About Our Relationship

You: You are passionate about Fair Housing rights and social justice and have a high level of attention to detail with a commitment to accuracy. You are trauma-informed, able to maintain professional boundaries and confidentiality, and are able to work effectively and compassionately in a multi-cultural and diverse environment.

Us: We are a statewide, justice-minded, equity-focused civil rights organization working to end housing discrimination throughout Oregon. We have high expectations about engaging our many community stakeholders and groups across multiple channels. We appreciate your commitment to racial equity and your desire to grow with a growing organization. We have a dynamic staff located throughout the state of Oregon, fiercely committed both to our work to end housing discrimination and also to support and nurture one another.

Responsibilities include:  

  • Directly supervise Statewide Enforcement Investigators (1 – 3) including supporting recruitment & hiring, initial training & onboarding, and providing ongoing training & professional development 
  • Collaborate with Legal Director on oversight of activities by Statewide Enforcement Investigators 
  • Collaborate with Statewide Enforcement Investigators to ensure that all complaints are investigated and resolved in a timely manner with the highest level of service, competency, and professionalism. 
  • Work with Enforcement Team investigators, testers, and managers to establish best practices for advocacy and investigation strategies, and processes for jurisdictional fair housing allegations. 
  • Assists complainants with the resolution of fair housing complaints through the administrative complaint process at BOLI and HUD 
  • Work with Statewide Enforcement Investigators and support staff to maintain detailed and accurate case file records including actions taken and services provided. 
  • Oversee database case file maintenance including reviewing closed cases for proper data points & reviewing reports for data cleanliness. 
  • Maintain department electronic filing system. 
  • Collaborate with Legal Director to maintain a high level of institutional knowledge about fair housing and related laws, the theory and practice of fair housing testing and investigations, and administrative and legal procedures and remedies to include conducting legal research as applicable. 
  • Collaborate with Legal Director and Testing Program Manager to develop case management strategies to effectively address individuals’ fair housing needs. 
  • Collaborate with Legal Director, Testing Program Manager, and Government Grants Manager on grants management, development, and implementation including tracking and reporting, as well as compiling jurisdictional reports. 
  • Partner with Grants Manager and Testing Program Manager to ensure efficient systems, effective case management workflow, and grant tracking mechanisms. 
  • Collaborate with Testing Program Manager to develop strategies and methodologies for complaint-based fair housing testing 
  • Oversee statewide enforcement collaborative partnerships, including maintaining key relationships and assisting the Legal Director and Executive Director with necessary contracting agreements.  
  • Support statewide relationships with community groups, housing providers, governmental agencies and other fair housing organizations including working with regional staff to identify culturally specific regional organizations with whom to partner and to maintain statewide referral partnerships. 
  • Conduct systemic investigations in collaboration with the Legal Director and Testing Program Manager of housing providers, using data collected from complaints received, tests conducted, publicly available information (like census data), jurisdictional trends, and other sources.  
  • Other duties assigned will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine if they fall within the scope of this job description or whether a modification is appropriate.  

Other Responsibilities in Organization    

  • Meaningfully engages in organization’s equity work, including participating in trainings and follow-up discussions among staff   
  • Actively participate in Fair Housing and Enforcement related trainings 
  • Collaborate with Enforcement team as needed to accomplish projects or goals as determined by applicable grants and as requested by the Legal Director and/or Executive Director.  
  • Assist Legal Director with compiling monthly Enforcement report for Board of Directors meetings. 
  • Serve as enforcement liaison within the organization including: 
  • Serving as the point of contact for enforcement related questions and requests, 
  • Attending other department meetings on enforcement’s behalf as requested by the Legal Director or Education/Outreach Director to provide input and collect information to report back to the Enforcement team 
  • Provide input on Enforcement for communications, outreach events, resource materials, and trainings 
  • Sharing updates, trends identified an any housing providers under systemic investigation with all staff 
  • Participates and provides input in FHCO activities associated with Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing activities and initiatives.  
  • Actively and meaningfully participates as a member of the FHCO team, including at staff meetings, and in day-to-day interactions with team members   
  • Serves as a professional and friendly ambassador of the organization when interacting with people outside of the organization   
  • Proactively, and as otherwise needed, makes recommendations for improving FHCO’s effectiveness and efficiency in all areas of responsibility   
  • Complies with the organization’s policies and procedures  

