Job Information
City of New York Housing Ambassador Coordinator in New York, New York
Job Description
About the Agency:
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation (HPD) promotes quality and affordability in the city's housing, and diversity and strength in the city’s neighborhoods because every New Yorker deserves a safe, affordable place to live in a neighborhood they love.
We maintain building and resident safety and health
We create opportunities for New Yorkers through housing affordability
We engage New Yorkers to build and sustain neighborhood strength and diversity.
HPD is entrusted with fulfilling these objectives through the goals and strategies of “Housing Our Neighbors: A Blueprint for Housing and Homelessness,” Mayor Adams’ comprehensive housing framework. To support this important work, the administration has committed $5 billion in new capital funding, bringing the 10-year planned investment in housing to $22 billion the largest in the city’s history. This investment, coupled with a commitment to reduce administrative and regulatory barriers, is a multi-pronged strategy to tackle New York City’s complex housing crisis, by addressing homelessness and housing instability, promoting economic stability and mobility, increasing homeownership opportunities, improving health and safety, and increasing opportunities for equitable growth.
Your Team:
The Office of Housing Access and Stability (“HAS”) consists of the divisions of Housing Opportunity, Tenant and Owner Resources, Housing Stability, Budget and Program Operations, and Program Policy and Innovation. The mission of the office is to ensure fair, efficient, and transparent access to affordable housing. The Office provides subsidies, placement services, and tools that connect New Yorkers to affordable housing and ensures vulnerable households in subsidized housing have the support they need to be safely housed. Housing Access is committed to expanding housing choices, affirmatively furthering fair housing, and stabilizing the financial health of buildings.
The Division of Housing Opportunity & Program Services ensures that HPD’s affordable housing is made available through fair, transparent, and accessible programming. Developers creating affordable housing are required to offer many types of units through an open lottery process on NYC Housing Connect and fill other units through a placement process for households in the City’s shelter system. Housing Opportunity & Program Services (HOPS) administers the housing lottery and homeless placements programs and crafts policy and procedures to ensure that these programs offer equal opportunity to all applicants and affirmatively further fair housing.
Your Impact:
As the Housing Ambassador Program Coordinator for the Division of Housing Opportunity you will be responsible for guiding community-based organizations that partner with HPD to assist affordable housing-seekers (“Housing Ambassadors”), your work ultimately improves the housing application experience for New Yorkers across our city’s diverse communities. One of this new team’s immediate goals is to support the success of the federal Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program in NYC by working with newly-contracted Housing Ambassadors as they help many homeless and vulnerable New Yorkers access permanent housing as quickly as possible.
Your Role:
Your role will assist with the Housing Ambassador Program, HPD partners with a network of over 50 community-based organizations who educate and assist housing-seekers throughout the process of applying for affordable housing. HPD offers these Housing Ambassador organizations regular trainings on the NYC Housing Connect housing lottery and related housing programs, printed informational materials for distribution, help with public educational events, and the opportunity to apply for funding to defray some of the costs of the otherwise volunteer program.
The Housing Ambassador Program also often partners with other government agencies on special initiatives, including:
Implementation of the federal Emergency Housing Voucher program in NYC
“Ready to Rent,” a joint HPD and NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protections program that connects housing-seekers to free financial counseling and lottery application assistance
Summer Veterans housing application drive, jointly with the NYC Department of Veterans Services
As a Program Coordinator, you will provide support and oversight to Housing Ambassador organizations they manage their contracts with the City and assist affordable housing seekers. Program Coordinators will work both independently and with their co-Coordinators to manage its ongoing activities and maintain information for logistical, tracking, and program development purposes. Your ability to manage a diverse workload and effectively communicate with a variety of stakeholders will form a solid foundation for this work.
Your Responsibilities:
- Provide technical assistance and monitoring of funded Housing Ambassadors, including those newly working with Emergency Housing Voucher recipients. Tasks may include:
o Supporting Ambassadors and EHV Housing Navigators’ work with housing-seeker clients to ensure positive outcomes
o Confirming that Ambassador staff have access to all relevant information, systems, and tools
o Communicating and enforcing performance expectations, contracting requirements, and invoicing processes
o Ensuring compliance with contracted scope of work
o Ensuring accurate, on-time reporting of milestones and metrics
o Participating in case reviews and audit activities as required
o Answering technical and programmatic questions
Assist with internal and external trainings/presentations about the Housing Ambassador Program, affordable housing lottery, NYC Housing Connect, EHV, and other relevant programs
Coordinate referrals of EHV holders to appropriate Housing Ambassador organizations
Work with intra- and inter-Agency partners, including DCWP and HPD’s Marketing & Affordability Oversight unit and Homeless Placement Services, to respond to requests for information about clients’ housing applications, assistance with events, Ready to Rent financial counseling, and/or referrals
Facilitate the funding and selection processes of the “Ready to Rent” program and other funding sources as applicable
Update information in educational materials, on HPD and City websites, Housing Connect, via 311, etc.
Respond to requests from the public, internal and external stakeholders, and public officials
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Preferred skills:
Candidates must have experience working with community partners. Other preferred skills include:
Excellent communication skills (oral and written)
Strong organizational and time/logistics management skills
Ability to communicate and work with a wide range of partners
Strong interpersonal skills with experience managing relationships with a variety of internal and external stakeholders
Comfort with learning, using and assisting others with mobile and web-based apps, websites, online forms, databases
Strong proficiency in MS Office, especially Word, Excel and PowerPoint
Ability to think creatively and be a team player
Qualifications
A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and two years of experience in community work or community centered activities in an area related to the duties described above; or
High school graduation or equivalent and six years of experience in community work or community centered activities in an area related to the duties as described above; or
Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" or "2" above. However, all candidates must have at least one year of experience as described in "1" above.
Additional Information
The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.