About the Agency:
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (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 Neighborhood Strategies (ONS) is charged with ensuring that HPD’s development and preservation efforts are guided by meaningful community engagement and coordinated with public investments in infrastructure and services, as put forth in the Mayor's Housing Plan. ONS is composed of two divisions and a cross-divisional unit reporting to the Associate Commissioner:
- The Division of Neighborhood Development & Stabilization (ND&S) leads the agency's commitment to neighborhood planning and strategic preservation through engagement with tenants, landlords, community leaders, and neighborhood stakeholders as we work to enable strong and healthy neighborhoods anchored by affordable housing.
- The Division of Planning & Predevelopment (P&P) is central to developing and managing HPD's housing production pipeline from project proposal phases through the land use review and entitlement process, to ensure that HPD's investments contribute to building strong, healthy, resilient neighborhoods in all five boroughs.
- The Strategic Initiatives Unit leads special ONS initiatives and provides essential technical, planning, and policy support to staff and the Deputy Commissioner of Neighborhood Strategies.

Your Impact:
As a Senior Project Manager for Owner Engagement and Events, you will help develop, manage, and lead the implementation of innovative programs to educate homeowners and multifamily property owners about their responsibilities and available resources to maintain safe, high quality, and affordable housing. The team implements these programs in close collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including community-based organizations, other government agencies, and elected officials.


Your Role:
The Owner Engagement and Events Unit is seeking an enthusiastic candidate with excellent project management, writing, and policy analysis skills; knowledge of housing issues (with an emphasis on issues affecting homeowners and multi-family property owners); the ability to effectively collaborate with community and government partners; and a commitment to racial equity and social justice. Your role will be to support the formation of the Office of the Homeowner Advocate at HPD as well as to help manage the owner engagement programs, including the Homeowner Help Desk and the Zombie Homes Initiative.
- The Office of the Homeowner Advocate was established in March 2024 pursuant to Local Law 125 of 2023. The Office serves as a liaison between homeowners, community-based organizations, HPD, and other government agencies. The Office receives inquiries, makes referrals, offers trainings, and creates public awareness campaigns.
- The Homeowner Help Desk serves as a one stop shop for homeowners to receive information and support on a wide range of issues. Through intensive outreach and a comprehensive marketing campaign, the program connects homeowners with local community-based organizations to obtain one-on-one counseling. Building on the success of a pilot in 2021-2022, the program will be expanded citywide beginning in the summer of 2024.
- Through the Zombie Homes Initiative, HPD conducts exterior surveys of small vacant and abandoned homes, holds banks and servicers accountable if they fail to maintain these homes, and turns them into affordable homeownership opportunities.
The Senior Project Manager will also conduct policy analysis and share their findings, organize Housing Information Classes, and lead other outreach and education strategies to connect owners to relevant City programs and educate them about their responsibilities. The selected candidate will join a team with wide-ranging professional backgrounds and report to the Director.

Your Responsibilities:
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
- Serve as team leader for the Office of the Homeowner Advocate, which includes coordinating between HPD, community-based organizations, and other government agencies to address inquiries from homeowners, drafting recommendations for additional resources, and leading required data collection and reporting
- Provide support for the Homeowner Help Desk and Zombie Homes Initiative. Create and manage work plans and program budgets and ensure all milestones and deliverables are met
- Help organize and facilitate Housing Information Classes, owner resource fairs and clinics, and community engagement events
- Build relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including community-based organizations, legal services providers, residents, government agencies, Community Boards, and elected officials
POLICY ANALYSIS
- Conduct policy analysis on municipal, state, and federal legislation, share findings, and provide comments
- Identify and advocate for potential solutions, which may involve seeding new projects
COMMUNICATIONS
- Create and review materials to be shared with the public or senior staff, such as memoranda, presentations, maps, and press releases
- Deliver presentations, facilitate classes and conversations at public meetings
STAFF MANAGEMENT
- Manage interns and help guide the work of junior team members
- Serve on hiring committees

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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.

1. Professional experience: A minimum of three years of professional experience in a related field is preferred. 2. Education: Candidates with master’s degrees in public policy, political science, urban studies, law, urban or city planning preferred 3. Subject-matter expertise: Knowledge of housing issues (with an emphasis on issues affecting homeowners and multifamily property owners) is strongly preferred. Familiarity with New York City government and housing issues is a plus. 4. Project management: Proven ability to manage projects with multiple internal and external stakeholders to receive direction and anticipate next steps to work independently and take initiative and to meet deadlines. Attentive to details, organized, and able to follow through. 5. Communication: Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills. Proven ability to produce high-quality materials in a variety of formats and experience facilitating meetings. Ability to communicate complex data and concepts to a variety of audiences in e-mails, memos, slides, and oral presentations. 6. Commitment to racial equity and social justice: An understanding of the historic and systemic causes of social inequities and a proven commitment to undo these wrongs. 7. Creative thinking and problem solving: Ability to think creatively, critically, and strategically, and to consider complex policy problems through both a micro-level and macro-level lens and from an equity perspective. 8. Relationship-building: Ability to relate with people from different backgrounds and to present information clearly to people from different educational and literacy levels. Existing relationships with New York City community-based organizations and legal services providers supporting owners are welcomed. 9. Good judgment: Ability to analyze a situation, understand when additional input is needed, resolve issues independently, and escalate when appropriate.

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

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.