Director, Incubation and Trends

Enterprise Community Partners; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 115,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Dental, health, and vision care plans

Flexible work arrangements

Tuition reimbursement for job-related/

401(k) with employer matching

Adoption and surrogacy support

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Job summary

Enterprise Advisors, the mission-driven consultancy within Enterprise, seeks a Director of Incubation and Trends to guide land use and zoning initiatives. You’ll lead a multidisciplinary team, oversee data-driven analyses, and advance housing supply strategies across national markets.

You will shape strategy, manage relationships, and ensure delivery of high-impact advisory services, aligning with equity and resilience goals in community development.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree required; graduate degree preferred.
• Ten years of relevant experience preferred.
• Experience managing staff and teams; strong leadership abilities.
• Experience with local governments and planning departments is a plus.
• Proficiency with ArcGIS or equivalent is preferred; data analysis tools (Python/R) encouraged.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of land use and zoning projects within the Advisors’ Incubation and Trends practice.
• Serve as subject matter expert on land use, zoning, and emerging trends.
• Develop strategy, goals, and priorities for the work.
• Identify business development opportunities from public, private, and philanthropic partners.
• Supervise 2–4 staff and oversee data analysis and mapping work.
• Lead parcel prioritization methods for affordable housing site selection.
• Coordinate with clients, funders, subcontractors, and partner organizations.
• Ensure quality control and alignment with Enterprise mission.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Data analysis

Spatial analysis

Communication

Stakeholder engagement

Policy & equity

Land use & zoning

Analytical modeling

Education

Bachelor's degree in a related field

Graduate degree preferred

Tools

ArcGIS

Python

R

Job description

Enterprise is a national nonprofit that exists to make a good home possible for the millions of families without one. We support community development organizations on the ground, aggregate and invest capital for impact, advance housing policy at every level of government, and build and manage communities ourselves. Since 1982, we have invested $92.0 billion and created 1.1 million homes across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands – all to make home and community places of pride, power and belonging.

Join us at enterprisecommunity.org

Working at Enterprise

At Enterprise, you’ll be part of a diverse, committed team making a difference every day. You will collaborate with some of the smartest minds and biggest hearts in our field. You’ll be empowered to drive systems change and take bold steps to advance racial equity. And you will find a career home where you’re valued and supported in your growth journey.

Enterprise offers career opportunities in our offices across the country with an exceptional benefits package.

Job Description Summary

About Enterprise Advisors

Enterprise Advisors (Advisors) is the mission-based consultancy of Enterprise, focused on delivering advisory services in partnership with Federal agencies, units of local government, public housing authorities, nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, and others. We work with partners to improve the capacity, outcomes and impacts of place-based community development and housing programs and organizations nationwide so that all people have a place to live, grow and thrive. We seek to advance racial equity and dismantle the enduring legacy of systemic racism in housing and community development both through and within the work we do. Our team includes over 30 professionals from across the country and is growing!

Job Description

About Our Incubation and Trends Practice Area and the Position

Housing and community development ecosystems are dynamic, and subject to micro and macro market factors that reveal nuanced challenges. Advisors’ I&T practice area designs, deploys, and scales innovative housing solutions in partnership with communities. We build capacity of communities to adapt to new technology and emerging trends by leveraging data and technology and deploying innovative solutions to persistent and emerging challenges.

We are increasingly focused on the intersections of land use and zoning and technology. For decades communities have struggled to increase housing supply to keep up with demand leading to a nationwide shortage of housing. While unlocking housing supply is a priority for communities across the country, current land use regulations and zoning restrictions limit what can be built and rising land and construction costs put affordable housing out of reach for many families.

Advisors’ seeks a Director of Incubation and Trends to help advance an existing and growing portfolio of work focused on land use and zoning under Enterprise’s recently launched Land Use Network and related market trends and technology. Preference for the Director to have subject matter expertise in geospatial analysis and possess the necessary technical skills to manage a team leveraging data and mapping software to demonstrate the impacts of various zoning actions, needs and opportunities to increase housing supply. Examples of this work include context mapping for specific sites, corridors, or neighborhoods; developing a spatial analysis model for city-wide site feasibility analyses; and the development of market studies through mapping, census data analysis, and statistical modeling.The role requires strong analytical skills and the ability to provide actionable insights through the integration of data.

This position may be based in any of the following locations: Washington, DC (preferred); Chicago, IL; Atlanta, GA; Los Angeles, CA; Cleveland, OH.

