Job Description

About the Agency:

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) promotes quality and affordability in the city's housing, and diversity and strength in the city’s neighborhoods because every New Yorker deserves a safe, affordable place to live in a neighborhood they love.

• We maintain building and resident safety and health

• We create opportunities for New Yorkers through housing affordability

• We engage New Yorkers to build and sustain neighborhood strength and diversity.

HPD is entrusted with fulfilling these objectives through the goals and strategies of “Housing Our Neighbors: A Blueprint for Housing and Homelessness,” Mayor Adams’ comprehensive housing framework. To support this important work, the administration has committed $5 billion in new capital funding, bringing the 10-year planned investment in housing to $22 billion the largest in the city’s history. This investment, coupled with a commitment to reduce administrative and regulatory barriers, is a multi-pronged strategy to tackle New York City’s complex housing crisis, by addressing homelessness and housing instability, promoting economic stability and mobility, increasing homeownership opportunities, improving health and safety, and increasing opportunities for equitable growth.

Your Team:

The Office of Development leads the agency's effort in implementing the Mayor's Housing Plan. This is achieved in close collaboration with HPD colleagues, other City and state agencies, and the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC).

Within the Office of Development, The Division of Homeownership Opportunities and Preservation (HOP) creates and preserves affordable homes to facilitate generational wealth-building, maintain housing quality, and address the legacy of discrimination, segregation, and concentrated poverty. We do so by providing financial assistance to low- and middle-income homeowners, limited equity cooperatives, and community land trusts. Programs within the Division include:

• The HomeFirst Downpayment Assistance Program, which provides qualified first-time homebuyers with financial support towards purchasing a one- to four-unit home,

• HomeFix and Project Help programs provide access to affordable low- or no-interest and potentially forgivable loans and grants for home repairs to eligible owners of one- to four-family homes,

• The Basement Apartment Conversion Pilot Program and the Plus One Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) program that finance ADU conversions in small homes,

• The Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program (ANCP), which selects qualified developers to rehabilitate distressed city-owned occupied multi-family properties, managed by the Tenant Interim Lease Program, to create affordable cooperatives for low- and moderate-income households,

• The Open Door Program, which funds construction of cooperative and condominium buildings to moderate- and middle-income families,

• and special initiatives including Community Land Trusts, the Zombie Homes initiative, Small Homes Rehab, and Community Restoration Fund

Your Impact:

The HomeFirst Down Payment Assistance Program provides qualified homebuyers with up to $100,000 toward the down payment or closing costs on a one-to-four family home, a condominium, or a cooperative in one of the five boroughs of New York City. Program staff provide oversight to a network of community-based homebuyer education and counseling groups and liaises with participating lenders, key municipal agencies, and housing partners. The unit manages daily program operations, provides fiscal oversight, tracks disbursements, performs federal reporting, manages program marketing, monitors program performance, and ensures program compliance with federal mandates.

Your Role:

HOP seeks a Deputy Director for the HomeFirst Program. The Deputy Director of HomeFirst will be responsible for managing and reviewing submitted program applications, providing guidance to program staff, troubleshooting support on complexities that arise across the portfolio. This role will also support efforts to improve and streamline operations, and provide programmatic data to key internal and external partners. The Deputy Director will report to the Director of HomeFirst and will work closely with program staff, non-profit partners, government agencies and internal agency departments. HomeFirst’s Deputy Director will be responsible for key aspects of program operations, oversight, and maintaining relationships with community-based partners.

Your Responsibilities

• Managing an extensive portfolio of down payment assistance applications;

• Acting as a content expert for homeownership programs and financing;

• Providing critical support to staff including creating ad hoc reports, memos etc.;

• Serving as a key contact for non-profit partners helping to implement the program, as well as to government agencies and internal departments;

• Reviewing home purchase financing and performing other loan underwriting activities;

• Assisting the Program Director with gathering, tracking, analyzing, and reporting program data for internal and external partners;

• Confirming accurate tracking and reporting of key project issues, including timing of loan closings;

• Coordinating with internal and external staff in updating program materials to reflect ongoing policy and process changes;

• Collaborate with Division leadership to maintain, refine and update the teams’ internal materials and resources;

• Other special projects as required;

• Undertaking the review of critical special projects/initiatives;

• Overseeing closings on an as needed basis;

In addition to the tasks described above, the Deputy Director may also be tasked with tracking workflow across the Division, participating in the development of RFPs and policy related projects, and assisting the Assistant Commissioner and others with time-sensitive research and report production and additional administrative activities as required.

Preferred Skills

The position requires a candidate with excellent personal communication and leadership skills, and a demonstrated capacity for the performance of multiple tasks and independent judgment. The candidate should have strong analytical, writing, research, and communications skills. The candidate must be proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

NOTE: Only Candidates that are serving permanently in the Associate Housing Development Specialist Civil Service Title OR those that filed for (passed) the latest Associate Housing Development Specialist Civil Service Exam #4122 be deemed qualified for the position. Candidates will be required to provide proof of filing for Exam #4122.

Qualifications

1.A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and three years of full-time satisfactory professional experience in the development, appraisal, financing, negotiation, or disposition of real estate, or in real estate law, or in urban planning or analytical or coordination work related to housing programs; or

2. A four year high school diploma or its educational equivalent approved by a State's Department of Education or a recognized accrediting organization and seven years of full-time satisfactory experience as described in "1" above; or

3.A satisfactory combination of education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" or "2" above. Graduate study in the field of urban studies, city planning, business or public administration, finance, architecture, engineering or other related fields may be substituted for up to one year of the required experience on the basis of 30 credits equaling one year of experience. Graduation from an accredited law school may be substituted for one year of the required experience. However, all candidates must have at least two years of experience as described above.

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.