Fair Housing Testing Coordinator

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Job location
Dubuque, IA 52001
United States
Organization information
Organization name: 
Iowa Legal Aid
Street address: 
1111 9th Street, Suite 230
City: 
Des Moines
State: 
Iowa
ZIP: 
50314
Job type: 
Other
Position Description: 

Iowa Legal Aid is a statewide non-profit law firm with a dedication to providing hope, dignity, and justice to low-income Iowans and other vulnerable groups through legal information and representation. Our Fair Housing Project addresses causes and complaints of illegal discrimination and seeks to expand housing opportunities for Iowans based on someone’s race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation or identity, family status, or disability. We are currently expanding the Fair Housing Project’s services to include “fair housing testing,” which will use volunteers to unearth discriminatory behavior so that it can be addressed and eliminated. This first year, we will be focusing on establishing our fair housing testing project in the City of Dubuque, Iowa.

Position description: The Fair Housing Testing Coordinator is an essential and key position for the success of this new testing project. Fair housing testing is a method of measuring and documenting differences in treatment by home-seekers to discover any evidence of illegal discriminatory treatment. The Fair Housing Coordinator, under the supervision of an attorney, will be primarily responsible for the project’s testing program. We will also send the Coordinator to a national fair housing tester training program as part of the preparation and orientation for this position.

Duties and Responsibilities:
Among other duties that may be assigned, the Coordinator will be required to:
• Develop training materials and protocols for volunteer fair housing testers.
• Recruit, train, and support volunteer fair housing testers.
• Set up fair housing tests by assigning trained testers, design and coordinate the tests, organize and maintain test data, write up reports on testing results, and report on results to supervising attorney.
• Conduct outreach to community organizations and agencies to educate the community about fair housing rights and the services provided by our Fair Housing Project.
• Develop and maintain a good working relationship with local government agencies, including the Dubuque Human Rights Commission, and develop fair housing complaint referral protocols with these agencies.
• Assist with preparation of grant reports to HUD.

Requirements: 

Qualifications:
• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree or other equivalent and/or relevant experience.
• Strong ability to work independently and demonstrate initiative.
• Passionate commitment to fairness to and justice for victims of discrimination.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work closely as a team member.
• Excellent writing and communication skills and comfort with public speaking.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability and willingness to do community outreach, primarily with goal of recruiting volunteer testers and ability to cultivate and maintain relationships with volunteers.
• Knowledge and experience with fair housing laws is preferred, but not required.
• Willingness to live in or near the City of Dubuque is preferred, but not required. Regular travel to Dubuque will be expected, as it will be necessary as part of the successful administration of the project.

To apply: 

To apply, email a letter of application (indicate geographic restrictions), resume, academic transcripts, and names, addresses and phone numbers of at least three professional references to John Gianola – [email protected].

Notes: 
Equal Opportunity Employer
Salary range: 
Salary for this position starts at $35,117. Non-entry level salaries are dependent on relevant experience. Excellent fringe benefits