Program Manager, ULI Northwest

Socket.dev; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 96,708,000 - 105,160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and dental insurance

Paid vacation

Retirement plan with employer match

Job summary

ULI Northwest is seeking a Program Manager to independently manage programs, member groups, and grant-funded initiatives, delivering high-quality experiences and driving projects from concept to completion.

The role emphasizes relationship-building with real estate and land use leaders, and requires comfort with ambiguity, leadership in meetings, and hands-on execution of programs and events.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of program management experience with ownership of a body of work.
• Strong relationship management with executives, officials, and volunteers.
• Learning mindset and curiosity about complex subjects.
• Ability to work independently with limited oversight.
• Comfort using AI tools today and interest in agentic AI.
• Strong written and verbal communication.

Responsibilities

• Manage TOD TAPs from procurement through execution and reporting.
• Lead staff for assigned committees and councils, setting priorities.
• Support budgets, contracts, grants, and deliverables.
• Coordinate programs and events, including speaker logistics.
• Collaborate with the Executive Director as strategic advisor.

Skills

Relationship management

Independent work

Learning mindset

AI tools

Communication

Travel readiness

Microsoft Office

Education

Urban planning degree

Tools

Outlook

Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

ABOUT ULI

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 full spectrum of land use and real estate development disciplines, working across private enterprise and public service. As the preeminent, multidisciplinary real estate organization, 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. ULI's mission is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide.

ABOUT THE TEAM

ULI District Councils deliver the Institute's mission at the local level, connecting members to education, networking, and opportunities to give back to their communities. With more than 800 members across Washington State, ULI Northwest is the region's preeminent organization focused on creating and sustaining communities through wise land use, development, and redevelopment decisions.

ULI Northwest runs lean: a close-knit team of four working directly with high-level business professionals, public officials, corporate executives, and senior real estate and land use leaders across the state. The team is in a season of real momentum, with an active slate of product councils, housing councils, member committees, and grant-funded initiatives. It's ambitious, sometimes uncharted work, and the team is looking for someone ready to help carry it.

THE ROLE

This is a pivotal hire for ULI Northwest. The Program Manager is a professional, integral member of the district council team and a key liaison between ULI Northwest and the region's real estate and land use community. You will independently manage programs, member groups, and grant-funded initiatives, creating a high-quality member experience and moving projects from concept through execution.

The Executive Director is looking for someone who owns their work: you'll run point on your programs and committees and bring the Executive Director in as an advisor and strategic thought partner rather than a day-to-day project manager. Some of the work is genuinely new ground for ULI and for the industry and calls for a program manager who is energized by ambiguity rather than unsettled by it. Other pieces, like the TOD technical assistance panels, are more established but still require judgment, relationship management, and follow-through. You'll also step into an active body of committee and product council work, including two housing councils, with the latitude to run meetings and shape agendas independently.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Transit-Oriented Development & Technical Assistance Panels (TAPs)

• Manage ULI Northwest's TOD technical assistance work, including multiple Technical Assistance Panels, from procurement and scoping through execution, reporting, and follow-up.
• Work closely with the Executive Director, TAP committee members, public and private sector partners, and participating ULI members to shape panel questions, recruit panelists, and keep projects moving.

Emerging Technology & Applied AI

• Partner with the Executive Director as a thought partner on projects with no established playbook: help think through approach, sequencing, and open questions as the work takes shape.
• Bring genuine curiosity and comfort with AI tools to this and other work; ULI Northwest is building toward becoming an AI-native team.

Product Councils, Housing Councils & Member Committees

• Serve as staff lead for assigned member committees, housing councils, product councils, and affinity groups.
• Partner with volunteer steering committees to set priorities, develop member-driven content and programming, and independently facilitate meetings that create a best-in-class member experience.

Grant & Contract Management

• Support budgets, financial tracking, contracts, grant reporting, and deliverables across ULI Northwest's grant-funded initiatives.
• Depending on experience and capacity, take on management of additional grant-funded contracts as ULI Northwest's portfolio of work grows.

Programs, Events & Operations Support

• Support programs and events as needed, including speaker and stakeholder coordination, venue and vendor logistics, and on-site execution; this is a smaller part of the role, with logistics support shared across the team.
• As needed, support the Director of Operations and Strategy with day-to-day business operations such as contracts, leases, invoicing, and vendor relationships.
• Collaborate with ULI staff to surface program outcomes, member perspectives, and stories that demonstrate impact.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Required

• 3-5 years of relevant experience in program or program management, ideally with real ownership of a body of work rather than a purely support or admin role.
• Strong relationship management skills, with genuine comfort working alongside senior executives, public officials, and volunteer leaders.
• A learning mindset: curiosity about complex, unfamiliar subject matter and the drive to dig in, not just manage logistics around it.
• Ability to work independently and exercise judgment with limited day-to-day oversight, while knowing when to loop in leadership for strategic input.
• Comfort using AI tools in your work today, and genuine interest in agentic AI.
• Strong written and verbal communication, with professional polish.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to travel locally within Western Washington, with occasional national travel, and to attend events throughout the day, including early mornings or evenings.

Preferred

• A background or degree in urban planning or a related field.
• Curiosity about the issues shaping the future of cities, including transit-oriented development, housing affordability, and emerging technologies.
• Experience in an association, nonprofit, or membership organization.
• Familiarity with real estate, land use, urban development, or related public policy. Direct subject-matter expertise is not required; intellectual curiosity and a willingness to learn matter more.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

In your first 90 days, you will focus on learning ULI and ULI Northwest's programs, meeting the members and volunteer leaders you'll work with most closely, and understanding the initiatives already in motion.

By the end of year one, you will be independently owning and managing several significant bodies of work. You will have built real relationships with members, volunteer leaders, and colleagues, and will be trusted to move programs forward with limited supervision. You will move comfortably between the strategic and operational sides of the job, from shaping content and facilitating high-level conversations to managing budgets, timelines, and deliverables. Most importantly, you will have become a thoughtful partner to the Executive Director: someone who understands the goals behind the work, anticipates what's needed, and helps ensure ULI Northwest's programs are executed with a high standard of member experience and impact.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

The hourly range for this position is $33.75 to $36.70 per hour. Actual compensation will be based on experience, education, skills, and other job-related factors. ULI offers a comprehensive benefits package, including health, dental, and life insurance; generous vacation leave; and a retirement plan with employer match.

WORKING CONDITIONS

ULI is committed to shaping the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide, and we embrace our core values of integrity, collaboration, inclusion, and excellence in service to our members. In alignment with the Board of Directors' strong commitment to in-person collaboration, this role requires regular on-site presence in our Seattle office to foster teamwork, innovation, and organizational effectiveness.

Physical requirements include the ability to remain in a stationary position while working on a computer, move about the office to access meeting rooms and equipment, operate standard office machinery, and occasionally transport items and equipment up to 50 lbs.

ULI is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion/creed, sex, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, veteran or active military status, non-citizenship or citizenship status, arrest or conviction record, credit history, salary history, caregiver status, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or partnership status, familial status, unemployment status, or any other status protected by applicable law.