Manager, Housing Accelerator Program (VCF)

About Vancity Community Foundation

Vancity Community Foundation was founded on the belief that if we work together, we will have the resources we need to build a thriving community.

Everything we do is an investment in community. We believe that if all our assets are invested in building communities, where cooperative principles and practices are flourishing and social justice and environmental sustainability are centered, the world will be a better place and community well-being will be enhanced.

Our vision, shared with Vancity, is a transformed economy that protects the earth and guarantees equity for all.

• We implement cooperative principles and practices.
• We believe in social justice and financial inclusion.
• We actively work towards Truth + Reconciliation and being an anti-racist organization.
• We are committed to environmental sustainability and climate justice.
• We are a Living Wage Employer.
• We value collaboration, innovation, integrity, equity, and community.

About Housing Accelerator Program

The key goal of the Affordable Housing Accelerator Program Fund is to ensure more people have access to affordable rental housing by preserving and growing the supply of, and access to, community-owned permanent, climate-ready affordable homes for diverse groups of low and moderate-income households, including homes developed by and for Indigenous and equity-denied groups.  The program works to build capacity, secure and leverage land, and address financial barriers to accelerate non-profit affordable housing development.  We do this by providing grant investments, financing and expertise to housing organizations and other community land-owners to support the conception, planning and development of climate-ready affordable housing acquisition, development and re-development projects. 

About the workplace

This competitively rewarded role will enjoy remote working arrangements which can be fulfilled primarily from your Greater Vancouver based home office and in or with communities that we serve. For this reason, we are looking for someone autonomous, takes initiative, centres relationship building and takes ownership of their role.

As the Manager, Housing Accelerator Program you will manage and lead the development, refinement and delivery of the Accelerator Program to support achievement of goals and outcomes and address gaps and opportunities. This includes generating strong and diverse channels of grant and loan opportunities and managing an impactful and financially viable grant and loan portfolio that increases the supply and availability of climate-ready affordable housing for low and moderate-income populations, including projects developed by and for Indigenous and equity-denied groups. You will work collaboratively with the Director of Strategic Investment and Loan Officer to set out strategic direction of the Housing Accelerator Program.

You describe yourself as a passionate social justice and community housing advocate, planner, developer or investor who believes in the potential of the non-profit, co-operative and Indigenous housing organizations to contribute meaningfully to addressing housing affordability, availability, security and climate resilience.  You like to work collaboratively to identify and develop strategies, tools and products that address barriers and gaps.  You are dedicated to applying REDI (Reconciliation, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) principles into life and work and ensure equitable and broad access to resources.  You are known for your community-centred practice in building relationships, partnerships and community capacity.

A typical day would involve:  

• Lead the development and implementation of a proactive outreach and project generation strategy to identify and support channels of diverse, viable and high impact grant and loan prospects, including projects developed by and for Indigenous and equity seeking groups
• Provide guidance and technical support to organizations and support capacity development and sector development initiatives
• Respond to inquiries from community organizations and referrals from Vancity and other partners and work with these organizations to develop funding or financing requests for their projects
• Assess and prepare funding and loan recommendations and manage a nimble review and approval process, including presenting to a loan review committee or panel
• Plan, organize and/or participate in community housing sector events, speaking engagements, workshops and collaborative initiatives
• Meet with government partners, including municipalities to increase awareness of the program and identify opportunities for collaboration and innovation in addressing housing needs
• Support development of resources, tools and reports that enable knowledge dissemination and capacity development
• Work closely with VCF teams to support identification and implementation of policy and advocacy initiatives related to affordable housing
• Manage, coach, mentor and collaborate with your direct reports (Loan Officer) to set and evaluate performance related to the delivery of the program
• Work in partnership with the Affordable Housing team, VCF finance and other relevant teams to maintain Accelerator Program financials, loan repayment and cash management
• Support Accelerator Program results monitoring and reporting, preparing regular financial and outcomes reports for VCF management, Board, funders and the community
• Identify and propose solutions to problems, issues and opportunities related to program implementation and growth

You Have: 

