Bilingual Tenant Organizer – Washington, DC

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 [email protected], 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 [email protected]. LEDC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, with a drug-free workplace, and complies with ADA regulations as applicable. 

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. 

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