About The Community Builders:

The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) is a nationally recognized nonprofit developer, owner, and manager of affordable and mixed-income residential and commercial properties. We envision a world with vibrant, safe and inclusive neighborhoods in which all people live in healthy homes with equitable access to resources and opportunities to pursue their dreams. Our mission is to build and sustain strong communities where all people can thrive. We realize our mission by developing, financing, and operating affordable, mixed income residential communities, neighborhood amenities and resident opportunity programming. Founded in 1964, TCB currently owns/manages 13,000 units of rental housing across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest.

About Community Life at TCB

Community Life (CL) is TCB’s place-based model that uses stable housing as a platform for connecting families, seniors, and households with disabilities to community resources and opportunities. We engage residents in creating programs and building strategic partnerships with local stakeholders to create pathways to opportunities in early education, economic mobility, youth development, voting registration, health, and resident leadership. Community Life’s goal is to create equitable access to community supports, resources, and opportunities for all residents so that everyone can thrive. The successful candidate will have a chance to join in a once-in-a-generation neighborhood transformation process made possible through a federal Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant.

About Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant (CNI)

The federal Choice Neighborhoods Initiative leverages significant public and private dollars to support locally driven strategies that address struggling neighborhoods with distressed public or HUD-assisted housing through a comprehensive approach to neighborhood transformation. Local leaders, residents, and stakeholders, such as public housing authorities, cities, schools, business owners, nonprofits, and private developers, come together to create and implement a plan that unleashes the full potential of communities by revitalizing severely distressed public and/or assisted housing and catalyzing critical improvements in the neighborhood, including businesses, services, and schools.

Clement Kern Gardens: The City of Detroit were awarded a $35 million FY 2020 Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant for the Buckeye Woodhill neighborhood. In 2018, the City and community partners secured a Choice Neighborhoods Planning award. Now through the Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant, the partners are moving from planning to action. The lead grantee City of Detroit (CoD) and their partners will: create 400 new, mixed-income rental units on the Clement Kern Gardens site (with 86 project-based voucher units). All current residents have the opportunity to return to the property after redevelopment or an option to relocate to another property in the CNI footprint operated by TCB or American Community Developers (ACD) and Independent Management Services (IMS).

Position Description:

The Community Life Education and Resource Manager (ERM) is responsible for supporting Clement Kern Garden residents to navigate the Detroit Public School Community District (DPSCD), Public Charter School Districts, and Early Childhood Education systems. The ERM is responsible for developing and creating programming in addition to identifying resources for residents. Working in close collaboration with the Community Life Services Coordinators (CLSC), the ERM will ensure that children will have the supports they need to succeed academically and socially in the schools (public & private). In addition, the ERM will partner with the Workforce Development Consultant and Career Coach to discuss and address the specific needs and challenges of the Clement Kern families located on-site and off-site. In close collaboration with the Director of Community Life, the ERM will work to achieve the CHOICE People Education outcomes and convene community partners on a monthly to quarterly basis.

Core Responsibilities Include:

• In coordination with the Direct of CL, identify resources, partners, and community organizations to address the identified needs of CKG families.

• In collaboration with the CLSCs, conduct education assessment to identify the education needs of each family.

• Use CLQ and assessment results to meet with families one on one to foster trust and communication with parents and students to gain information and/or discuss needs and challenges involving the student(s) and families.

• Work to contact schools (public & private) and accompany parents to school meetings to advocate for what children need.

• Be in direct email correspondence with school to get the services and supports that children need in school.

• Provide training sessions to show parents how to view PowerSchool, and trainings about how to best communicate with teachers and other school administrators.

• In close collaboration with the Director of CL, coordinate and bring afterschool homework help on site, and connect youth to mentoring programs, like PAL, Brilliant Detroit.

• Help families understand how best to prepare and support their children for successful testing.

• Assist families to understand test results, report cards, progress reports, IEPs, 504 plans and their implications.

• Build relationships with supportive services within the school districts (Family and Community Engagement (FACE)).

• In collaboration with the Director of CL, create and implement academic-based learning opportunities/workshops, pre-college experiences for parents and students.

• Attend meetings with educational partners to inform them about CKG families’ needs and seek guidance and support.

• Attend meetings held by school districts to learn critical information and convey to families.

• Recruit and retain community partners to support the work of CNI and CKG families.

• Enter documentation regarding resident engagement in CL Connect database system.

• Support Detroit Thrives and ODTY economic mobility programs with support and planning working closely with Director of CL and program coordinators.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

• Demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment and team culture.

• Ability to understand and respect values, attitudes, and beliefs that differ across cultures and to respond appropriately to these differences with residents in planning, implementing, and evaluating programs and services

• Ability to engage, communicate and collaborate with residents of diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.

• Willingness to work in the community, enter resident homes, and meet residents where they are to provide them with the support needed

• Experience working with families to support their aspirations

• Strong ability to design and execute an approach to achieve the expected outcomes.

• Excellent organizational, communication, writing skills and problem-solving skills.

• Capable of building and maintaining positive relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders, including but, not limited to: residents, senior staff, volunteers, interns, and community partners

• Ability to collect, track and understand data to assess programs and partnerships and inform strategies

• Operate in a timely manner, with consistency and a high level of integrity and professionalism; provide excellent customer service to residents and partners

• Comfort working in a dynamic and challenging community context.

• Strong personal initiative, attention to detail, and ability to work independently required.

• Knowledge of federal, state, and local policies affecting housing is a plus.

• Flexibility to work evening and weekends.

• Access to a personal car required.

• Availability for evening and weekend engagements required.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree with a focus in social work, human services, public health, education, or community development

• 2 years of overall professional experience working with families in housing or human services agencies required

• Proficiency with MS Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook and other computer programs

• Previous engagement, communication, and collaboration with residents of diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds preferred

• Experience working with partners and site team members to implement programs and initiatives

• Knowledge of child development and/or experience working with youth

• Experience working with data management software is a plus

• Experience working directly with diverse and vulnerable families living in challenging circumstances.

The Community Builders, Inc. is committed to ensuring diversity in its workplace, and candidates from diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.