Senior Leader, Housing Policy & Advocacy

Generation Housing; Santa Rosa (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 138,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Retirement plan

Paid time off

Job summary

Generation Housing seeks a strategic Policy Director to lead housing policy and advocacy across Sonoma County and the North Bay. Reporting to the Executive Director, you will shape policy positions, monitor developments, and build relationships with public officials and partners to advance housing production, affordability, and community development.

This full-time exempt role sits on the leadership team, supervises the Policy Coordinator, and directs campaigns, research, and communications to

Qualifications

• Must have experience developing and implementing housing policy, advocacy, public affairs, or political strategies.
• Strong professional experience and understanding of California housing policy, local governance, land use planning, and housing development, including Housing Elements, RHNA, housing streamlining laws, CEQA, and TOD.
• Demonstrated leadership experience, including personnel supervision, project management, and the ability to balance multiple priorities.
• Excellent written, verbal, and public speaking skills, including reports, presentations, and educational materials.
• Experience building relationships and working collaboratively with diverse stakeholders.
• Strong strategic thinking, sound judgment, and ability to navigate complex political environments.
• Proficiency with Google Workspace, Zoom, Slack, and other cloud-based collaboration tools.

Responsibilities

• Direct and implement Generation Housing’s strategy on local, regional, state, and federal advocacy, policy positions, and campaigns that advance housing affordability, supply, and housing choice.
• Monitor public meetings, legislation, budgets, General Plans, Housing Elements, housing production trends, and other policy developments relevant to Generation Housing’s mission.
• Develop and implement advocacy strategies, policy positions, and campaigns that advance housing affordability, supply, and housing choice.
• Conduct policy research and analysis to identify opportunities and challenges and help develop annual priorities and work plans.
• Provide oversight to the Policy Coordinator's housing project monitoring, research, and endorsement activities.
• Collaborate with staff and partners to build public support and political will for housing solutions.

Skills

Housing policy

Public affairs

Political strategy

Leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Policy research

Communications

Google Workspace

Education

Master's degree (preferred) in Public Policy / Urban Planning / Public Administration / Political Science / Sociology

Tools

GIS

Tableau

Airtable

R

Salesforce

Job description

Generation Housing seeks a strategic Policy Director to lead housing policy and advocacy across Sonoma County and the North Bay. Reporting to the Executive Director, you will shape policy positions, monitor developments, and build relationships with public officials and partners to advance housing production, affordability, and community development.

This full-time exempt role sits on the leadership team, supervises the Policy Coordinator, and directs campaigns, research, and communications to