Program Assistant

New York Housing Trust Fund•Albany, NY

About The Position

New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) is the State’s affordable housing agency, with a mission to build, preserve, and protect affordable housing and increase homeownership throughout New York State. This position is with HCR's Housing Trust Fund Corporation (HTFC). This is not a civil service position and does not require a civil service exam. Candidates must meet the minimum qualifications outlined below to be considered. NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) is committed to fostering a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Our work would not be possible without the diverse backgrounds, experiences, ideas, and abilities of our employees. HCR is committed to developing a workforce that represents the diverse population of New York State. HCR embraces a diverse and inclusive work environment by encouraging all individuals, including those with disabilities, to apply to open positions at the agency. The Office of Small and Mid-Size Development (SMD) is a program office within HCR focusing on non—tax credit development projects smaller in scope but with outsized impact, encompassing multifamily rental, homeownership, and manufactured housing. SMD currently administers eight capital funding programs, and the list is growing: HCR’s Small Building Participation Loan Program (SBPLP), Small Rental Development Initiative (SRDI), Affordable Homeownership Opportunity Program (AHOP), Block by Block Homeownership Program (BxB), MOVE-IN New York CrossMod Expansion Program (MOVE-IN), Legacy City ACCESS Program (LCAP), Manufactured Home Advantage Program (MHAP), and Manufactured Home Cooperative Fund Program (MHCFP). SMD’s mission is to deploy these funds expeditiously and efficiently to create enhanced housing opportunities for low- and middle- income residents across the state. Position Summary The Program Assistant for Small and Mid-Size Development will work closely with SMD’s Vice President, Assistant Vice President, and program staff to support day-to-day implementation of funding programs. The position is expected to primarily support SRDI, MOVE-IN, LCAP, MHAP and MHCFP, helping to maintain project files, process disbursement requests and assist with project closeout, and serve as a point of contact for awardees and general program inquiries.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and at least three years’ experience in a fast-paced office performing support staff tasks (i.e. answering phones, creating written materials & forms, processing paperwork & electronic records, filing.)
Experience handling sensitive documents and confidential information with discretion.
Candidate must be familiar with Microsoft Office including significant skills and experience in Microsoft Word and Excel, and experience using SharePoint and using shared calendars and scheduling tools in Outlook.
Candidate must also be comfortable with creating spreadsheets for data management.
Ability to work alone/or away from staff (trustworthy).
Excellent organizational and communication skills are essential.
Ability to work effectively with members of an existing administrative team and grant project managers.
Candidate must show initiative and willingness to take on new tasks as directed, and be comfortable with shifting priorities and new assignments.

Nice To Haves

Preferable if candidate possesses at least some familiarity with housing and/or community development programs.

Responsibilities

Assist in accomplishing all goals, tasks, and assignments relating to operation of SMD programs as requested
Help to organize and review project applications for funding for completeness
Complete preliminary review of disbursement paperwork for funded projects to ensure consistency of numerical values and that amounts are totaled correctly to initiate payment processing
Log payment requests into SharePoint and other systems
Coordinate with awardees to obtain required project submissions and/or reporting
Prepare letters, memos, written procedures and other documents as needed
Use Microsoft Word to prepare template documents, proofread and edit written materials, use advanced formatting to add Index/table of contents to documents
Monitor shared Outlook mailboxes, saving documents electronically and routing to appropriate staff
Manage user access to an online application portal, communicate with potential applicants related to access
Prepare and run reports from various databases
Create new Excel spreadsheets or manipulate existing Excel spreadsheets to meet office staff needs
Document scanning, filing and shredding
Support office with administrative responsibilities as needed