Director, CDBG- DR

About the role

This position administers the City of Philadelphia's CDBG Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program grant allocations, including its $163.2M grant related to Hurricane Ida in 2021 and all associated projects, plans, and activities. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocated this CDBG-DR funding to help the City recover from Hurricane Ida. HUD's CDBG-DR grant program is designed to help communities address unmet needs resulting from Presidentially declared disasters while promoting long-term resiliency. This full-time grant funded position performs a variety of complex, high level program/project management, federal grant compliance and oversight tasks, convening and leading a cross-departmental team including direct reports. This is a full-time, grant-funded position that is funded for approximately three years. Working hours are generally 37.5 hours per week. Essential Functions Oversee and manage expansive CDBG-DR project team, including direct reports, key stakeholders in other departments, and consultants, to achieve project goals. Develop and lead diverse teams to facilitate and ensure the advancement and successful completion of all program components, projects and activities. Oversee the work of consultants, contractors, and technical staff. Provide leadership in development and maintenance of inter-team communication between City staff, consultant staff, and CDBG-DR partners and stakeholders. Work collaboratively with all program partners and stakeholders to ensure program goals, timelines and performance measures are met. Promote the CDBG-DR program by making presentations, writing reports and updates and conducting and coordinating meetings and other forums. Alongside colleagues in City government, manage and coordinate correspondence with HUD including monitoring responses (both HUD and Office of Inspector General (OIG)). Ensure that the City achieves its CDBG-DR-related requirements, including milestones established by HUD, along with any related audit and compliance requirements. Develop project scopes, schedules, budgets, work breakdown structures and resourcing plans identifying critical paths and milestone objectives. Manage and track program progress against its scope, schedule and budget and ensure goals, objectives and deliverables are met. Develop and implement recovery plans for off-schedule and unanticipated eventualities. Ensure program objectives, goals, and timelines are achieved and that regulatory requirements are met pursuant to specified federal grants' requirements. Prepare and coordinate undertaking CDBG-DR Action Plan Amendments with staff and consultant(s), assuring compliance with all HUD requirements. Serve as administrator for specific activities set forth under federal rules related to CDBG-DR funding, including but not limited to acquisition of property. Track CDBG-DR activities and report the data in the Disaster Recovery Grant Reporting (DRGR) system. Establish and sustain robust City infrastructure for this and any future City CDBG-DR work. Make recommendations to other senior leaders in Finance regarding strategic resourcing related to cross-departmental CDBG-DR work. Assist in establishing, implementing, and monitoring organizational policies and procedures in an effective and efficient manner. Work with staff to develop systems to ensure consistent, high-quality project management. Other related work as needed. Competencies, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Experience with federal grants, grant audits, disaster recovery funding, and budgeting Familiarity with government accounting and budgeting systems and processes preferred, but not required Proficient in navigating complex systems, including government bureaucracy, procurement, contracts, and policy processes Experience working within government and with elected officials, constituents, and advocacy organizations Ability to work independently and with a team to achieve goals Ability to problem-solve and think creatively to produce solutions Proven track record in establishing and sustaining collaborative and effective working relationships with leadership, direct reports peers, staff, consultants, service providers, and vendors Ability to communicate effectively - verbally and in writing - with a variety of stakeholders Written Communication - write in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience. Strong public presentation skills and experience, strategic thinking, and high professional ethics Experience identifying relevant performance and outcome metrics and using the information for improvement and evaluation purposes Strong interpersonal skills Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint) and Adobe Suite applications Desired education and experience include: Bachelor's degree or higher in a relevant public administration, public policy, business, or technical discipline; up to 10 years o