Deputy Executive Director

PHADA is currently seeking a dynamic, experienced, and mission-driven leader to serve as its Deputy Executive Director. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker and hands-on with a deep understanding of housing policy and strong operational leadership skills. This individual will help lead the Association alongside its Executive Director with vision, professionalism, and a collaborative spirit, supporting its mission to represent and strengthen public housing authorities nationwide.

About PHADA

The Public Housing Authorities Directors Association (PHADA) represents more than 1,900 housing authorities and affiliates and over 1.9 million units of affordable housing nationwide. PHADA provides policy analysis, advocacy, training, and professional development to support agencies administering Public Housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, RAD, and other programs.

Position Overview

The Deputy Director is a critical member of PHADA’s leadership team, supporting the Board of Trustees and Executive Director in driving the Association’s mission, strengthening its internal operations, and advancing national policy priorities. This role blends strategic leadership with hands on operational management, ensuring PHADA delivers high quality services to its membership.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the Executive Director in managing daily operations and furthering the Association's strategic objectives.
• Work with the Board, Executive Director, and staff in all the Association’s functional areas, including internal planning and cross department coordination
• Assist the Executive Director in staff supervision, coaching, and performance development.
• Foster a collaborative, high-performance staff culture and support continuous improvement in internal processes, communication, and workflows.
• Assist in shaping and advancing PHADA’s legislative and regulatory agenda, including active collaboration on policy analysis related to affordable housing, as well as responding to emerging industry issues by coordinating timely messaging, policy responses, and member communications.
• Represent PHADA with HUD, Congress, and partner organizations serving as a key spokesperson and relationship-builder in briefings, meetings, and hearings, requiring strong public speaking and presentation skills to clearly convey PHADA’s positions and ensure members’ priorities are understood.
• Strengthen relationships with national partners, coalitions, and peer housing organizations to align advocacy strategies and amplify PHADA’s voice.
• Retain and grow PHADA’s membership by deepening engagement with existing member agencies, enhancing the value and visibility of PHADA’s services, and proactively expanding outreach to attract new members and broaden the Association’s national reach.
• Support conference and online seminar educational content planning and development to ensure all PHADA programming is accurate, relevant, and responsive to member and industry needs.
• Collaborate with Executive Director and staff to develop and implement clear, consistent member messaging and support outreach and marketing efforts for publications, webinars, and other member and non-member engagement activities.
• Contribute to strategic planning and Board preparation by helping develop organizational priorities, drafting materials for Board review, coordinating staff input, and ensuring leadership has the information needed for effective decision making.
• Support Board governance activities and strengthen Trustee engagement and succession pipelines, including proactively identifying and recruiting new PHADA members and identifying emerging leaders to serve in volunteer roles.
• Support budget planning, fiscal oversight, and organizational compliance; ensure internal controls and investments are in good order.
• Support modernization of PHADA’s technology systems to strengthen member services and operational efficiency.
• Manages the Association’s operations and affairs in the absence or incapacity of the Executive Director; serves as secondary liaison to the Board of Trustees.
• Other related duties as assigned by the Executive Director.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal Deputy Director is collaborative, mission-driven, and experienced in both affordable housing and association operations. They are an excellent communicator who thrives in complex environments and can move seamlessly between strategic leadership and tactical execution. They also recognize the critical importance of retaining and growing PHADA’s membership and bring a forward-looking approach and service-oriented mindset needed to strengthen and expand the Association’s national member base. 

Qualifications

• 7–10 years’ experience in housing, government, nonprofit, or association leadership
• Strong understanding of HUD programs and PHA operations
• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s preferred
• Experience supervising staff and leading projects
• Excellent writing, communication, and relationship building skills, with demonstrated strength in public speaking and presenting to diverse audiences

Other Information

• Hybrid role based in Washington, D.C.

• Travel, including out-of-state travel, is required. This includes attendance at PHADA conferences and events, as well as participation in various state and regional association conferences, often involving presentations and speaking engagements throughout the year.