Job Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of projects and staff within the Incubation and Trends practice area, focused on land use and zoning reform.
• Serve as a subject matter expert on land use and zoning and emerging trends.
• In collaboration with Advisors’ Leadership and other Advisors staff, advance a body of land use and zoning work, including but not limited to:
• Developing and refining overall strategy, including goals and priorities for the body of work, services offered, approaches, etc.
• Identifying, cultivating, and responding to business development opportunities from public, private, and philanthropic partners
• Providing impactful advisory services to advance place-based solutions in collaboration with local governments selected under the Land Use Network
• Supervise 2-4 staff members
• Lead the collection, integration, and analysis of large-scale geospatial datasets to identify patterns, trends, and anomalies relevant to the project objectives.
• Lead a project team in developing and applying parcel prioritization methodologies to identify sites for affordable housing development.
• Use outputs from data and mapping software to demonstrate the impacts of various zoning actions, needs, and opportunities
• Oversee the creation of market studies through the analysis of data sources including Census, PUMS, CoStar, and others.
• Oversee spatial analysts on the team by sharing databases, utilizing ArcGIS online, and other processes.
• Leverage expertise in working with spatial data to drive projects exploring the use of land use and zoning tools to unlock housing supply on a transit corridor, neighborhood, and city-wide scale.
• Lead and manage technical assistance engagements and other projects (e.g., scoping, defining the approach and team, budgeting, selecting and managing the project team, reviewing products and ensuring the project aligns with Enterprise’s mission and our partners’ needs)
• Leverage data and software platforms to address housing and community development challenges.
• Serve as a team member on technical assistance assignments and other projects
• Build and maintain relationships with clients, funders, subcontractors, partner organizations, and other teams within Enterprise
• Review and provide feedback on work products and approaches by other staff and subcontractors to provide insight, support staff development, and to ensure quality control and performance management.
• Inform the development or refinement of Advisors’ business strategy, policies, and procedures related to this work.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Travel to out-of-town work assignments and team meetings, as required.

Job Qualifications

• An undergraduate degree is required, graduate degree in a related field preferred.
• A minimum of ten (10) years of relevant experience required.
• Five (5) years’ experience managing staff and teams, and supporting professional development and growth.
• Experience working for a local government planning office/department at the city or county level is preferred. Relevant experience delivering advisory services for planning departments will be considered.
• Proficiency with ArcGIS or equivalent software is preferred. ArcGIS users should be familiar with the spatial analyst toolbox, special statistic methods, and feature class manipulation.
• Proficiency with data analysis software such as R or Python is preferred.
• Demonstrated experience conducting quantitative and qualitative analyses is preferred.
• Experience working with or delivering technical assistance/consulting services to local governments. Direct tangible experience working with local governments and/or community partners on land use and zoning.
• Excellent grammar, editing, and proofreading skills to produce high-quality written products.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to clearly and concisely express thoughts and ideas verbally and in writing.
• Strong organizational skills, with the ability to manage and prioritize multiple, complex activities and responsibilities while meeting deadlines.
• Demonstrated strong initiative and ability to proactively identify needs and solve problems.
• Experience cultivating effective working relationships with diverse partners and clients.
• Demonstrated deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing local governments on housing supply, land use and zoning, technology and other market trends.
• Experience evaluating and designing land use policies that integrate equity, resilience, and development strategies.
• Demonstrated deep understanding and familiarity with the growing body of work around scenario planning, land use reform, and unlocking housing supply through zoning.
• Demonstrated experience working with partners in a planning capacity and with partners on housing and community development efforts.
• Demonstrated experience applying quantitative and qualitative analyses.
• Familiarity with how land use and zoning has contributed to displacement and other inequitable practices.

Salary Transparency

You will be joining a team of talented professionals motivated by serving the community and addressing the need for affordable housing.

Enterprise offers a comprehensive total rewards package for you and your family.

The pay range for this position is $115,000 - $140,000. The salary range represents the low and high end of what may be paid for this position. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the pay range, and compensation decisions may be influenced by a variety of factors, including skills, qualifications, experience, and location.

Total Rewards at Enterprise

This range is just one component of our total rewards package, which also includes annual performance bonuses and generous paid leave programs.

• dental, health, and vision care plans
• family-building benefits such as adoption and surrogacy support
• flexible work arrangements to promote work-life balance
• health advocacy
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• mental health benefits
• financial education
• wellness programs
• auto-enrollment in the company’s 401(k) plan with employer matching contributions

Finally, you will have access to learning and development opportunities, including tuition reimbursement for job-related courses and certifications. Thank you for your interest in joining the Enterprise team and contributing to our mission to serve others.