Housing & Community Development Manager

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION.  The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year, but can be extended.

Applications must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.  Postmarks are not accepted.  Applications will only be accepted on-line.

Supplemental Questionnaire:  A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application.  Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. Applications will only be accepted on-line. Postmarks are not accepted.  Failure to submit the Application or Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

THE AGENCY

The Community Development Agency's mission is to enhance the quality-of-life of County residents and plan for the future well-being of the County's diverse communities; to balance the physical, economic, and social needs of County residents through land use planning, environmental management, neighborhood improvement, and community development; and to promote and protect agriculture, the environment, economic vitality and human health.

Alameda County Housing and Community Development is seeking a highly motivated and experienced professional to immediately fill the vacant position of Housing and Community Development Manager.  This is a critical position in the management of the Housing and Community Development Department, with oversight for Affordable Housing lending and asset management of over 90+ completed developments. 

THE POSITION

Under direction, the HCD Manager is responsible for planning, organizing, directing and supervising the work of housing and community development programs in the Community Development Agency’s Housing and Community Development Department.  The selected candidate will be responsible for both the performance of direct professional work in affordable housing development and be responsible for supervising lower level staff performing similar work.  Work in this section includes project review, underwriting, implementation, monitoring and ensuring compliance of new housing developments utilizing County funding for affordable housing.  Responsibilities will also include project and program planning, grant applications, environmental review, public relations, record keeping and preparation of required reports and other related duties as required.

IDEAL CANDIDATE

In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications stated below, the ideal candidate will have demonstrated a track record of success in the following areas:

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in affordable housing and community development and have strong analytical skills, excellent writing skills, ability to work independently as well as collaboratively, be organized and detail oriented, comfortable with public presentations and have sensitivity to working with people of different cultural backgrounds.  Specifically, the ideal candidate will possess;

    o Technical experience in financing affordable housing, including financial and feasibility analysis experience;

    o Experience with Asset Management, Loan Portfolio, and knowledge of property management policies and procedures;

• Experience with policy and program development in the housing field and have knowledge of the affordable housing industry;

• Ability to clearly convey information and ideas through a variety of media to groups and individuals;

• Ability to use collaborative relationships to facilitate public policy in the affordable housing field;

• Ability to establish and monitor goals for his/her section, for team members as well as for self;

• Be a high energy, responsiveness and motivated team player with excellent interpersonal and communication skills; 

 • Facilitation skills to ensure that meetings serve business objectives while using appropriate interpersonal styles and methods;

• Excellent computer skills, including Excel, Word, Power Point and Outlook.  

Either I
Experience:

The equivalent of one year full-time experience as a Housing Community Development Specialist III in the Alameda County classified service.

Or II

Possession of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in city, regional or urban planning, public administration, public policy, real estate, economics, sociology, or a related field. If Bachelor’s degree is in related field, applicant must show academic studies nexus to housing and community development.

If Bachelor's degree is in a related field, applicant must show academic studies nexus to housing and community development ( in the Job Related Technical or Vocational training section of the job application (under schools attended)).

And

The equivalent of four years' full-time increasingly responsible professional experience in a management or administrative capacity in a housing or community development field, which included responsibility for directing the activities of subordinate staff, program budgeting, and management of housing and/or community development activities. Work background must include a minimum of two years of supervision, lead or administrative experience.

NOTE: A Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in city, regional or urban planning, public administration, public policy, real estate, economics, sociology, or a related field may be substituted for one year of the required non-supervisory experience.

Special Requirements:

Incumbents may be required to possess and maintain a valid California Driver’s License and may be required to drive in the performance of duties.

Incumbents may be required to attend night and/or weekend meetings.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of:

• Principles and practices of public administration, including budgeting, contract administration, and fiscal management
• Principles and practices of supervision
• State regulations, including associated procedures and guidelines as they relate to housing and community development programs, such as, Cal-HOME, Cal-HFA, and similar programs.
• Federal regulations, including associated procedures and guidelines as they relate to housing and community development programs, such as Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnership, Homeless Assistance and Special Needs Housing Programs
• Principles and practices of homeless and special needs program development and operation
• Local laws, regulations and policies pertaining to grant funding, land use controls and development
• Lending practices, housing and community development financing services, including knowledge of real estate loan procedures and practices
• Marketing concepts and practices related to community development programs
• Techniques to facilitate development and preservation of affordable housing
• Principles and practices of contract administration, including the development of contractual agreements, regulatory agreements, deeds of trust, promissory notes, disposition and development agreements, and owner participation agreements.

Ability to:

• Plan, organize and develop programs and projects
• Train, supervise and develop staff
• Interpret and analyze the impacts of complex legislation, regulations, ordinances, contracts, and financial documents
• Independently perform professional level housing and community development work, including preparing staff reports, Board letters, policy documents, and financial analyses
• Communicate effectively in oral and written form to individuals and groups representing various organizational and socio-economic levels
• Write grant proposals for community development projects or programs
• Interpret and analyze the impacts of complex legal documents on the department's programs or projects goals and objectives
• Plan, organize and coordinate professional and citizen advisory committee meetings
• Develop and administer program budgets
• Research complex issues as they relate to housing and community development programs, goals, or objectives
• Set priorities and handle multiple projects simultaneously
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with housing developers, homeless agencies, public service groups, the general public, and fellow employees

THE EXAMINATION WILL CONSIST OF the following steps: 1) A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process. 2) A review of candidates’ Supplemental Questionnaires to select the best qualified applicants to continue in the process. 3) An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.  CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.  We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit.  Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position.  Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position.  Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work. To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance.  The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN

*The combined oral examination/hiring interview, in addition to establishing an eligibility list, may serve as the final selection interview for vacancies in this classification.

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statutes.  To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing.   Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs  

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Welfare Benefits

• Medical – HMO & PPO Insurance
• Dental – PPO & DHMO Insurance  
• Vision
• Basic Life Insurance 
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage) 
• County Allowance (Employer Credit)
• Health Flexible Spending Account
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• Accident, Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity
• Long Term Care Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Short-term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Retirement Plan – (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan

For your Work/Life Balance

• 11 paid holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Management Paid Leave**
• Group Auto/Home Insurance
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Group Legal
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• Child Care Resources
• 1^st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

** Non-exempt management employees are entitled to up to three days of management paid leave. Exempt management employees are entitled to up to seven days of management paid leave.

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and alamedacountyHR@acgov.org as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the "My applications" button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to insure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box alamedacountyHR@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Debra Robinson,  Human Resources Analyst III

Human Resource Services, County of Alameda

510-272-6437

Alameda County is an Equal Opportunity Employer