Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Zoning Assistant - City of Boston

The mission of the Mayor’s Office of Housing (MOH) is to make Boston a more equitable and inclusive city where all residents can thrive. MOH oversees programs that create and preserve affordable housing, support homeowners and renters, provide housing and services to homeless individuals and families, and develop City-owned property. MOH seeks to carry out its mission through a lens of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, and addressing the effects of systemic racism in our city.

The Policy Development and Research team within MOH is responsible for data collection and analysis; policy and program reporting; research into housing policy best and emerging practices; policy development; and select policy implementation. Its objective is to inform data-driven affordable housing policy change to better serve the constituents of the City of Boston.

Reporting to the Housing Policy Manager, the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Zoning Assistant is primarily responsible for supporting the administration of Boston’s AFFH Zoning. This includes identifying and tracking projects that trigger AFFH Zoning, coordinating with project proponents on compliance with that process and negotiating outcomes, preparing for and participating in meetings of the Boston Interagency Fair Housing Development Committee (BIFDC), and conducting analysis of and reporting on AFFH Zoning outcomes. Additionally, the AFFH Zoning Assistant is responsible for conducting broader research and data analysis on issues pertaining to the City’s housing supply and housing needs. The balance of these responsibilities may vary at any given time, but the AFFH Assistant is expected to assume these and other relevant tasks as needed. This role requires not only administrative and analytical skills but also the ability to think strategically to advance AFFH Zoning objectives and critically understand outcomes.

• Review Article 80 filings to identify and track projects triggering AFFH Zoning and requiring BIFDC review.
• Collect and review public comments and input on relevant projects, including attending public meetings, hearings, and other events as relevant.
• Attend internal City meetings regarding proposed projects to gather information and advocate for AFFH interventions.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for developers complying with AFFH Zoning.
• Create BIFDC meeting agendas with the assistance of the Housing Policy Manager; prepare for meetings and take detailed notes at meetings; assist with BIFDC meeting facilitation as needed.
• Collect and analyze data on projects subject to AFFH Zoning, including conducting displacement risk analyses and historical exclusion analyses.
• Draft BIFDC comment letters to developers.
• With the support of the Housing Policy Manager, draft compliance monitoring plans for projects subject to AFFH Zoning after approval by the BPDA Board.
• Maintain and update various databases, such as the AFFH Zoning tracker and Income-Restricted Housing Database.
• Run descriptive analysis on data to understand key themes and trends.
• Produce data visualizations, such as tables, charts, and maps, as needed.
• Draft internal and public reports and other documents reflecting data analysis relevant but not limited to, AFFH Zoning trends and outcomes, income-restricted housing in Boston, and other topics.
• Respond to requests for information on data, policies, and programs from staff, press, City Council, and other internal and external stakeholders.
• Maintain AFFH Zoning files and folders.
• Conduct research on AFFH's best and emerging practices beyond Boston to inform AFFH Zoning and its implementation.
• Coordinate with BPDA project managers, other agencies, and City staff as needed.
• Support the Housing Policy Manager with big-picture thinking, research, and analysis pertaining to AFFH Zoning, including but not limited to the evolution of the implementation process, the approach to project and context analysis, and of interventions to maximize relevance and positive outcomes.
• Complete special projects identified by the Housing Policy Manager or Director.
• Perform other related duties as required.

• A minimum of two (2) years of relevant work experience in fair housing, housing policy, administration of income-restricted housing programs, or a related field. 
• A bachelor’s degree in City Planning, Public Policy, or related concentration is preferred.
• Familiarity with the City of Boston’s AFFH Zoning is preferred.
• Knowledge of Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing concepts and goals, barriers to fair housing, and/or indicators of displacement risk is preferred.
• Ability to work with large, messy datasets.
• Familiarity and comfort with data and document organization across multiple platforms (e.g., Google Suite, Workspace, Microsoft Excel, Salesforce, and/or Box).
• Strong analytical skills.
• Ability to run basic descriptive statistics and analysis.
• Ability to create compelling and easy-to-understand data visualizations.
• Familiarity with Excel and understanding and experience with PowerBI and Adobe Creative Suite are pluses.
• Ability to create maps and do basic spatial analysis in ArcGIS is a plus. 
• Experience reading, interpreting, and understanding complex housing policy/program requirements and development project proposals.
• Good writing skills; ability to communicate data in an accessible way to the public.
• Communication skills, including comfort speaking with a diverse array of stakeholders, from city staff to developers to constituents.
• Ability to be team-oriented and collaborative.
• Ability to work independently, take initiative, and build and maintain momentum in advancing work.
• Well organized and practiced in time management.
• Attention to detail.
• Ability to exercise good judgment and focus on detail as required by the job.

BOSTON RESIDENCY REQUIRED

Terms:

Union/Salary/Grade: SEIU/N-20

Hours per week: 35