Deputy Director - Housing

Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development

0904 - Mayoral Staff XVI

Deputy Director - Housing

Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD)

MOHCD’s mission is to support San Franciscans with affordable housing opportunities and essential services to build strong communities. We are industry leaders in financing the development, rehabilitation and preservation of affordable housing.  Through our financing, we strengthen the social, physical and economic infrastructure of San Francisco’s low-income neighborhoods and communities in need. We actively collaborate with community-based organizations, non-profits, affordable housing developers, and other City agencies and staff, in our pursuit of a more equitable and affordable San Francisco.  In our hiring practices, we strive to build teams that reflect the diversity of our City and the populations we serve, and we urge qualified candidates of all races, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity to apply.  

MOHCD’s Housing Division

MOHCD is organized into four divisions – Housing, Community Development, Homeownership & BMR, and Finance/Admin.

The Housing division focuses on creating housing policies and funding programs that create safe, stable, and affordable housing.  We are recognized nationally for our ground-breaking work to: transform public housing through the HOPE SF and RAD initiatives; acquire and rehabilitate existing properties through innovative financing structures; steward an extensive portfolio of affordable housing; and expand that portfolio by advancing new housing production and inclusionary housing policies.  Our diverse staff and leadership work together to:

• Guide and coordinate citywide housing policies under direction of the Mayor and in collaboration with the Board of Supervisors.
• Administer a diverse set of financing programs to develop new affordable housing, preserve existing housing, and acquire and rehabilitate housing at-risk of market speculation.
• Monitor the long-term affordability and physical viability of the City’s publicly-assisted affordable housing portfolio of over 22,000 units, providing funding for needed repairs and upgrades to ensure sustainable operations and habitability for residents.
• Incubate new programs, initiatives, and financing tools that further our production and preservation activities.
• Conduct program evaluation and research to document housing needs and trends and communicate accomplishments to elected officials, collaborating partners, and the public at large.  

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Reporting directly to the MOHCD Director, the Deputy Director – Housing manages the agency’s housing production and preservation efforts across four primary program areas: new construction, preservation and portfolio management, public housing initiatives, and construction representation.  The Deputy - Housing supervises Director-level leadership in each of these program areas. 

New Construction.  MOHCD’s new construction work is led by a Director of Housing Development, who manages a team of 6-8 project managers and loan administrators dedicated to all tasks necessary for the development of 100% affordable housing projects, including: issuing NOFAs and RFQs; reviewing and accepting sites as part of the City’s Inclusionary Land Dedication program; underwriting projects and developing loan evaluations for approval by the Citywide Loan Committee; and overseeing the work of affordable housing development partners in the programming, predevelopment, construction, marketing and lease up of new affordable housing developments throughout the City.  In FY 18/19, MOHCD will lend over $360M to support the production of over 1,000 new units of affordable housing. 

Preservation and Portfolio Management.  MOHCD’s Preservation and Portfolio Management is led by a Director who manages a team of approximately 6-8 project managers and asset managers who, among other duties: ensure compliance with MOHCD’s regulatory requirements across a portfolio of over 22,000 units of affordable housing; underwrite and approve refinancing and resyndications of existing affordable housing developments; manage the City’s affordable housing revenue bond program; and coordinate the work of participating lenders and affordable housing developers in the expansion of the City’s acquisition and preservation activities.

Public Housing Initiatives.  MOHCD’s Public Housing Initiatives are led by a Director who manages a team of four project managers focused on MOHCD’s participation in the HOPE SF and RAD initiatives, as well as our support of the restructuring of Housing Authority itself.  In 2007, MOHCD, in collaboration with the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA), launched HOPE SF, an initiative to transform four of the City’s most dilapidated public housing sites into vibrant mixed-income communities.  In 2013, the MOHCD’s focus on public housing deepened with the City’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) initiative that is converting nearly 3,500 units of public housing into privately managed, permanent affordable housing.  The highest-value RAD conversion in the country, this effort represents an approximately $2B investment in the City’s aging public housing stock.  Finally, since 2018, MOHCD has been actively engaged in restructuring the Housing Authority in order to prevent SFHA from entering into receivership following significant budget shortfalls and defaults under its public housing and housing choice voucher contracts with HUD. 

