize complex information and draw actionable conclusions

• Program design experience demonstrated by building or enhancing programs from concept to implementation

• Project management expertise and ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and keep initiatives moving

• Data proficiency and comfort with real estate and community-development data as well as using tools like Salesforce and Excel to make decisions and track progress

• Excellent written and verbal communication for creating materials, facilitating meetings, and reporting to stakeholders

• Understanding of real estate development, community ownership models, and technical assistance approaches

• Collaborative approach and ability to work well across teams and build solutions together

• Cultural competence and commitment to racial equity in community development

• Excellent active listening skills 

• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

MORE ABOUT THE POSITION

The Senior Strategic Initiatives Officer is a full-time position. This position reports to the Vice President of Program Strategy. The salary for this position is between $115,000-140,000 annually, depending on experience.   

Benefits include: comprehensive health and wellness package with 100% employer-paid insurance premiums for employees and a generous contribution towards dependent coverage; robust long-term disability and life insurance coverage; technology subsidy; valuable employer contributions to retirement savings; more than three weeks’ vacation to start (with longevity increases); access to and financial support of professional development, and a demonstrated commitment to work/life balance. 

The position requires in-office presence two days per week, based at either of Community Vision’s offices in San Francisco or Oakland, with flexibility for hybrid work. Regular monthly travel to local/regional Bay Area and Central Valley events, meetings, and activities is to be expected as part of this role.

The position involves regular computer and telephone use plus some minimal lifting. 

TO APPLY

Apply online through Community Vision’s  Career Center. Cover letters should be included and should discuss your interest in the position and in working at Community Vision. Incomplete applications without a cover letter will not be considered. Positions will remain open until filled and applications received before February 18th will be given priority. For more information on our work, please visit our website at: communityvisionca.org.

Community Vision is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing applicants and employees with a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Community Vision are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations where we operate. Community Vision will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics and encourages applicants with these characteristics to apply.