Assistant Director of National LGBT Elder Housing Initiative

SAGE is the country’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in New York City, SAGE is a national organization that offers supportive services and consumer resources for LGBT older adults and their caregivers, advocates for public policy changes that address the needs of LGBT elders, and provides cultural competency training for aging providers and LGBT organizations.

SAGE’s National LGBT Elder Housing Initiative (NHI) is designed to reshape the housing landscape across the U.S. to become more welcoming to LGBT seniors. The NHI’s primary objective is to raise awareness and to increase the availability of LGBT-affirming and safe elder housing to LGBT older adults across the country. The Initiative is comprised of five interlocking strategies to assist the nation’s existing senior housing stock to become safe and welcoming to LGBT elders, while simultaneously accelerating the development of housing specifically designed for them. The five strategies are as follows:

1. Identify resources to aid those interested in developing LGBT-inclusive elder housing  Conduct consumer/stakeholder education and training
2. Conduct policy advocacy
3. Provide cultural competence training and,
4. Build model LGBT elder housing.

SAGE has most recently achieved the fifth strategy in building New York City’s first affordable LGBT-affirming senior housing developments: Stonewall House in Brooklyn and Crotona Residences in the Bronx. Building these two elder housing developments enables SAGE to create models for LGBT-affirming elder housing for use by providers across the country.

Reports to: Director of National LGBT Elder Housing Initiative

Status: Full-time / Exempt / Regular schedule is 35 hours hours/week

Location: This position will be primarily remote, potentially requiring some travel to different parts of the country.

Essential Job Functions:

The Assistant Director of SAGE’s National LGBT Elder Housing Initiative will provide programmatic support and direction for new projects within NHI. The Assistant Director is responsible for executing and growing SAGE’s NHI in the following ways:

• Support the ongoing short and long-term vision and goals of the first four strategies of the Initiative;
• Deepen SAGE’s relationships with existing housing partners, and create new high-value and high-visibility partnerships in affordable and other residential sectors;
• Provide technical assistance, education, and coalition-building to individuals and organizations across the country that are seeking to build/develop their own LGBT-friendly elder housing; and,
• Lead and support the implementation of national and regional events around the country, as a platform for the transfer of institutional knowledge on building LGBT-affirming elder housing.

While the position will not have any direct supervisory responsibilities, the Assistant Director leans heavily on cross-departmental project management, including staff from National Projects, Communications, Programs/Services, and Policy departments. The Assistant Director of the NHI will report directly to the Director of the NHI, who is located in New York City.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the execution of the NHI’s long-term vision to create and expand LGBT elder housing, with a focus on deeply vulnerable elders and vulnerable communities in which housing is built;
• Lead, co-lead, and/or support the NHI Director in planning and implementation of national and regional convenings; manage the outreach, planning, coordination of attendees, and other relevant logistical details to execute all annual housing events;
• Conduct community engagement and cultivate new relationships, connecting local housing work to broader national work; help organize and build a more robust national coalition of stakeholders in the LGBT-affirming housing development arenas to strengthen the NHI’s national visibility;
• Support the NHI Director in providing technical assistance and conducting trainings on LGBT-affirming housing development and cultural competency to groups seeking to create LGBT-affirming elder housing across the country; represent the NHI at national conferences as opportunities arise;
• Create relevant consumer education materials to disseminate via SAGE channels to LGBT elders; provide relevant input from constituents as needed to inform the NHI programming and policy priorities;
• Provide input and develop content as needed to inform training products for community-based organizations, housing developers, and other target audiences;
• Create a detailed archive of SAGE’s housing development process;
• Implement stronger data collection processes, analysis, and reporting;
• Identify leads on innovative research projects and managing relationships in housing research; and
• Conduct or assist with other efforts as needed.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree (May be waived if the applicant possesses relevant expertise or experience)
• Deep subject matter expertise and connections in the affordable housing sector
• Experience in organizing symposia or conferences
• Experience in conducting technical assistance, trainings, workshops, or other forms of public education
• Strong commitment to SAGE’s mission, with particular attention to racial justice, transgender justice, and aging justice
• Experience in community engagement, relationship-building, or coalition-building with a diverse range of stakeholders
• Effective multi-tasking skills and ability to function in a fast-paced environment
• Extremely detail-oriented and organized
• Ability to establish solid working relationships with broad cross-sections of people
• Strong verbal and writing skills
• Strong problem-solver
• Clear and open communicator
• Superb time management skills
• Positive and dependable demeanor

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with and/or on behalf of LGBT elders
• Experience in community organizing and campaign development towards a shared goal
• Experience in collecting, analyzing, and reporting data
• Experience conducting public education on issues of equity, oppression, or discrimination
• Track record of demonstrated leadership in community-based organizations or nonprofit management

Compensation: Competitive salary. SAGE offers a competitive benefits package as well as an exciting and unique work environment.

How to Apply: Please email your cover letter and resume to careers@sageusa.org with “Assistant Director, National LGBT Elder Housing Initiative” in the subject line. No phone calls, please.

Equal Employment Opportunity
SAGE is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived race, ethnicity, creed, color, religion, sex or gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, alienage or national origin, ancestry, age, citizenship status, marital or family status, family medical history or genetic information, veteran status, HIV serostatus, military or military discharge status, height, weight, disability or handicap, domestic violence victim status, employment status, socioeconomic status, criminal history or arrest record, sexual or other reproductive health decisions, natural hair or hairstyle, or any other status or characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. SAGE is dedicated to this policy, with respect to all matters concerning employment.