Housing Advocate

Description

About the Community Economic Defense Project (CEDP)

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered unprecedented eviction risk for U.S. renters, and we formed the Community Economic Defense Project (CEDP) in April 2020 as a direct response. Over the past few years, our community organizing project evolved into a large housing stability organization that operates a continuum of eviction and displacement prevention care. Our mission is to Keep Coloradans Housed. We do this by helping to prevent mass evictions and homelessness.

Born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the law firm and housing stability fund that make up CEDP will continue to operate and deepen their services for Colorado renters facing eviction. Specifically, CEDP offers a “continuum care” approach to eviction prevention that centers the legal and financial needs of housing-insecure families and uses a variety of tools to keep them housed. Serving 1,000 households per month, we bring together housing lawyers, economists, data analysts, policy-experts, organizers, and technologists to provide four services:

• Rental Assistance: through the Colorado Stability Fund, we leverage public funds to pay back and future rent, reinstate leases, and avert evictions through rental debt settlements.
• Legal Services: For complicated cases with additional legal issues or difficult landlords, CEDP offers eviction defense services, paired with rental assistance dollars, to encourage settlement or stabilize tenancies and represent tenants in court when negotiation does not work.
• Rehousing and Case Management: Where legal services do not work, we provide rehousing support services through ERA funding and agency referrals.
• Policy: More broadly, we go case to cause. We work with our clients to tell their stories and amplify their voices into policy change. For example, In the 2020-2021 legislative session, for example, we drafted and, in coalition with other stakeholders and community organizations, passed the renters’ rights legislation that caps late fees, penalizes abusive landlords, and gives Coloradans access to the warranty of habitability without paying a bond.

Our model has been cited as a best practice by the White House, HUD, the Urban Institute, and in the news.

As COVID moves from pandemic to endemic, CEDP is working to stabilize families who have been left behind and fight community wealth stripping through a broader Community Economic Defense model. As our team continues to scale our services at risk of eviction, we are also beginning to build a comprehensive economic, legal, and policy response to mortgage foreclosure, debt, and predatory towing across Colorado. Similar to CEDP’s work on rental housing, these efforts will offer a continuum of care that includes navigation and advisory services, targeted payments, legal support, and the ability to participate in advocacy.

As our team continues to scale our services at risk of eviction, we are also beginning to build a comprehensive economic, legal, and policy response to foreclosure across Colorado. Similar to CEDP’s work on rental housing, this effort will seek to provide homeowners at risk of foreclosure with a continuum of care that includes navigation and advisory services, targeted payments, legal support, and the ability to participate in advocacy.

More about the role

We are seeking an experienced HUD-Approved Counselor to help shape CEDP’s mortgage program from the ground up. As this is a new program, we are looking for candidates who can refine the program design, including proposing and implementing changes.

A successful candidate will have experience providing housing counseling and EMAP application review for homeowners in Colorado. Candidates also should be willing to mentor and train other staff on EMAP processing and housing counseling. To further ensure success, candidates are expected to work comfortably under pressure with tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment. Spanish language skills are desired but not required. We offer competitive salary and benefits, which are detailed below.

In This Role You Will:

• Conduct Client Intake Interviews
• Review client mortgage assistance applications
• Conduct HUD-approved housing counseling
• Mentor and train other staff members in the mortgage program
• Engage with mortgage providers and HOAs on behalf of Colorado Stability Fund clients
• Organize Client Files in an online database
• Track deadlines and manage calendars for your caseload, occasionally assist with cases from other team members and external partners
• Gather/collect, review and log required documents and information to support the accurate and timely processing of cases
• Create and organize information, and generate reference tools for easy use by teammates and members of adjacent teams
• Understand key success measures for your role and submit daily and weekly progress reports
• Maintain and update databases and tracking systems accurately and as designated
• Respond to all case-related queries
• Ensure efficient, accurate and effective administrative information and assistance
• Participate in CEDP’s ongoing efforts to improve upon existing processes by maintaining openness and curiosity about processes, systems and technologies

Requirements:

• HUD-Approved Counselor certification across at least one counseling type aside from Reverse Mortgage
• Minimum three to five years of experience in an advocacy, customer service, social services or law related environment
• Ability to apply prior experience to improve processes and collaboration in a startup environment that requires rapid adaptation to change with minimal supervision
• Analytical thinker with detail orientation, self-starter with ability to solve problems
• Demonstrated proficiency working with Customer Relationship Management databases or similar tracking and organizing technologies
• Fantastic organizational skills and ability to self-manage and prioritize a complex workload with rapidly changing demands.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines and manage high-volume caseload to achieve required case-completion goals
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Brilliant written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficient in Google Suite.
• A home office setup that includes a private, quiet place to conduct confidential telephone and video-conference sessions and a computer with reliable access to high speed internet.

We’re looking for you if your background and skill sets include:

• A background working with diverse communities
• Comfort with ambiguity in a fast-paced, all-hands-on-deck environment
• Demonstrated passion for social impact and social justice
• Willingness and desire to fight for tenants’ rights in a variety of settings
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work collaboratively and proactively with a diverse team and clientele
• Comfort with and ability to effectively navigate a remote work environment
• Direct Service experience
• Bilingual preferred (but not required)

Why Us?

Our co-founders have collaborated for more than five years and are committed to building a company where everyone feels seen, and all employees are included in the co-creation of an environment in which they love to work.

At CEDP you’ll be:

• Joining a new firm will be able to play a substantial role in its growth
• In a social enterprise with a sustainable business model focused on one of the most critical issues in society – access to and preservation of affordable housing
• Able to grow within the organization
• Part of a diverse team of talented advocates and activists that share your passion for diversity, equity, inclusion and justice.

To Apply

Interested candidates should apply by clicking the button to apply linked on this page.

Equal Opportunity

The Community Economic Defense Project is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Benefits & Compensation

• Salaried - $60,000/annually
• Benefits include health, vision, dental, generous paid vacation, short-term and long-term disability, limited life insurance and 401K and are available on the first of the month following a 30-day waiting period.
• This is a full-time, temporary position