Senior Associate, UrbanPlan

URBAN LAND INSTITUTE•Washington, DC

17d•Onsite

About The Position

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and education organization supported by its members. Founded in 1936, the Institute has more than 48,000 members worldwide, representing the spectrum of land use and real estate development disciplines across private enterprise and public service. As the preeminent multidisciplinary real estate forum, ULI facilitates the open exchange of ideas, information, and experience among local, regional, national, and international industry leaders and policymakers dedicated to creating better places. The mission of ULI is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. The UrbanPlan program is an engaging hands-on simulation exercise in which participants—students, public officials, community members and land use or commercial real estate industry members —learn the market and nonmarket forces that shape urban development. UrbanPlan is searching for a Senior Associate to join our small and collaborative team that supports the administration and delivery of UrbanPlan programs hosted by ULI National and District Councils, primarily across North America but in Europe and Asia as well. The position is a great opportunity for someone interested in working with regional industry, public and nonprofit leaders to promote holistic understanding of the development process and build participants’ skills and capacity to address critical land use and development challenges. The Senior Associate works closely with the Head of UrbanPlan and the Manager of UrbanPlan at ULI headquarters, as well as with UrbanPlan staff at ULI District Councils across the Americas and staff on other ULI headquarters teams such as the ULI Impact Lab and the ULI Foundation. The ideal candidate will have 3 to 5 years of experience, familiarity with the real estate and land use industry, and relationships in the public and private sector. The Senior Associate must have excellent written communication and public speaking skills. Experience with facilitating workshops, social media, website management, email communications, presentations and/or annual reports is preferred.

Requirements

Professional Experience: 3-5 years of related professional experience; preferably within a national non-profit or member-based organization and focused on communications, education or curriculum development, and member relations and/or working with local chapters.
Industry Knowledge: Interest or experience in commercial real estate, land use, housing, sustainability and/or urban planning is preferred.
Other Experience: Previous experience in facilitating workshops or trainings, planning and hosting events, managing volunteers or interacting with members and/or donors is a plus.
Education: Bachelor’s degree required; degree in communications/marketing, business/public administration, real estate, urban planning, or related degree desirable.
Core Proficiency: Microsoft Office 365 (specifically Excel, Word, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Co-Pilot, Outlook Planner).
Platform and Systems Knowledge: Familiarity with (or a strong willingness to learn) the following is a plus: LMS/AMS/CRM: Learning Management Systems such as Thinkific, Association Management Systems such as NetFORUM, or other Customer Relationship Management platforms. Operations: Sage Intacct (Accounts Payable), or Cobblestone and DocuSign (Contract Management). Marketing/Communications: Higher Logic/Real Magnet, Slack, and Zoom Meetings/Webinars. Project Management: Microsoft Planner and/or Smartsheet.
Specialized Knowledge: Familiarity with grant administration, budgeting, pro forma analysis, Transit Oriented Development principles, sustainable design standards, Public Private Partnership (P3) frameworks, and/or fiscal impact or cost-benefit analysis is helpful.
Communication: Strong oral and written communication skills suited for a high-volume customer-facing role, both within and outside of the organization.
Interpersonal Skills: Adept at creating welcoming environment for program participants and cultivating positive relationships with internal and external customers.
Time and Project Management: Demonstrated ability to prioritize multiple projects and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
Collaboration: Ability to work across teams to identify opportunities, efficiently deploy resources and maximize impact.
Problem Solving: Adept at troubleshooting technical issues and making sound operational decisions.

Responsibilities

Serve as Project Manager for a portfolio of 30%-50% of the ULI District Councils participating in UrbanPlan, ensuring regular communication of UrbanPlan updates and opportunities and timely responses to inquiries and requests for assistance from local UrbanPlan staff and stakeholders.
Provide virtual and in-person support for UrbanPlan trainings and events across the Americas as needed.
Assist Head of UrbanPlan with tracking UrbanPlan headquarters program costs.
Assist with maintenance of and improvements to UrbanPlan program and volunteer management systems in Smartsheet.
Assist Head of UrbanPlan in tracking of global UrbanPlan participation and impact data.
Collaborate with teams within the ULI Impact Lab to broaden UrbanPlan’s reach and strengthen the impact of UrbanPlan programming by leveraging resources and opportunities across Impact Lab teams.
Maintain the UrbanPlan.ULI.org web site.
Create and implement a marketing and communications plan for the UrbanPlan program.
Manage UrbanPlan communications initiatives, including, but not limited to, the UrbanPlan monthly newsletter, email blasts, press releases and quarterly and annual reports.
Assist Head of UrbanPlan in drafting quarterly reports to donors and ULI leadership and responding to requests related to UrbanPlan from other ULI functional teams.
Post high quality, timely content on the UrbanPlan website and social media accounts.
Coordinate with ULI district councils to align UrbanPlan communications with UrbanPlan branding guidelines and to optimize reach and impact of UrbanPlan-related social media posts.
Coordinate with the staff of Urban Land magazine on timely features spotlighting UrbanPlan events, volunteers and donors.
Support ULI Foundation efforts to promote philanthropic support of UrbanPlan.
Measure and track the effectiveness of marketing and communications plans and initiatives.
Develop and maintain strong and productive working relationships with District Council and ULI Headquarters staff.