About the Community Economic Defense Project (CEDP)

The Community Economic Defense Project is a Colorado-based nonprofit. Our mission is to partner with low-income and working people to build economic and racial equity. We do this by confronting economic abuse and investing in community wealth.

Born out of the need to provide rapid stabilization services to families facing eviction and displacement in the pandemic, CEDP is one of the largest social services organizations in Colorado with 100+ staff who provide a variety of services to address family economic challenges, including resource connection, financial assistance, case management, and legal aid. Since March 2020, CEDP has assisted more than 31,000 people and dispersed nearly $100 million in emergency assistance. 100% of CEDP’s clients have an area median income (AMI) ratio below 80% and 74% of clients served identify as BIPOC and / or Latinx. Our model has been recognized as a best practice model by The White House, HUD, The Urban Institute, and in the news.

In addition to direct assistance and support to low income and working people, CEDP has drafted and passed transformational laws that expanded renters’ rights and dramatically curtailed predatory towing. The team also worked closely with members of the legislature to pass statewide laws strengthening the rights of mobile home park residents, establishing a fair housing unit within the office of Colorado’s Attorney General, holding overreaching homeowner’s associations accountable, and advocating for other measures designed to protect community wealth.

Our Values:

We Center our Clients ' legal, social, empowerment, and financial needs in everything that we do from representation to system building.

We stand in Solidarity with movements for racial and economic equity. We work with our community to dismantle racial, gender, class, and other inequities. We celebrate differences, and value and include all people.

We communicate Transparently , share insights responsibly, and contribute with authenticity, candor, and respect, and without hidden motives.

We are Builders with a growth mindset, a bias towards action, expectation for change, and a willingness to make mistakes as we learn and evolve.

We remain Deeply Curious , called first to listen and learn from the communities in which we are embedded and from our teammates.

We Empower our clients, communities, and each other to solve problems, and we are accountable to serve our clients' best interests effectively.

More about the Role-

As a Tenant Advocate you will:

• Conduct Client and Landlord Intake Interviews
• Review client rental assistance applications
• Engage with landlords on behalf of Community Economic Defense Project clients
• Organize Client Files in an online database
• Track deadlines and manage calendars for your caseload, occasionally assist with cases from other team members and external partners
• Gather/collect, review and log required documents and information to support the accurate and timely processing of cases
• Create and organize information, and generate reference tools for easy use by teammates and members of adjacent teams
• Understand key success measures for your role and submit daily and weekly progress reports
• Maintain and update databases and tracking systems accurately and as designated
• Respond to all case-related queries
• Ensure efficient, accurate and effective administrative information and assistance
• Participate in CEDP’s ongoing efforts to improve upon existing processes by maintaining openness and curiosity about processes, systems and technologies

Tenant Advocate Requirements:

• Reliable transportation
• Minimum three to five years of experience in an advocacy, customer service, social services or law related environment
• Ability to apply prior experience to improve processes and collaboration in a startup environment that requires rapid adaptation to change with minimal supervision
• Analytical thinker with detail orientation, self-starter with ability to solve problems
• Demonstrated proficiency working with Customer Relationship Management databases or similar tracking and organizing technologies
• Fantastic organizational skills and ability to self-manage and prioritize a complex workload with rapidly changing demands.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines and manage high-volume caseload to achieve required case-completion goals
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Brilliant written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficient in Google Suite.
• A home office setup that includes a private, quiet place to conduct confidential telephone and video-conference sessions and a computer with reliable access to high speed internet.

We’re looking for you if your background and skill sets include:

• A background working with diverse communities
• Comfort with ambiguity in a fast-paced, all-hands-on-deck environment
• Demonstrated passion for social impact and social justice
• Willingness and desire to fight for tenants’ rights in a variety of settings
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work collaboratively and proactively with a diverse team and clientele
• Comfort with and ability to effectively navigate a hybrid work environment

At CEDP you’ll be:

• Joining a new firm at its founding and will be able to play a substantial role in its growth
• In a social enterprise with a sustainable business model focused on one of the most critical issues in society – access to and preservation of affordable housing
• Able to grow within the organization
• Part of a diverse team of talented advocates and activists that share your passion for diversity, equity, inclusion and justice.

Important notes:

• This is a hybrid role, it requires in-person work.
• Candidates must reside in the state of Colorado and ideally live in the greater Denver Metro area.
• This is not a paralegal or legal position. You will be interfacing on a regular basis with the legal team, but you will not be performing legal duties.

To Apply:

Interested candidates should apply by clicking the button to apply linked on this page.

Equal Opportunity

The Community Economic Defense Project provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Benefits & Compensation

• Salary $60,000 per year.
• Benefits include health options that offer 100% paid medical coverage for the employee, vision insurance options, dental insurance options, reasonable unlimited paid vacation, short-term and long-term disability, and 401K with a 3% company contribution.
• As in-person work is required, all employees at CEDP are expected to maintain current vaccination status in keeping with CDC recommendations.