• A Bachelor's degree in planning, business, real estate, community economic development, social policy, etc., or equivalent experience
• Management level experience in areas related to social finance/lending, grant-making, financial analysis, real estate development or management, affordable housing, non-profit management
• Advanced knowledge and business acumen related to affordable housing and real estate development processes, concepts, practices and theories, and financing
• Advanced knowledge of the Affordable Housing ecosystem including government funding/financing programs, products, and policies as well as non-profit and co-operative structures and financial models
• Knowledge of green /sustainable building concepts and practices
• Solid analytical and decision-making skills to identify, screen, and assess potential investment and project opportunities
• Excellent business writing and presentation skills and interpersonal skills
• Experience in program development, operational planning, marketing and evaluation skills
• Organized and detail oriented, collaborative, articulate, solid communicator.
• Shared values with the Foundation and support the advancement of our commitments, including the Philanthropic Declaration on Reconciliation and Canadian Philanthropic Commitment on Climate Change.
• Entrepreneurial spirit and creative thinking skills and a high degree of motivation, attention to detail and commitment to continuous improvement.
• Understanding of social justice and systems change theory and practices
• An ability to collaborate, educate, engage, and inspire

You are:  

• A relationship builder – you can adapt your interpersonal and intercultural skills to various target audiences inclusive of those from equity denied groups and are proactive in starting & developing key relationships in all relevant sectors. You can recognize differences of opinion, bring them out for discussion into the open, and look for win-win solutions.
• A subject-matter expert and learner – you possess significant knowledge in your functional area and areas that can impact your work. You ensure to keep updated with the most relevant developments in your space
• A solid researcher – you are critical, community oriented, and explore things beyond the surface. You are resourceful and utilize the tools at your disposal to discover solutions, practices and knowledge that will assist you and your communications efforts
• A project manager – you can shift from big-picture to detail effortlessly and use your planning & organizational skills to achieve multiple objectives in a logical sequence
• A people leader – you work effectively with people and can recognize own limitations and boundaries. You use non-oppressive styles and methods, and organize thoughts and ideas clearly when communicating with staff
• An excellent communicator – you use your written, spoken & interpersonal, intercultural skills to communicate potentially complex material effectively to your target audiences. 

We value lived experience, so if you are interested in this role, we encourage you to apply even if you feel your skills don't perfectly align with those listed.

The salary range for this role is $91,000 to $136,400 annually. Base pay offered may vary depending on factors such as relevant qualifications, skills, previous experience, and internal equity. As part of our total rewards package, employees may also be eligible for our annual incentive program, subject to program eligibility requirements.

Posting Deadline: Posted until filled

A career at Vancity is more than just a job, you’re joining a tradition of change-makers who are creating lasting change for our communities. Beyond base pay, we offer a comprehensive total rewards package to ensure our employees are empowered to thrive:

We offer:

• We are the largest private-sector Living Wage Employer in Canada and have been consistently recognized as one of the Top Employers in Canada.
• Our permanent employees qualify for attractive benefit packages that can be customized and changed each year to meet their evolving needs.
• New employees receive between three to four weeks of vacation allowance per calendar year, and the number of vacation days grows
• In addition to the 10 statutory holidays in British Columbia, Vancity provides an additional three statutory holidays. We offer care days for periods of short-term personal illness or emergency family illness.
• We have flex credits for our health care & dental benefits offer three levels of coverage for you to select from. These benefits will also be effective immediately based on your hire date.  
• We understand that retirement means different things to different people and at Vancity we will offer you a Defined benefits pension plan that pays you a retirement income for life.

 Please note that all shortlisted candidates for this role will be required to complete a background check which includes employment verification, credit check, and a criminal record check. Vancity is an inclusive and equitable employer and actively seeks to advance racial equity, inclusion and belonging across the organization. Vancity offers required accommodations in all stages of the recruitment process.  If you require an accommodation, please advise us, and we will work with you to meet your needs.

We encourage those who identify from groups who have been structurally excluded (Indigenous, Black and Racialized communities, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, Disability communities, Non-Binary, Trans and Women Identified communities) to apply.