Cdbg-Dr Deputy Project Director

Job Description
Position Summary:
The Deputy Project Director will support Philadelphia’s long-term disaster recovery efforts associated with Hurricane Ida and help advance the City’s climate resiliency and mitigation strategies. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocated over $163 million in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (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 advancing equity and promoting long-term resiliency.
This position will report to the CDBG-DR Project Director. The CDBG-DR Deputy Project Director will help lead and oversee the City’s CDBG-DR Program in collaboration with the CDBG-DR Project Director and staff. This position will work across public agencies and local stakeholders to design and implement policies and programs to help residents recover from the impacts of Hurricane Ida while promoting increased resilience to future disasters and climate change. This position will also involve collaborating with other members of the City’s Office of the Director of Finance, the Division of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the Office of Sustainability (OOS), the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), and additional partner departments and agencies to develop and implement the City’s CDBG-DR grant program.
This is an opportunity to help solve complex problems, gain direct experience in long-term recovery planning and mitigation, obtain valuable exposure to government operations, and meaningfully contribute to Philadelphia’s climate resiliency and environmental justice goals.This is a full-time, grant-funded position that is funded for up to six years.
Essential Functions:
Work as part of a growing team to provide expert services to support housing, economic revitalization, and infrastructure programs that are part of Philadelphia’s long-term disaster recovery effort and CDBG-DR program.
Support the CDBG-DR Project Director in supervising and overseeing the activities of consultants, contractors, staff, and program partners. Responsibilities also entail assuming leadership and management functions delegated by the CDBG-DR Project Director as required.
Lead collective impact work across City departments and agencies as well as community groups to develop a common agenda, establish cooperation and collaboration, measure success, and launch activities around key issue areas such as housing, infrastructure, and economic revitalization;
organize and coordinateteams to bring about consensus and ensure optimal organizational execution.
Offer guidance on best practices for delivering sustainable, compliant, and resilient housing, buyout, economic revitalization, public services, infrastructure, and planning programs that prioritize low- and moderate- income households.
Provide guidance and expertise on applicable CDBG-DR program requirements, Federal regulations, and other pertinent policies and understand how they interplay with program design, implementation, and oversight of recovery programs. These regulations and requirements include CDBG-DR, cross-cutting Federal requirements (e.G., environmental review, labor standards, acquisition/relocation, fair housing), duplication of benefits, and others.
Help refine and improve program procedures and processes for implementation.
Work with staff to set up and effectively utilize systems and be able to interpret and apply regulations within the context of these systems.
Support in the oversight and monitoring of CDBG-DR program activities.
Track CDBG-DR activities and report the data in the Disaster Recovery Grant Reporting (DRGR) system.
Provide technical assistance to, and oversight of, CDBG-DR subrecipients and other relevant partners.
Maintain adequate records of assisted activities sufficient for HUD to determine compliance in accordance with CDBG-DR recordkeeping requirements.
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.
Perform other tasks and responsibilities as assigned;
the focus of activitiesmay change depending on the needs of the program.
Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
Planning and Evaluating. Possesses exceptional organizational skills;
demonstrated time management skills, including an ability to prioritize tasks while maintaining attention to detail;
analytical skills;
and basic financial management skills, including developing and monitoring budgets and financial reporting.
Written Communication. Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.
Oral Communication. Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, considering the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial);
makes clear and convincing oral presentations;
listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
Interpersonal Skills. Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others;
develops and maintains effective relationships with others;
relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations;
is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences.
Ability to prioritize and balance workload across multiple projects with short-term deadlines.
Ability to work independently upon clear direction.
Proficiency with of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint).
Demonstrates integrity and ethical behavior
Commitment to furthering equity goals via public investments in the City’s long-term recovery efforts.