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, which triggered unprecedented eviction risk for U.S. renters nationwide, the law firm and housing stability fund that make up CEDP will continue to operate and deepen their ties to Colorado renters facing eviction.

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. The project brings 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.

As COVID moves from pandemic to endemic, CEDP is working to stabilize families who have been left behind and deepen the housing stability infrastructure we built in 2021 and 2022.

More about the role

We are seeking a Strategy & Special Projects Manager to help shape CEDP's overall strategy and programs. In this role, your focus will be on short-term, high-impact strategy and operations projects with a bias toward building new programs and driving organizational efficiency. You will manage, plan, and execute key initiatives that align with the organization's broader mission to build economic and racial justice. Examples of previous projects led by this role: research, design, and implementation of a new pilot program; drafting of a major federal grant application and managing grant progress across teams; supporting advocacy campaigns and creating advocacy materials and research, including rigorous data analysis on the impact of rental assistance funds. These projects will leverage analytical and technology skills, as well as interpersonal and presentation skills.

You will be a close collaborator with the leadership team and attend leadership meetings where you will learn first-hand how to build, run, and scale a social impact start-up. You will report directly to the Chief of Staff. While you will primarily work with the Chief of Staff, you will also work cross-functionally and act as a thought partner to the broader leadership team, collaborating on fundraising, operations, and programs.

The target start date is February or March 2023.

In this role, you will:

• Develop and support launch of new, innovative programs that focus on economic justice, housing, and community wealth-building for low-income and working people
• Lead end-to-end program design and management, research and data-driven analysis, budgeting resourcing, and implementation for new programs
• Collaborate with the executive team on the long-term strategic plan and roadmap
• Identify new contracts and sales opportunities
• Support cross-functional team leads in executing high-impact projects
• Identify foundation grants and federal/state money for which we might qualify
• Draft major grant applications and manage grant progress across teams
• Build pitch decks and materials for investors, funders, and external stakeholders
• Conduct research and create advocacy materials for homelessness prevention and anti-poverty initiatives, including rigorous data analysis
• Coordinate across teams to help manage advocacy campaigns

• Assist teams with data reporting (set-up, tracking) on key program metrics and outcomes
• Support improvement of team management processes and tech

Position requirements:

• 2+ years professional experience in strategic / analytics roles
• A background working with diverse communities and a diverse set of stakeholders
• Passion for social impact and mission-oriented work
• A bias towards building and a comfort with strengthening a minimum viable product
• Comfort with ambiguity in a fast-paced, all-hands-on-deck environment
• Outstanding analytical and problem-solving skills and facility with numbers and data
• Strong oral communications skills and the ability to influence leaders through logic, data, and presentation skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to manage complex stakeholder environments
• Exceptional analytical ability in Excel and data science skills are a plus
• Proficiency and/or experience with CRMs such as HubSpot or Salesforce is preferred

Why Us?

• We are a social enterprise with a sustainable business model focused on one of the most important issues in society – keeping people in their homes and maintaining access to affordable housing
• Opportunity for local involvement while making a statewide and even a national impact
• Our co-founders have collaborated for 5+ years and are committed to building a company where everyone loves to work
• Unlimited growth potential within the organization
• The opportunity to step into a new organization two years after its founding and play a substantial role in its growth

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

• Salary range of $73,000 to $85,000 per year, based on experience.
• Benefits include generous paid time off and medical/dental benefits, 401k, flexible work schedule.

To Apply: Please click on the "Apply for this position" button on this page and submit your application online.