Position: Project Associate Community Development
Field: Real Estate Development
Reports To: Director Community Development
Department: Transactions
Location: Seattle, WA
Position Type: Full time, Salaried, Exempt
Salary Range: $42,000
Benefits: Forterra’s benefits include ten paid holidays per year and up to 160 hours of paid time off (PTO) leave. You will also be eligible to enroll in the employer-sponsored medical, dental, and flexible spending account (FSA) plans. You will also be able to enroll in Forterra’s 401(k) program. Forterra also provides a subsidized Orca Card program for public transit commuters.
About
Forterra is a Green Pathways Partner. Green Pathways is a program that creates a pathway to the green sector for low-income young adults in living wage entry-level positions in the environmental justice movement.
Forterra aims to make sure the Pacific Northwest is livable and beautiful for generations to come. To accomplish this, Forterra focuses on land—how we live, work and play sustainably on it today, knowing we will see significant growth over the next century. Over the past 29 years we’ve become the common ground where people, often with very different points of view, come together around a shared love for this place. We emphasize the connection between people and place – vibrant cities and healthy lands. We work in all landscapes, from our most urban cities to our most majestic wild places. And we apply our broad range of skills including land conservation, stewardship, policy innovation, attainable housing development, and community engagement—all with one mission, to sustain our region.
In urban real estate, we found that social good often loses out to profit. Realizing that resources were the missing element to impactful projects in the urban space, we created the Forterra Strong Communities Funds (FSCF), a social investment fund dedicated to keeping our region inclusive and welcoming to all. The Strong Communities Funds allow Forterra to have greater capacity to compete with other buyers in a fast paced real-estate market. The fund has already helped to secure properties for community spaces, affordable housing and small businesses in Tukwila and South Seattle that were under intense development pressure.
Summary of Position
Forterra’s Transactions Team manages the acquisition and development of FSCF properties. We fundamentally believe that a community’s health outcomes can be improved through the right sort of real estate development. Our team pursues projects that make homeownership possible for communities at-risk of displacement from our cities and towns, that create welcoming, rich and diverse community spaces, and that bring partners and investors together to make positive change happen.
Our team seeks out opportunities to support and partner with individuals and both thriving and challenged community-based organizations within the neighborhoods where we work. The Project Manager’s work will focus project management of our community engagement projects and on community relations with these groups, convening and place-based engagement on unique projects in urban areas.
The Transactions Project Associate will be responsible for assisting the Community Development vertical within the Transactions Team in the project management, property investigation and due diligence, acquisition, pre-development, and place based community engagement components of our work. The Project Associate’s activities will also include the preparation of materials for grant applications, research and writing. This position will provide real estate and fundraising experience in addition to building practical business and professional skills.
Specific Duties
I. Community Development Project Support – approximately 70% of work hours; work with the project teams, Project Manager and Director Community Development to support the purchase and pre-development of Forterra Strong Communities Fund investments. Specific Duties will include:
- Assist in the organization of pre-development project tracking and project management tasks.
- Assist in community development activities.
- Assist in document management, task tracking and scheduling meetings between contractors, sub-contractors, community organizations, and governmental agencies.
- Undertake zoning research, property due diligence, and applicable neighborhood and jurisdictional planning document acquisition.
- Synthesize available project and/or property information into concise project briefs.
II. Research and Documentation – approximately 20% of work hours; work with the project teams to support prospect research and grant writing.
- Research grant opportunities, requirements and draft grant applications.
III. Fundraising and Other Areas of Responsibility – approximately 10% of work hours;
- In close cooperation with the project team and Forterra’s philanthropy and marketing departments, support projects through placed-based fundraising campaigns, by helping to develop fundraising strategy and promotional campaign materials.
- Support the team in a broad range of transactional and fundraising activities. This may include administrative tasks, team meetings, document management, Forterra organizational events, annual work plans, and budget tracking.
Required Qualifications
- Experience with project management, real estate and development research, and time management.
- Excellent writing and communication skills
- Demonstrated resourcefulness and strong problem-solving skills
- Experience and/or commitment to working with communities of color and grassroots/community based organizations
- An interest in community engagement, land use, development, and environmental sustainability
- Basic knowledge and experience with Microsoft Office programs, including Word, Excel and Outlook
Preferred Skills
- A competitive candidate should bring to the team useful knowledge and skills. In addition to the above required qualifications, it is a plus if candidates have a basic understanding of one or more of the following:
- Community outreach and engagement strategies
- Graphic design or experiencing preparing slides for presentations
- Real estate transactions
- Grant writing
Travel, Working Conditions and Physical Environment
This position is subject to activities beyond typical indoor environmental conditions of a professional office setting. Forterra will provide reasonable accommodations for people who are differently abled. The physical requirements of this position may include:
- Ability to exert up to 30 pounds of force occasionally and/or an equivalent amount of force frequently to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. Handcarts and team member assistance are available for support as needed.
- Ability to sit or otherwise remain in a stationary position at a computer workstation for the majority of the work day. There is flexibility for the person to move between different locations inside the office as needed.
- Ability to frequently move about inside the office to access file cabinets, office equipment, etc.
- Typical team working hours are from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Individuals may work with their team leader to determine a schedule that meets specific needs.
- Ability to communicate accurately with leadership, co-workers, and volunteer leadership, clients, and vendors about matters related to the daily operations of the organization.
- Ability to travel to and from Forterra’s office in downtown Seattle, attend partner and community meetings in King and Pierce County, along with occasional field visits. Public transit, carpooling with team members and Zip Car are compensated for external meeting travel.
Background Check
A criminal background will not automatically eliminate you from consideration. However, because this position involves access to confidential/sensitive information and physical assets, Forterra will not hire into this position anyone who has been convicted of a criminal offense related to theft or fraud. A criminal history background check will be conducted on the final candidate prior to beginning employment.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Forterra believes that historic and current methods of real estate acquisition and development disproportionately affect the most marginalized people in society – including people of color, low-income people, women, and LGBTQ people. We believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do. Therefore, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members or other marginalized communities.
Forterra is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status, or any other class protected by law. Assistance and/or reasonable accommodations during the application process are available to individuals upon request. To request assistance or accommodation, please contact Human Resources at [email protected] or 206-292-5907 and also cc Florence Sum at [email protected].