Associate, Public Affairs

Fairstead is a purpose-driven real estate firm dedicated to building affordable communities across the country. Headquartered in New York, with offices in Colorado, Florida, and Washington DC, Fairstead owns and manages a portfolio of more than 27,000 apartments across 28 states. As an integrated owner, operator, and innovator, Fairstead brings development, construction, and property management under one unified platform to deliver high-quality affordable housing that serves our residents at scale.

At Fairstead, we believe affordable housing should be thoughtfully designed, professionally managed, and responsibly operated. We seek to create and preserve housing that serves residents while delivering long-term value to communities, partners, and stakeholders. Fairstead challenges industry norms through our tech-forward, entrepreneurial approach to affordable housing. In addition to core real estate capabilities, we operate innovative service lines designed to improve resident outcomes, strengthen communities, and drive operational efficiency. We embrace digital transformation, data-driven decision-making, and emerging technologies, including AI, to build scalable systems that support sustainable growth, grounded in a culture of entrepreneurship, innovation, partnership, dedication, and integrity.

The Public Affairs Associate will support Fairstead’s external communications, reputation-building efforts, and digital presence. This role is highly execution-focused and ideal for a detail-oriented communicator who can create impactful collateral and help elevate the firm’s brand across stakeholders, events, and digital platforms.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain standard content and presentation materials for internal and external use, including template pitch decks, company one-pagers, department overviews, leadership bios and other materials.
• Prepare clear, concise corporate talking points and briefing materials for leadership in advance of key meetings, events, and public engagements.
• Ensure internal database, SharePoint, is accurately organized, updated, and maintained as a reliable resource for internal teams.
• Promote and enforce proper branding standards across all internally shared materials.
• Manage collateral creation and logistics in ensuring properties have appropriately branded materials (business cards, leasing flyers, etc.)

• Identify and support opportunities to elevate the company’s reputation by planning strategic events and milestones, including groundbreakings, ribbon cuttings and resident and community events

• Oversee updates to the company website, drafting and editing content, including new pages related to company growth, management expansion, and new initiatives while ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and brand messaging alignment.
• Assist with SEO initiatives by reviewing and updating website content, incorporating keyword recommendations, improving page structure, and coordinating with internal or external partners to implement optimizations.
• Identify opportunities to improve digital storytelling and presentation of the firm’s work and impact.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, public affairs, public relations, marketing, journalism, or a related field.
• 2–4 years of experience in communications, public affairs, marketing, or a similar role (real estate, development, or public sector experience strongly preferred).
• Strong writing, editing, and presentation skills with a keen eye for detail and branding.
• Experience managing or updating websites and digital content; familiarity with SEO best practices preferred.
• Highly organized, proactive, and comfortable juggling multiple projects and deadlines.

Diversity in backgrounds and experiences is key to Fairstead’s success. Being an equal opportunity employer is a central tenet of our philosophy that shapes who we are and the communities we serve. Our goal is to ensure competitive total compensation that is commensurate with experience, location, and other market benchmarks.