Manager, Housing

COMPANY NAME
City of Saint John
APPLICATION DEADLINE
May 7, 2023
CONTACT INFORMATION
(506) 658-2866

Position Overview:

The Manager, Housing will play a pivotal role in supporting the development of housing across the entire spectrum in Saint John to meet the needs of a growing City. With a particular focus on affordable housing, the incumbent will coordinate the implementation of Saint John’s Affordable Housing Action Plan.

Reporting to the Director of Growth and Community Planning, the Manager, Housing will be a critical liaison between the City and the development community, with special attention on supporting not-for-profit developers in establishing affordable housing projects in Saint John. The Manager, Housing will provide effective leadership, and advocacy in increasing access to affordable housing across the City and provide guidance on, and relevant policy and strategy.

The Manager, Housing will collaborate closely the City’s Growth & Services team, with other municipal departments and external partners that have a role in housing development. The incumbent will actively support the City’s long-term vision of sustainable growth and creating a diverse, vibrant, and resilient community,

Key Responsibilities:

Examples of key responsibilities may include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Act as a primary point of contact and subject matter expert within the City of Saint John on developing housing across the spectrum, with a primary focus on affordable housing.
  • Lead the implementation of the City’s Affordable Housing Action Plan and establish and support a Housing Advisory Committee while investigating potential governance enhancements to promote the development of more affordable residential units.
  • Manage the coordination of local affordable housing efforts within the City of Saint John and between different levels of government and community partners.
  • Prepare reports, policies and strategy documents on relevant trends, progress, gaps, and opportunities, using timely and relevant data, and make recommendations to senior staff and Common Council and its Committees, on policy initiatives and advocacy efforts that will advance the creation of residential units in Saint John across the entire housing spectrum.
  • Work closely with the development community to provide comprehensive advice, and relevant mitigation tactics to overcome applicable development and construction challenges for multi-unit residential development.
  • Design and implement housing support programs to accelerate supply of housing and secure available funding from other levels of government to support the construction of residential units and enhanced municipal services that more effectively support residential development.
  • Guide and assist developers in accessing grants, funding, and project financing for affordable housing projects.
  • Support applications to all levels of government for housing projects and monitor compliance with municipal funding agreements.
  • Champion efforts with community partners and other levels of government to deliver a coordinated housing information and referral service to promote available affordable housing programs, and act as a resource for best practices and information sharing among stakeholders and the broader community.
  • Oversee and monitor relevant operating budgets.
  • Work with community partners in securing access to surplus and underutilized properties for the development of housing.
  • Other related responsibilities as assigned.

Essential Qualifications:

  • The successful candidate will have a degree in business administration, urban planning, public administration, engineering, or a related discipline.
  • At minimum of 5 (five) years of progressive experience in a relevant field.
  • A high degree of independence, and experience in project management, with a proven ability to deliver projects on time, and through collaboration.
  • The successful applicant will likely have acquired related experience in many of the following areas, such as:
    • stakeholder relations, policy development, property development, community development, non-profit sector, grant writing, working with marginalized populations, economic development, and bring strong financial acumen.
  • As a subject matter expert, it is expected that the incumbent will have strong working knowledge in many of the following areas:
      • Federal and Provincial funding and housing programs, familiarity with local government, a thorough understanding of the housing development process, an appreciation of the challenges, costs, and constraints that market and non-market housing developments face, an understanding of how not-for-profit organizations operate and are financed, contracts.
  • Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, is essential.
  • A combination of education and experience will be considered.

The following would be considered an asset:

  • Professional certification or credentials in a related field.
  • Prior work or research including qualitative and quantitative analysis.
  • Written and verbal proficiency in both official languages.
  • Managing teams and organizational change.

The successful applicant will work a compressed work week of 4 days (Monday to Thursday) under the City’s newly adopted Compressed Work Week Policy Trial. The work schedule is subject to change based on business requirements.

Please note: It is a condition of employment with the City of Saint John to show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a valid certificate of medical exemption from vaccination. Those who provide a valid certificate of medical exemption are required to comply with the City’s Vaccine and Test Policy. Failure to comply with this condition of employment is cause for termination.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities in which we live and which we serve. We encourage and support applications from Indigenous, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minority groups. Candidates who belong to such groups, who are qualified, will be given preference at the time of selection.

Applications will be accepted through our online system only. Qualified applicants should submit their cover letters and resumes to:

City of Saint John

Attn:  Hiring Committee

www.saintjohn.ca (careers/employment opportunities)

Only those applicants being considered further will be contacted. Testing may be done as part of consideration for employment.

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