Director of Policy

at  NYC Careers

JOB DESCRIPTION

Agency Description:

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 Division of Building and Land Development Services (BLDS) leads the agency’s effort in providing architectural, engineering, environmental planning, and construction support services to the various divisions within HPD’s Office of Development. The Office of Development utilizes a public-private partnership model and provides loans, grants and/or incentives to assist in the finance of housing development projects that will benefit low- and moderate-income New Yorkers.
The Division of Building and Land Development Services is the largest division within the Office of Development with over 120 staff composed of seven units, which include the Bureau of New Construction Design Review Services, the Bureau of Preservation Design Review Services, the Bureau of Engineering, the Bureau of Construction Services, Environmental Planning Unit, the Policy Unit, and the Program Management Unit.
Your Impact:
As Director of Policy, you will work closely with BLDS’ Assistant Commissioner and will be responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of policy initiatives for BLDS to assure that the goals and objectives of the division and agency are met.
Your Role:
The Director of Policy will oversee the Policy Unit, which is responsible for policy development, data management and analytics, and process implementation for BLDS. S/he will be responsible for working with various teams in BLDS, as well as other teams in the agency, to support the housing production goals for the Office of Development under the Mayor’s “Housing Our Neighbors: A Blueprint for Housing and Homelessness.

Your Responsibilities:

• Work directly with the senior leadership team to develop written policies and procedures that focus on enhancing the productivity, efficiency, and coordination of BLDS’ services.
• Provide updates for the agency website and maintain e-lists of BLDS staff and external development partners to provide policy materials and/or informational updates that affect design and/or construction requirements.
• Work closely with the Director of Operations and Chief of Staff to continually evaluate the operations of the division and conduct analyses of productivity and performance to aide in making recommendations for operational and procedural changes.
• Work with other divisions within HPD to provide guidance on drafts of various local legislation that may impact the design and construction of affordable housing.
• Act as a liaison with other HPD divisions, other city agencies, development partners/sponsors, and project partners, to discuss and address policies that pertain to design and construction requirements.
• Lead research, data and policy analyses, and strategic planning initiatives that focus on identifying trends in practice that affect the design and construction of affordable housing in New York City.
• Provide strategic planning leadership & support to agency directors & senior level management staff.
• Gather data and identify data-driven solutions to policy challenges that impact HPD and BLDS.
• Recommend policy actions related to furthering the development of affordable housing under “Housing Our Neighbors: A Blueprint for Housing and Homelessness”.
• Draft memos, policy papers and presentations at the request of the Assistant Commissioner.

Preferred skills
1. Background in Housing Development, Data Science, Data Research, Design and Construction, or a related field.
2. Possess strong management and leadership skills, be self-motivated, work effectively with others, and be able to work in a fast-paced environment.
3. Able to negotiate with diverse technical specialists and apply sound judgment in technical matters.
4. Excellent trade base knowledge and familiarity with New York City government and housing issues.
5. Excellent writing, interpersonal, organizational, communication, leadership, and negotiation skills.
6. Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines, coordinate multiple projects, and deal with complex construction issues.
7. Proficient in the operation of Excel, Word, and Powerpoint.
8. Candidate may be subject to a background investigation conducted by the New York City Department of Investigation.

• Work directly with the senior leadership team to develop written policies and procedures that focus on enhancing the productivity, efficiency, and coordination of BLDS’ services.
• Provide updates for the agency website and maintain e-lists of BLDS staff and external development partners to provide policy materials and/or informational updates that affect design and/or construction requirements.
• Work closely with the Director of Operations and Chief of Staff to continually evaluate the operations of the division and conduct analyses of productivity and performance to aide in making recommendations for operational and procedural changes.
• Work with other divisions within HPD to provide guidance on drafts of various local legislation that may impact the design and construction of affordable housing.
• Act as a liaison with other HPD divisions, other city agencies, development partners/sponsors, and project partners, to discuss and address policies that pertain to design and construction requirements.
• Lead research, data and policy analyses, and strategic planning initiatives that focus on identifying trends in practice that affect the design and construction of affordable housing in New York City.
• Provide strategic planning leadership & support to agency directors & senior level management staff.
• Gather data and identify data-driven solutions to policy challenges that impact HPD and BLDS.
• Recommend policy actions related to furthering the development of affordable housing under “Housing Our Neighbors: A Blueprint for Housing and Homelessness”.
• Draft memos, policy papers and presentations at the request of the Assistant Commissioner