Preferred Qualifications & Experience:  

  • At least two years of successful experience in civil rights, fair housing, employment, or other investigation and enforcement field 
  • Superior accuracy, attention to detail, and analytical skills 
  • Familiarity with state and federal housing laws, civil rights laws, and other anti-discrimination protections 
  • A minimum of two years’ experience supervising and mentoring team members 
  • Demonstrated capacity for successfully planning and managing simultaneous projects with attention to detail 
  • Experience in coordinating investigations to support fair housing complaints, this includes testing, witness interviews, property searches, etc. 
  • Experience in developing and writing fair housing complaints, and providing coordination of these complaints with state and federal regulatory agencies 
  • Demonstrated commitment to FHCO’s mission and civil rights 
  • Strong understanding of anti-racism and desire to be a part of a learning/growing culture including having challenging conversations 
  • A strong understanding of institutionalized racism and other forms of oppression and their impacts on housing  
  • Familiarity with publicly and privately funded housing systems and legal requirements 
  • Understanding of mortgage lending, regulatory compliance, and/or servicing practices, real estate sales and homeowner’s insurance practices 
  • Excellent oral communication, critical thinking, listening, and writing skills 
  • Experience working with publicly available data, such as Census data, etc. 
  • Ability to work independently from remote location without supervision  
  • Multicultural competency 
  • Bilingual 

Technology Skills:   

  • Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite  
  • Skilled use of email and internet  
  • Experience with on-line learning and research technologies  
  • Familiarity with cloud-based case management software  

Preference will be given to candidates who:  

  • Hold a Juris Doctorate (JD) and are licensed to practice law in the State of Oregon 
  • Have a background in fair housing and/or civil rights 
  • Are multi-lingual and/or multi-cultural (in particular, Spanish speakers) 

  

Other Requirements:  

  • Must pass a criminal background check   

*A note to potential candidates: Studies have shown that women, trans, non-binary, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) people are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every single one of the qualifications as described in a job description.   

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization, and we are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job. That candidate may be one who comes from a background less traditional to our field of work, and that’s welcome. We would strongly encourage you to apply, even if you don’t believe you meet every one of the qualifications described.  

Salary and Benefits Information:   

  • Compensation: $26/hour, non-exempt employee (with increased compensation possible dependent on relevant metrics, such as experience and skills) 
  • Organization offers no-cost medical, dental and vision insurance benefits to employees; dependent benefits available at employee’s cost 
  • Organization offers Employee Assistance Program for all staff & their dependents  
  • Access to 401-K retirement plan 
  • Vacation: 
  • Years 0-5: 80 hours/year (80 hours can be carried over each year) 
  • Years 5+: 120 hours/year (80 hours can be carried over each year) 
  • Paid sick leave: 8.0 hours/month 
  • Paid parental leave: 160 hours paid after 1 year of employment  
  • All benefits available the 1st of the month following date of hire  
  • Federal holidays paid, plus one personal holiday  
  • Tri-Met Transit Pass for employees in the Portland Metro area for work-related travel. Other work-related transportation costs, including mileage, reimbursed by organization. 
  • Monthly reimbursement stipend for phone and internet  

Equal Opportunity Employer 

The board and staff of the Fair Housing Council of Oregon believe we can meet the organization’s mission only with a diverse board and staff who actively cultivate a culture of equity and inclusion. FHCO is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, or veteran status. We are committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. If you require reasonable accommodation in responding to this job announcement, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to Heather Tatman, Director of Operations & Strategy, at htatman@fhco.org, or (503) 223-8197. 

To apply, please email a cover letter and resume to Matt Serres, Legal Director, at information@fhco.org. In the cover letter, please address how you are qualified to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of this position, and why you want to work in the field of Fair Housing enforcement. Emailed cover letters and resumes should have the words “Enforcement Intake and Investigations Manager Application” in the subject line. The position will be open until filled and we will begin reviewing applications on a rolling basis. Interviews will be held virtually. No phone calls please. 

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