Construction Representation.   A Senior Construction Representative manages a team of 4-6 construction representatives who evaluate MOHCD-funded projects during predevelopment for cost efficiency, constructability, and adherence to program and design standards.  At any given time, MOHCD has approximately 30 projects in predevelopment or construction, including new construction, major rehabilitation, and acquisition and preservation of at-risk multifamily buildings.  The team also monitors projects during construction and close out to ensure appropriate use of funding.  During both predevelopment and construction, CRs support project sponsors in the resolution of issues with other City and state permitting and regulatory agencies. 

Administration. An administrative assistant supports the work of this team and reports to the Deputy Director for Housing. 

Additional duties of the Deputy – Housing include:

• Manage MOHCD’s pipeline of affordable housing production and preservation through the coordination of pipeline budget review meetings and maintaining the 20-year Allocations Budget
• With data and communications team, devise and maintain strategies for summarizing and communicating budget and pipeline milestones to elected officials and other stakeholders.
• With the Director of Housing Development, expedite implementation of projects funded through the issuance of general obligation bonds, including the issuance of RFQs and NOFAs, tracking of expenditures, and updating of the Citizen’s General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee with required reports and presentations.
• Serve as MOHCD's point person in the Citywide Executive Directive Accelerating Creation of New Housing working group and corollary subcommittees to facilitate streamlining of execution of MOHCD's pipeline of affordable housing.
• With Development Directors, manage work flow for loan review and approval process for MOHCD's new construction, preservation, and public housing related loans, ensuring timely feedback to project managers, input from executive staff, and successful approval by Loan Committee and the Board of Supervisors for all housing-related loans.
• Serve as MOHCD point-person for all joint development agreements; with the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), assist in the drafting and implementation of affordable housing development plans.
• Organize and facilitate MOHCD’s participation in statewide housing initiatives, including Governor Newsom’s State Lands for Housing Executive Directive.
• Coordinate with other City Departments, elected officials, and community stakeholders as necessary to ensure program/project success.
• With Development Directors and other Senior Management, seek creative ways to expand MOHCD’s production and preservation work, including identifying new funding sources, innovative financing techniques, and emerging construction methodologies.

Desired Qualifications

• Ten or more years direct experience developing affordable housing
• Possession of a Juris Doctor degree or a Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in a real estate-related, planning, public policy, finance, or other relevant field
• Direct experience financing affordable housing production, including experience utilizing low-income housing tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, state funding, CDBG, HOME, and/or Housing Choice Vouchers
• Strong knowledge of and/or experience in construction and design protocols for affordable housing and the management of contractors and design professionals
• Deep understanding of the entitlement and predevelopment process for affordable housing development, including environmental review, permitting (planning and building), procurement, design, bidding, and relocation.
• Experience managing a high volume of transactions in a dynamic work environment, ensuring efficient work flow and project execution.
• Excellent management skills and a demonstrated ability to successfully mentor, encourage, and inspire staff
•  Excellent organizational skills and demonstrated ability to coordinate and oversee the work of multiple reports, each of whom is in turn responsible for managing programs and teams of project managers and construction specialists
• Excellent quantitative, financial, and operational skills and demonstrated ability to manage budgets (including use of Microsoft Excel at a high level), meet deadlines, and coordinate timelines across multiple program areas
• Excellent verbal, writing, and presentation skills for diverse audiences, including the SF Board of Supervisors, community and neighborhood groups, industry professionals, etc.

Desirable Qualifications:  The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.

Selection Plan

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit www.jobaps.com/sf to register an account (if you have not already done so) and begin the application process.

• Select the desired job announcement
• Select “Apply” and read and acknowledge the information
• Select either “I am a New User” if you have not previously registered, or “I have Registered Previously”
• Follow instructions on the screen

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst, Karen Henderson, by telephone at 415-701-5557, or by email at Karen.henderson@sfgov.org

You must Submit a Cover letter and Resume

To submit resume using the online application:

Select the “Resume” tab in the online application

Follow instructions given on screen

To submit cover letter using the online application:

Select the “Other” tab in the online application Choose “Upload” as your method of submittal

Click on “Upload Attachment”

Follow instructions given on screen