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Our Values

With a small but dynamic core staff, team members at the Terner Center take on a variety of different roles on many projects in a fast-paced, data-driven environment. We hold our work and each other to high standards through constructive feedback and iterative review. Most of all, we are committed to the success and growth of each member of our team. We encourage staff to share their knowledge, time, and perspectives, and to seek out opportunities for professional and educational development.

A key aim of our work is to guide and elevate the scholarship and leadership of students at UC Berkeley on issues in housing policy, development, and design. We regularly hire UC Berkeley graduate and undergraduate students from a variety of programs for semester appointments. Please check below for opportunities for students.

Our Culture

  • We strive to foster collaboration and team engagement. Impactful research and policy development are rooted in exchange, both within our team and with external partners and organizations.
  • We expect our staff to value research that is independent, based in evidence, and rigorous. We look for team members who are committed to producing high-quality and impactful work that advances the Terner Center’s mission. 
  • We believe our work is stronger when it engages a broad set of stakeholders. We look for team members who are always thinking about new ways to amplify our work and reach new audiences. 
  • We are family-friendly. With several working parents on our team, we offer flexibility in scheduling and enjoy when kids of all ages visit our office or pop up on video calls. 
  • We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace where every team member is welcomed, valued, and supported. The quality of our ideas, analysis, and execution is improved by learning from and supporting the diverse perspectives and experiences of our staff and partners, particularly those from groups who have experienced marginalization and oppression.
  • We are an equal opportunity employer and seek applications from people with diverse backgrounds of all kinds. We strongly encourage Black people, indigenous people, and people of color; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer+ people; women; people with disabilities; veterans; formerly incarcerated people; and people with lived experience of homelessness or housing challenges to apply.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical insurance, including health, dental, and vision coverage through UC Berkeley. Click here to learn more.
  • Retirement savings or pension opportunities as well as retirement counseling and education through UC Berkeley. Click here to learn more.
  • Paid vacation, sick time, and holiday leave.
  • Access to the educational and professional development benefits of a world-class academic institution.

CURRENT OPENINGS

Terner Labs Staff Roles

Communications Manager

Terner Labs is seeking a forward-thinking and strategic communicator to grow our digital presence and increase our reach among housing changemakers. The target audience includes entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, advocates, housing practitioners (developers, service providers, etc.) and people who are otherwise new to exploring housing innovation.

The Communications Manager will build a content and distribution strategy that communicates that Terner Labs is a national hub for bold housing innovation ideas. To do this, they will need to make use of a variety of voices and communication styles including, when appropriate, highly visual or engaging content. This work will include owning the content calendar, developing content ideas, editing it for voice and accessibility, managing subcontractors and interns that develop digital and video content, and directly creating content when applicable.

The Communications Manager will then identify the best ways to use our communication channels to distribute the content and increase engagement from our target audiences. This includes revisiting and improving the core strategy for each channel and implementing that strategy with an eye for key cyclical events, including the application cycles of our entrepreneurship programs and policy-making cycles. Terner Labs’ primary communication channels include our newsletter, website/blog (including SEO optimization), and social media (primarily Linkedin and X). As appropriate, this person may manage communication channels that are shared or otherwise aligned with Terner Labs’ sister entity at UC Berkeley, the Terner Center for Housing Innovation.

The Communications Manager will report to Terner Labs’ Chief Executive Officer. They will work closely with Terner Labs’ programmatic team and the Communications Manager at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley.

Learn more and apply here.

Data Analyst

Terner Labs seeks an entrepreneurial and dynamic Data Analyst to join the Data Lab team. In this newly created role, the Analyst will utilize their data management and analysis expertise, policy knowledge, and strong project management skills to inform and build out the Data Lab’s initial projects

The Data Lab is an initiative within Terner Labs which creates data tools and metrics to inform government and community decision-making around housing and land use policy. Terner’s Housing Policy Dashboard (the Dashboard), currently piloted within a handful of California jurisdictions, is a powerful analytical tool that overlays a real estate proforma on top of parcel-level land use and regulatory data. This allows local policymakers to understand how specific housing policies or market inputs – such as changes in building limits, development costs, density bonuses, or market conditions – might impact real-world decisions that affect housing development amounts and patterns across a city or region.

We are expanding the Dashboard to serve more cities across the country in subsequent years. Additionally, the Data Lab will soon be expanding its offering of data tools and metrics, offering an exciting opportunity for ground-floor development of new products.

Terner Labs seeks an entrepreneurial and dynamic Data Analyst to join the Data Lab team. In this newly created role, the Analyst will utilize their data management and analysis expertise, policy knowledge, and strong project management skills to inform and build out the Data Lab’s initial projects. They will bring an energetic and open-minded spirit and thrive within a fast-paced, growing organization.

The Data Analyst will report to the Data Lab Director and will work alongside the Data Scientist and Graduate Student Fellows to play an essential role in the Data Labs’ expanding scope by helping more jurisdictions simulate the impacts of policy on the production of new homes, and enhancing the technical capabilities of our products.  This is an opportune time to join and help shape the future of data-backed evidence in housing policy decisions.

Learn more and apply here.

Builders Lab Director

Terner Labs seeks an entrepreneurial and dynamic Director of the Builders Lab. The leader will utilize their expertise across issues of housing innovation — namely, industrialized construction, public policy, start-up models, and racial and economic equity, alongside strong planning and management skills to launch the program. They will manage a small team within Terner Labs and collaborate with an external network of paid and pro bono coaches, graduate students, partner organizations, and Terner Labs and Terner Center staff to identify leading innovators and support them in bringing their ideas to scale. They will have an energetic and open-minded spirit and thrive within a fast-paced, growing organization.

The Builders Lab is a new program of Terner Labs that will identify and accelerate businesses applying industrialized construction approaches to expand and improve housing delivery across the U.S. The Builders Lab will support cohorts of entrepreneurs who are emerging leaders in industrialized housing production in their regions. Participating firms will receive extensive coaching and mentorship for their business and technical feasibility, access to international study tours in countries at the forefront of industrialized construction sector maturity, as well as support to advance pilot projects and regional partnerships. This new program will build on the existing success of Terner’s Housing Lab accelerator, addressing critical sector-wide bottlenecks to modernizing the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. Potential future programming will include support for the prototyping of new products and processes for new and established industrialized housing construction firms.

The Director will report to Terner Labs’ Chief Strategy Officer and will also work closely with Terner Labs’ Senior Technical Advisor to shape the program design.

We are open to a wide range of past experiences for candidates interested in this role. The target salary range for this position is $120,000 – $180,000, commensurate with experience. This position will be located in Oakland, CA, with opportunities for a hybrid work schedule.

Learn more about the role and apply on the Labs website here.

Terner Center Student Roles

The Terner Center regularly recruits Graduate and Undergraduate students to assist in a range of projects and roles each semester and over the summer break. We are not currently soliciting applications for GSRs. Please check back soon for future opportunities.