New York City Housing Authority
Background:
The New York
City Housing Authority (“NYCHA”) is the largest and oldest public housing
authority in the United States. It provides decent and affordable housing in a
safe and secure living environment for low- and moderate-income residents
throughout the five boroughs. To fulfill this mission, NYCHA must preserve its
aging housing stock through timely maintenance and modernization of its
developments. NYCHA also administers a citywide Section 8 Leased Housing
Program in rental apartments. Simultaneously, it works to enhance the quality
of life in its developments by offering its residents opportunities to
participate in a multitude of community, educational and recreational programs,
as well as job readiness and training initiatives.
NYCHA's
Conventional Public Housing Program has 178,882 apartments in 2,602 residential
buildings (334 developments) throughout the City. NYCHA has 11,686 employees serving a total of
633,177 New Yorkers in its Public Housing and Section 8 Programs. Based upon
the 2008 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (HVS) and the most recent population
estimate for New York City (July 2009) respectively, NYCHA Public Housing
represents 8.5 percent of the City's rental apartments and is home to 4.8
percent of the City’s population.
The Position:
The New York City Housing Authority is seeking a highly skilled
and experienced individual to serve
as its next General Manager. Reporting
to the NYCHA Chair and Board of Directors, the General Manager will act as the
Agency’s principal operating officer and will be responsible for the
implementation and execution of all policy, orders, and rules and regulations
made or approved by the Authority’s Board.
Assisting the General Manager in carrying out the day-to-day
responsibilities of the Agency are members of NYCHA’s executive cabinet
including the Deputy General Managers for Administration, Capital Projects,
Community Programs and Development, Finance, Information Technology, and
Operations; the Assistant Deputy General Manager for Leased Housing; and Development.
Key Position
Responsibilities:
The General Manager’s key responsibilities include, but are not limited
to:
- Strategic Management and Leadership: NYCHA’s executive cabinet is comprised
of a diverse portfolio of responsibilities, from Community Programs and
Development, to Capital Projects. The
General Manager is responsible for leading, directing and providing
guidance and support to the Agency’s organization of direct and indirect
reports. This includes cultivating
collaboration and teamwork within this large and diverse team, identifying
Agency priorities, establishing goals, and creating and ensuring
accountability across all executive departments.
- Program Operational Leadership: Planning and directing the
implementation of Agency operations and activities in compliance with
internal rules, guidelines and applicable law. This includes developing procedures,
guidelines, performance metrics, and reporting systems and tracking
mechanisms to ensure that appropriate internal controls are in place and
that the Agency operates with optimal effectiveness and efficacy.
- Financial Management and Oversight: The General Manager must ensure the
Agency’s continued financial viability using sound fiscal management. In doing so, he or she must provide
overall financial oversight and monitoring across all of the Agency’s
Executive Departments, ensuring that relevant financial data is available
and presented to the Board and Chairperson as needed and/or requested.
- Stakeholder Engagement and Partnerships: The General Manager will spend a lot
of his or her time externally facing with key stakeholders. He or she will meet regularly with
elected and housing advocates to understand and satisfy business needs; to
establish a strong network of relationships among peer leaders across
other City, State and Federal agencies and government, and external
stakeholders; developing creative partnerships and identify opportunities
in the community that can create additional value for residents of the Agency.
- Chief Liaison:
The General Manager will serve as the Agency’s Chief Liaison with
the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), NYCHA’s
regulatory agency. This will
require establishing familiarity with HUD regulations, guidelines and/or
procedures as they relate to the operations of NYCHA’s executive
departments.
- Chief Negotiator: The General Manager will serve as the Agency’s
Chief Negotiator for labor-related matters, as 95% of NYCHA’s workforce is
covered by collective bargaining agreements. This requires a diplomatic approach to
agreements while keeping the Agency’s goals and priorities at the
forefront.
Key
Competencies:
- Goal Oriented: the successful candidate must
demonstrate the ability to make sound business decisions that lead to a
track record of meeting and/or exceeding goals with the optimal use of
resources.
- Leadership and
Capacity Building: an exceptional
capacity to manage and lead a diverse and dynamic set of team members on
an individual and corporate level. This includes the ability to cultivate
entrepreneurship and ownership throughout the Agency’s executive
department while enforcing accountability and maintaining a high level of
work ethic and standards.
- Strategic
Visionary: the ability to fit the
smaller pieces into the bigger picture, thinking strategically about future
trends and consequences and incorporating them into the Agency’s larger
plan.
- Negotiation
Skills: the ability to artfully
influence, persuade and generate group consensus.
- Excellent
Communication Skills: demonstrated
ability to communicate clearly, both written and verbal, while maintaining
an acute discernment of audience.
Qualifications:
- Baccalaureate degree from an accredited
college; MBA preferred.
- A minimum of 10 years of satisfactory
professional experience in leading and directing a large, dynamic
organization.
- Knowledge of housing policy and HUD rules and
regulations are a major plus.
NYCHA is an Equal
Opportunity Employer with a commitment to a diverse workforce. For more
information about the New York City Housing Authority, please visit their
website at www.nyc.gov/nycha
To Apply:
The New York City Housing Authority has retained the services of Harris Rand
Lusk to conduct this search. Inquiries, nominations, and applications may be
directed in confidence to:
Jack Lusk, Managing Partner
or
Anne McCarthy, Senior Director
Harris Rand Lusk
261 Madison Avenue, 11th Floor
New York, NY
10016
amccarthy@harrisrand.com
