Inclusionary Housing Specialist

City of Somerville•Somerville, MA

24d•$75,000

About The Position

The Inclusionary Housing Specialist is responsible for assisting in the work of the City’s Inclusionary Housing program and other tasks as needed to support the work of the City’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD) Housing division. Essential Functions: The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various type of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position. Support the Inclusionary Housing Program through activities such as meeting with developers; responding to inquiries from both developers and applicants; coordinating with other City departments as needed; and collaborating with Somerville agencies to support lease-up efforts. Other activities related specifically to Inclusionary housing or to other affordable housing programs include: Reviewing applications for completeness, to ensure all necessary documentation is provided for Inclusionary and/or other housing programs; Tracking inclusionary projects and overall program metrics (such as applicant diversity, number and type of units, etc.); Creating and executing marketing plans by coordinating with city partners to ensure households who are eligible for the program have equitable access; Assisting with the maintenance of the Consolidated Rental Waitlist for the Inclusionary Housing Program; Running Information Sessions and other related marketing activities including maintaining the Inclusionary Housing Listserv and preparing mailings and alerts; Responsible for ensuring appropriate lottery preparation; Determining and certifying income eligibility of applicants; Taking the lead in responding to inquiries received in the Inclusionary email inbox and directly to personal city email address; Calculating affordable housing sale prices and writing memos detailing factors for calculation; Calculating maximum affordable rents; Preparing an annual Inclusionary Housing Program report and reviewing and preparing other reports on program activities, as needed; Performing research and assisting in development of related Inclusionary recommendations procedures and policies as needed; Identifying the need for and making referrals to internal partners as well as other City departments; Maintaining project, buyer and tenant files, transferring data to electronic files where only paper files exist; Counseling first-time homebuyers and prospective renters who are applying for the Inclusionary Housing program; Coordinating lease ups with tenants and property owners; Completing property inspections for the Inclusionary Housing Program to verify unit readiness, comparable unit features to market rate, access to shared amenities, and compliance with the affordable housing plan; Assisting with updating Inclusionary housing and other information and manuals on an ongoing basis, including on the Housing Division’s website; Analyzing new housing projects, preparing proposals and negotiating inclusionary units; Delivering high quality Accurate, Courteous, and Easy (ACE) customer service; Timely completion of work to meet applicable deadlines; Assist with transitioning newly completed projects to the Housing Compliance staff; Maintaining the Warren Group data and publishing on the Inclusionary Housing Program webpage annually; Publishing necessary comparable data for inclusionary rents and sales prices as prescribed by the Somerville Zoning Ordinance; At the IHP Manager’s direction assist in preparing information as necessary for the Mayor’s Office and or City Council; Work involves occasional attendance at night meetings and tabling at weekend events as needed.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree and five (5) years’ experience in affordable housing assistance or related field; or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job.
Job duties may include attending some evening or weekend meetings and/or community events.
Work requires some agility such as moving in or about construction sites or over rough terrain.
Some knowledge of and experience with strategies and programs geared toward maintaining and expanding affordable housing opportunities; strong knowledge of Excel and Microsoft Office suite.
Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing with other City departments, state and federal agencies, architects, contractors, developers, owners, supervisors, employees, and the general public
Ability to exercise good judgment and focus on detail
Ability to work as a team member and maintain project timelines
Continuous effort to improve operations, decrease turnaround times, streamline work processes, and work cooperatively and jointly to provide quality seamless customer service to the public at-large.
This position requires excellent organizational skills with careful attention to detail
Strong skills in oral and written communication
Excellent customer service skills.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of affordable housing programs is strongly preferred.
Knowledge of affordable housing programs or other housing related knowledge preferred but not required.
Bi-lingual or multilingual ability in Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian-Creole, Nepali, Mandarin and/or Cantonese is desirable.

Responsibilities

Support the Inclusionary Housing Program through activities such as meeting with developers; responding to inquiries from both developers and applicants; coordinating with other City departments as needed; and collaborating with Somerville agencies to support lease-up efforts.
Reviewing applications for completeness, to ensure all necessary documentation is provided for Inclusionary and/or other housing programs
Tracking inclusionary projects and overall program metrics (such as applicant diversity, number and type of units, etc.)
Creating and executing marketing plans by coordinating with city partners to ensure households who are eligible for the program have equitable access
Assisting with the maintenance of the Consolidated Rental Waitlist for the Inclusionary Housing Program
Running Information Sessions and other related marketing activities including maintaining the Inclusionary Housing Listserv and preparing mailings and alerts
Responsible for ensuring appropriate lottery preparation
Determining and certifying income eligibility of applicants
Taking the lead in responding to inquiries received in the Inclusionary email inbox and directly to personal city email address
Calculating affordable housing sale prices and writing memos detailing factors for calculation
Calculating maximum affordable rents
Preparing an annual Inclusionary Housing Program report and reviewing and preparing other reports on program activities, as needed
Performing research and assisting in development of related Inclusionary recommendations procedures and policies as needed
Identifying the need for and making referrals to internal partners as well as other City departments
Maintaining project, buyer and tenant files, transferring data to electronic files where only paper files exist
Counseling first-time homebuyers and prospective renters who are applying for the Inclusionary Housing program
Coordinating lease ups with tenants and property owners
Completing property inspections for the Inclusionary Housing Program to verify unit readiness, comparable unit features to market rate, access to shared amenities, and compliance with the affordable housing plan
Assisting with updating Inclusionary housing and other information and manuals on an ongoing basis, including on the Housing Division’s website
Analyzing new housing projects, preparing proposals and negotiating inclusionary units
Delivering high quality Accurate, Courteous, and Easy (ACE) customer service
Timely completion of work to meet applicable deadlines
Assist with transitioning newly completed projects to the Housing Compliance staff
Maintaining the Warren Group data and publishing on the Inclusionary Housing Program webpage annually
Publishing necessary comparable data for inclusionary rents and sales prices as prescribed by the Somerville Zoning Ordinance
At the IHP Manager’s direction assist in preparing information as necessary for the Mayor’s Office and or City Council
Work involves occasional attendance at night meetings and tabling at weekend events as needed.

Benefits

4 weeks annual vacation for non-union positions.
Medical insurance through the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) - 80% of premium costs paid by City
Dental coverage low and high plans through Cigna
Vision care through Vision Service Plan (VSP)
Long term disability through Sun Life Group and voluntary life insurance through Boston Mutual
Health Care and Dependent Care flexible spending through Benefit Strategies
Deferred compensation plans through a choice of three vendors
Free, confidential services through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provided by E4Health
Annual cancer screening & wellness release
Somerville Retirement Pension System
Tuition reimbursement
MBTA pass program
FREE Blue Bikes membership
Eligible employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)