Urbane is a lead entity for resident relationship building through Linden Plaza Section 8 Conversion and Preservation process at Linden Plaza Apartments. Our function is to develop meaningful connections with residents before, during and after the rehabilitation and restoration of over 1,525 units of public housing. We view public housing as vital community assets and community anchors, and residents are the most important stakeholders in the process of preserving these assets. The Engagement Specialist position will be located on-site at Linden Plaza, under the supervision of a Senior Project Manager and will include evening and weekend hours to ensure availability and accessibility to residents who may not be able to engage during traditional business hours. 

Job Responsibilities

 The Lead Engagement Specialist Contractor will provide services related to liaising with the resident bodies of Linden Plaza Apartments. The primary objectives of the Engagement Specialist Contractor is to execute the comprehensive resident engagement and empowerment plan and provide critical inputs to ensure an iterative approach. This person serves as a primary touch point and trusted resource for residents, keeping community members connected to opportunities generated by the Project Based Section 8 conversion process. 

Core tasks include, but are not limited to:

• Establish and nurture relationships with tenants, local leaders + social service provider teams througha regular presence across the Linden Plaza development.
• Support on-site tenant engagement activities, including site-specific meetings, tabling, and special partner events. This includes but is not limited to creating a run-of-show, preparing, and distributing outreach and meeting materials, securing logistics, presenting information, capturing notes and resident feedback, and completing simple summary reports for follow-up.
• Support the design and execution of events including educational workshops, trainings, and focus groups; contribute to content development, support event promotion and logistics, co-facilitate as appropriate.
• Serve as a primary conduit for a holistic intake and tracking process, capturing the full range of input(s) from tenants from pre-development to construction, to social service referrals and beyond, with the goal of having accurate, real-time reporting that can create better outcomes for residents. 
• Gather comprehensive data by engaging residents through a needs survey, project design activities and other tools TBC; leverage range of on-site activities to successfully capture data (meetings, tabling, in-unit inspection appointments, etc.).
• Intake, codify and share resident ideas, questions, concerns, complaints, etc.; communicate information to internal team, and respond or direct residents as appropriate, within agreed upon time frames.
• Keep accurate and up-to-date records via internal database.
• Update and maintain Linden Plaza FAQs and other key resources to support transparency around the Project Based Section 8 conversion process.
• Support residents in understanding their rights, responsibilities, and key resources prior to and throughout the lease signing process.
• Support HQS (Housing Quality Standard) inspections and escalate any emergency repairs to the respective parties for repairs.
• Participate in direct outreach in advance of key activities and events as needed through door-to-door canvassing, information distribution, and select phone and text outreach.
• Support document translation (Spanish, Haitian Kreyol, or French) and live interpretation during engagement events.
• Attend regular internal project team meetings and ad-hoc meetings as requested.
• Support the identification, recruitment, and on-boarding of local resident ambassadors/community coaches and/or similar roles for ongoing community capacity building.
• Perform other duties as required.

Some engagement activities remain virtual in response to the ongoing pandemic; however, local presence onsite is required.