Affordable Housing Planner

County of Wake, NC•Raleigh, NC

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Help Shape the Future of Affordable Housing in Our Community! The Affordable Housing Planner plays a pivotal role in the Housing Affordability and Community Revitalization Department’s efforts to promote affordable housing creation and preservation throughout Wake County. A key member of the Equitable Housing and Community Development Division management team, this position directs efforts to engage with planning departments in the County’s 12 municipalities to promote land use policies that create more affordable housing opportunities, understand municipal growth patterns and objectives, provide technical assistance and identify collaboration opportunities. This position administers competitive technical assistance and capital project funds, in addition to administering the County’s Public Land Disposition Program. The ideal candidate for this position has a solid urban planning background and deep knowledge of land use policy and practice related to housing, is a clear and data-oriented communicator with a track record of building and maintaining stakeholder relationships and has a desire to work independently to implement and improve programs that create and preserve affordable housing in Wake County. About Our Team Wake County Department of Housing and Homeless Services’ goal is to ensure that quality affordable housing is available for all Wake County residents. As the population and economy continue to grow in Wake County, the need for affordable housing development and preservation increases. More units of affordable housing need to be built and housing services must be provided to support families and individuals to access or maintain safe, decent, affordable housing. Affordable housing is also critical to preserving Wake County’s economic competitiveness by offering workers at all income levels housing, supporting housing stability and economic opportunity for its residents and furthering Wake County’s commitment to healthy and inclusive growth. The Department’s programs include Community Revitalization, Development Financing, Rental Assistance, Homeless Services, Community Outreach, Emergency Shelter and Permanent Supportive Housing. The Housing and Community Revitalization (HCR) division operates the development and revitalization services eligible to the million residents of the County, in coordination with twelve municipalities. It also ensures the administration and compliance for Federal grant and locally funded programs focused on neighborhood revitalization, rehabilitation, development and public infrastructure projects benefiting low and moderate-income households.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in planning, community development or a related field
Two years of experience in planning, community development or a related field
Equivalent education and experience are accepted
Ability to supervise partners and manage federally funded housing or community development programs
Ability to interpret regulations, manage priorities and work independently
Solid written and verbal communication skills
Problem-solving, analytical and project management skills
Coordination and collaboration skills with municipalities and partners
Knowledge of affordable housing programs, funding and municipal planning

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Urban Planning, Community Development, Public Administration or a related field
Three years of experience in urban and regional planning, community development, or affordable housing
Familiarity or experience with working with municipal government planning departments to implement strategies to create and preserve affordable housing
GIS Experience
AICP Certification

Responsibilities

Builds and maintains solid relationships with municipal planning and housing staff to promote land use and other policies that will increase the availability of affordable housing
Works to identify partnership opportunities that align with municipal and County objectives
Maintains a solid working relationship with the Wake County Planning Department to understand affordability challenges in Wake County’s planning jurisdiction, help represent them in County planning documents and strategize to address those challenges
Collaborates with the Research, Data and Systems Division to analyze municipal plans and development data to identify trends and inform Division and Department leadership of opportunities
Oversees the Public Land Disposition Program to leverage County-owned land for affordable housing development
Evaluates parcels for development potential and administers a competitive RFP process for disposition
Supervises or provides project management support to selected developers in collaboration with the Affordable Housing Development and Lending Manager
Administers the Municipal Impact Fund to provide technical assistance and capital project support to municipalities through a competitive RFP process
Maintains awareness of best practices in land use policy and municipal engagement with affordable housing for program improvement and technical support to municipal and non-profit partners
Leverages land use expertise to provide support to other Division and Department activities, including site analysis