WORK FOR AN AWARD-WINNING NON-PROFIT SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

Job Title: Director of Housing Finance
Industry: Non-profit/International Development
Job Location: US – Remote (frequent travel) 
Reports to: Vice President of Programs
Start Date: Immediate
Term: At-will
Salary: $75,000 - $90,000

WHO WE ARE

Founded in 2004, Build Change is a non‐profit social enterprise whose mission is to greatly reduce deaths, injuries and economic losses caused by housing and school collapses due to earthquakes, extreme weather, and fire.  Our global experience shows that home improvement programs focused on improving existing housing can be carried out successfully across a range of country and disaster contexts. To do this, we implement programs that are both economically and socially sustainable. Our approach looks beyond construction and engineering to create an environment in which people want to improve the safety of their homes, and in which it is possible and affordable for them to do so. Systems change can only be achieved by overcoming the major barriers to success for resilient housing programs, which include People, Money, and Technology. Build Change is currently active in South East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, South America, and the United States. 

Build Change is the recipient of multiple awards, including a 2017 Skoll Foundation Award for Social Entrepreneurship, 2016 OpenIDEO Urban Resilience Challenge Winner, and was a top-three finalist in IBM’s inaugural Call for Code Developer Challenge in 2018.

YOUR NEW OPPORTUNITY

As the Director of Housing Finance, you will utilize a combination of your exceptional housing finance experience and your project management, advocacy, and program development skills to provide strategic direction for Build Change’s housing financing programs in the United States and abroad, including the Caribbean, Latin America, Indonesia, and The Philippines. In this role, you will manage a variety of responsibilities toward the ultimate goal of facilitating access to financing for low-income families to improve the resilience of their homes. You will have the opportunity to contribute to the conception and execution of Build Change’s housing finance strategy, and advocate and collaborate with microfinance partners and government agencies. You will lead in developing tool kits for partners to implement resilient housing loan programs, engaging in product development, roll-out, marketing, scaling and monitoring, and evaluation.

You are excited by the idea of representing Build Change with project partners and collaborating with them to achieve shared outcomes. You are a self-starter who can be attentive to detail without losing the strategic perspective for the larger mission of the organization. You believe in participatory projects where solutions are driven by the people you are trying to serve. You also understand that innovation and risk are required to increase resilience in housing.

As a member of the senior management team, you will work in partnership with colleagues from the engineering, technology innovations, business development, and program departments, as well as Build Change staff in other countries. You will report to the Vice President of Programs.

OUR IDEAL CANDIDATE:

You have:

• A University degree in a related field with additional real-world experience.
• Familiarity with the housing finance environment in the United States and abroad, especially as it applies to lower-income clients, and emerging economies.
• A collaborative mindset capable of understanding the technical and social requirements for financing housing resilience improvements.
• Strong communications skills in English (written and spoken), and an additional language such as Spanish, French, Bahasa, or Tagalog is a plus.
• A strategic and project management mindset that includes ownership over milestones, work plans, and familiarity with working and reporting using tools such as Google Suite and Microsoft Office.

Your experience includes:

• Minimum five years' working experience in the housing finance sector in the US and/or internationally.
• Experience designing and rolling new financial products out to market successfully.
• Using human-centered design or other participatory or community-led approaches to design products or interventions.
• Working in communities with a low-income socioeconomic makeup.
• Experience with non-income generating financial products is a plus.

You are able to:

• Lead strategic planning and scaling of Build Change’s resilient housing finance initiatives.
• Represent Build Change in the public and private sector financing communities, leading advocacy efforts in housing finance.
• Document learnings for dissemination within Build Change and externally, contributing to reporting.
• Work independently, set priorities, and follow through on commitments and deadlines on time.
• Work successfully in a team environment across technology, engineering, training, and administrative disciplines and deliver outcomes on time.
• Communicate financing concepts to non-financing people using simple, accessible language.
• Quickly iterate on project activities and work plans based on insights and feedback gathered.
• Support the development of new project ideas, including defining work plans and levels of effort.
• Proficiently use MS Office applications such as Excel and Word, email, and the internet.

You would describe yourself as:

• An excellent communicator who is comfortable and capable of speaking in front of varying audiences, including management, clients, partners, donors, and government agencies.
• Creative, organized, drama-free, optimistic, flexible, patient, and having a good sense of humor.

ARE YOU INTERESTED?
Then please visit www.buildchange.org/about/careers and select the link for this position. Applications will be accepted until filled and will be reviewed as received. Build Change is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified women and candidates from diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. No calls, please.
 

Build Change is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information. It is the policy of Build Change that qualified individuals with disabilities not be discriminated against because of their disabilities in regard to job application procedures, hiring, and other terms and conditions of employment. It is further the policy of Build Change to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in all aspects of the employment process. Build Change is prepared to modify or adjust the job application process or the job or work environment to make reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of the applicant or employee to enable the applicant or employee to be considered for the position he or she desires, to perform the essential functions of the position in question, or to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment as are enjoyed by other similarly situated employees without disabilities unless the accommodation will impose an undue hardship.