About the City
The City of San José plays a vital economic and cultural role as the center of Silicon Valley. An incredibly diverse community of over one million people who have family and business ties around the world call San José home. The City also fosters innovation with its tech-friendly policies and public-private partnerships. As a result, over 150 technology companies are located in San José’s Downtown with many more—including major players like Cisco, Adobe and eBay—spread across the City. Located at the southern end of beautiful San Francisco Bay and nestled between the Diablo and Santa Cruz mountain ranges, San José is within easy reach of California’s beaches like Santa Cruz and Carmel and enjoys an abundance of good weather.
San José is a full-service Charter City and operates under a Council-Manager form of government. Mayor Sam Liccardo assumed office on January 1, 2015, with a platform of restoring public safety, spending smarter, expanding economic opportunity for all of San José’s residents, and investing in the future. His philosophy is “It’s your city, and it should work for you.” Under his guidance, the City has developed a Smart City Vision with five key areas of focus—making San José safer, more inclusive, user-friendly, a leader in sustainability, and a model in using transformative technologies to enhance life in the City.
About the Housing Department
The City of San José has been a leader in the affordable housing field since 1987, creating more than 19,100 new housing opportunities for its residents. The mission of the City’s Housing Department is to strengthen and revitalize the community through housing and neighborhood investment. To further that mission, the Department runs a number of programs to increase, improve and preserve the supply of homes that are affordable to working families in San José, as well as to strengthen its neighborhoods and improve its residents’ lives.
The Department’s active multifamily lending program supports the new construction and the acquisition/ rehabilitation of restricted affordable apartment developments, with a current emphasis on providing housing solutions for the homeless. The Department makes loans to homebuyers so they can purchase their first home, and to homeowners and mobile-home owners who need emergency home repairs. The Department also offers numerous federal, State, and local grant programs that fund services, affordable housing, homelessness, and community infrastructure.
In addition to its funding activities, the Department is actively involved in the following areas: ending homelessness in the City; managing the City’s two rent stabilization ordinances; working with community groups to respond to fair housing and displacement issues; and, implementing the City’s Place-Based Neighborhood efforts. The Department also has an active policy program to ensure that the City has the tools it needs to respond to its housing challenges.
In partnership with the City’s Planning Department, the Department works to ensure that San José has a variety of housing types at a variety of price points. This work includes identifying sites for housing development, facilitating efforts to include housing in Urban Villages, and working with local and regional partners to implement the State’s regional housing goals. Department staff also work with market-rate developers to implement the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program and its Affordable Housing Impact Fee program, which both create affordable homes and create revenues to subsidize new affordable homes.
As a testament to its excellence in affordable housing, the Department and its developments have been honored with dozens of accolades. Examples include the 2016 American Institute of Architects Merit Award for Design, the 2012 California Redevelopment Association Award of Excellence in Sustainable Development, the 2011 John Clancy Award, and the 2010 U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary’s Housing and Community Design Award.
About the Opportunity
The City of San José is seeking a talented, energetic, organized, and experienced professional to serve as Senior Development Officer for transactions in both Asset Management and Project Development. This position will assume the lead in underwriting and closing loan modifications, recapitalizations, and originations. The ideal candidate will be a collaborative and innovative leader with excellent interpersonal skills, a true commitment to the Department’s mission, a strong work ethic, and a positive customer service attitude. In addition, the ideal candidate will possess the following desirable competencies, attributes and qualities:
Key Competencies and Attributes
- Underwriting loans for the production, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable rental housing with tax credit and/or tax-exempt bond financing, with a focus on determining feasibility and effect on the City’s repayments, risks, and policy objectives.
- Reviewing financial statements for developments’ feasibility and operating contexts, and the financial strength of development sponsors.
- Ably representing the City on development deal team calls, and closing loans and bond issuances by orchestrating work done by the City Attorney’s office, Finance Department, external counsels, consultants, and transaction support staff.
- Collaborate closely with Asset Management staff on approvals of development transfers, replacement reserve disbursements, capital and operating budgets, and deals’ compliance status.
- Coordinating public notices, inducements, public hearings, CDLAC application submissions, and bond fee collection together with the City’s Finance Department, City Attorney’s Office, external Financial Advisor, and internal staff.
- Suggesting and implementing process and policy improvements.
- Supervising one FTE and task oversight of another one to two FTEs.
Qualities
The ideal candidate will possess a record of individual and leadership success as demonstrated by the following desirable qualities:
- ANALYTICAL THINKING: Approaches problems using a logical, systematic, sequential approach.
- COLLABORATION: Develops and maintains effective working relationships with team members, internal partners, customers, and community stakeholders through use of strong interpersonal skills.
- COMMUNICATION: Communicates and listens effectively and responds in a timely, effective, positive, and respectful manner.
- DECISION MAKING: Identifies and understands issues, competing interests, problems, and opportunities; uses effective approaches for choosing a course of action or developing appropriate solutions.
- JOB EXPERTISE: Possesses knowledge of affordable housing principles, policies and development financing; has experience managing complex requirements of development projects.
- LEADERSHIP: Demonstrates high ethical standards; remains visible and approachable and interacts with others on a regular basis; promotes a cooperative work environment; encourages and rewards risk-taking, allowing subordinate staff to learn from mistakes; provides motivational support and direction.
- MULTI-TASKING: Can handle multiple projects and assignments simultaneously; has handled a wide variety of assignments in past and/or current position(s); has the ability to meet deadlines in a high-pressure environment.
- SUPERVISION: Sets effective long- and short-term goals based on a good understanding of management practices; establishes realistic priorities within available resources.
Education, Experience and other Requirements
Candidates must possess any combination of training and experience equivalent to:
- A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or college in Planning, Housing, Geography, Economics, Business Administration, Public Administration, Political Science, Sociology or related field;
- Five (5) years of increasingly responsible professional level work experience in affordable housing development, or related field, including two years of supervisory or development project lead experience.
Possession of a valid driver’s license in the State of California may be required. Also note that annual disclosure of outside investments, real property interest, income and business positions is required for this position.
Compensation
The salary range is $98,717 to $120,224 annually.
Benefits
Retirement – Competitive defined benefit retirement system with full reciprocity with CalPERS.
Health Insurance – The City contributes 85% towards the cost of the lowest cost health insurance plan and has several plan options.
Dental Insurance – The City contributes 100% of the premium of the lowest-priced dental plan.
Personal Time Off – Employees accrue vacation at the initial rate of three (3) weeks per year, increasing to five (5) weeks after 15 years of service. This position also receives 40 hours of Executive Leave annually, and eight (8) hours per month of Sick Leave.
Holidays – 14 paid holidays annually.
Deferred Compensation – An optional 457 plan.
Flexible Spending Accounts – Dependent Care Assistance and Medical Reimbursement Programs.
Insurance – A term life insurance policy equal to two times annual salary; long-term disability and AD&D plans are optional.
Employee Assistance Program – A comprehensive range of services through the EAP.
Important Application Information
To apply for this outstanding opportunity, please visit the Koff & Associates website at www.koffassociates.com to download the application. Please email your cover letter, resume and application to infokoff@koffassociates.com or mail it to Koff & Associates, 2835 7th Street, Berkeley, CA 94710 for receipt by December 16, 2016.