Job Description

The mission of the Mayor’s Office of Housing (MOH) is to make Boston a more equitable and inclusive city where all residents can thrive. MOH oversees programs that create and preserve affordable housing, support homeowners and renters, provide housing and services to homeless individuals and families, and develop city-owned property. MOH seeks to carry out its mission through a lens of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion and addressing the effects of systemic racism in our City.

The Supportive Housing Division at the Mayor’s Office of Housing is responsible for leading the collaborative effort to end homelessness in Boston.

Under the direct supervision of the Director for Supportive Housing or their designee, the Senior Housing Officer is responsible for managing the annual Continuum of Care (CoC) application process on behalf of the Boston CoC. The Continuum of Care program represents over $50 million in annual funding to support Boston’s homelessness response system with housing resources and stabilization services for people exiting homelessness. The Supportive Housing Division of the Mayor’s Office of Housing serves as the Collaborative Applicant for the Boston CoC, and the incumbent leads all facets of the community application process.

In addition, the Senior Housing Officer will supervise Development Officer staff who oversee supportive housing and homeless contracts run by partner agencies, including but not limited to those funded through the City of Boston, City of Boston’s Continuum of Care (CoC) grant and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA). These programs are pivotal resources in furthering the City’s goal of ensuring that all instances of homelessness in Boston are rare, brief, and non-recurring.

The Senior Housing Officer will lead efforts to ensure that the Division’s programmatic investments are high-performing and are contributing to the rapid placement, stabilization and retention of eligible households in permanent housing.

Responsibilities

• Lead the community response to the annual Continuum of Care Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), including convening the CoC’s Strategic Funding Working Group for community input on decisions governing the application process.
• Lead internal CoC NOFO project management team.
• Plan, organize, and convene CoC General Membership meetings.
• Provide regular updates to the CoC Board on issues affecting the CoC program.
• Supervise contract management staff and provide guidance and support to ensure that funded programs are operating in accordance with all Federal, State, and local regulations.
• Lead monitoring and evaluation efforts of funded programs to ensure these investments are positively contributing to the CoC’s overall system performance and are efficient in their use of public funds.
• Develop and implement Performance Improvement Plans as needed and in conjunction with affected agencies and/or staff.
• Directly manage contracts related to homelessness initiatives that sit in the Mayor’s Office of Housing Supportive Housing Division. Ensure data management and data quality are meeting system objectives and funders’ and/or City’s expectations.
• Oversee development and scheduling of procurements for new and existing funding sources.
• Provide regular guidance on program requirements to our non-profit provider partners.
• Convene and coordinate Boston’s extensive provider network in order to improve coordination and support housing-centered efforts.
• Partner with people with lived experience of homelessness on work related to system design and improvement, resource allocation, and other strategic efforts.
• Assist the Mayor’s Office of Housing Supportive Housing Division team in responding to emergency constituent assistance requests from multiple sources as needed.
• Supervise consultants, contractors, and staff as needed.
• Perform related work as required.

Minimum Entrance Qualifications

• Minimum of four (4) years of experience in policy development; program evaluation and design; stakeholder management, or related professional experience is required, including two (2) years in a project or program management capacity. Additional experience preferred. Appropriate educational substitutions may be made.
• Degree in public policy, social work, business, or public administration or related fields preferred.
• Familiarity with HUD regulations, specifically the Continuum of Care program, and the HEARTH Act preferred. Understanding of housing issues and programs.
• Working knowledge of administrative procedures including program requisitions, contract management, and budget oversight.
• Comprehension of housing development or finance principles and practices.
• Strong negotiation, communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office, and Google Suite required; Salesforce and HUD reporting systems preferred.
• Willingness to work evenings and weekends throughout the city.
• Ability to exercise good judgment and focus on detail as required by the job.

Homelessness among youth disproportionately affects people of color and LGBTQ youth; we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities. Preference will be given to candidates who have lived experience relevant to the work.

BOSTON RESIDENCY REQUIRED

Terms:

Union/Salary Plan/Grade: SEIU/N-24

Hours per week: 35

Please refer to the Salary Information section on the Boston Career Center site for more information on compensation. For each Salary Plan, salaries are listed by Grade and Step.

"Please note that the Mayor's Office of Housing (MOH) employees and their immediate family members (i.e. employee's parent, siblings, children, or spouse) are prohibited from buying or leasing City Involved Housing, with the exception of applicants living in City Involved Housing at the time of hire at MOH. Please refer to the Policy on Employee Participation in MOH-Administered Programs."