About the Agency:
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation 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 Compliance Specialist will play a key policy and implementation role for the new Office of Compliance & Risk Management (CRM). This Office is centralizing various compliance, oversight, and hearing functions from across the agency critical to ensure fairness, consistency, and equity in both our external and internal engagement. CRM will collaborate with programs across HPD to ensure the agency and its partners comply with laws (federal, state, and city), regulatory requirements, policies, and procedures. The Office includes the following Divisions and units:
- Adjudications
- Economic Opportunity & Regulatory Compliance
- Public Information
- Audit Support
Your Impact
CRM will be responsible for coordinating the agency’s compliance programs, liaising with the units and staff responsible for relevant compliance responsibilities, audit responses, site standard adherence for financed construction work, public-facing appeals and hearings, and managing risk for the agency. The Compliance Specialist will have the opportunity to use their expertise to provide leadership and technical assistance for CRM and compliance functions throughout the agency. This role will also provide a unique opportunity to help build out a new office, strengthen agency compliance culture, and ensure compliance is seamlessly integrated into HPD program administration and operations.
Your Role
Reporting to the CRM Chief of Staff, the Compliance Specialist will support CRM programs, manage cross-agency compliance programmatic and reporting obligations, and provide technical assistance to compliance staff throughout the agency. The person in this role will work closely and liaise with all the Offices within HPD, including Legal Affairs, Policy & Strategy, Finance & Administration, Development, Housing Access & Stability, Asset & Property Management, and Neighborhood Strategies for effective monitoring, tracking, and coordinating of agency requirements.
Your Responsibilities
The Compliance Specialist is responsible for ensuring HPD’s ongoing reporting requirements for its many compliance activities. This involves monitoring legislative and regulatory changes, assessing their impact and risk related to HPD programs and operations, and coordinating reporting requirements across the agency’s departments. This includes:
- Inventory, coordinate, and monitor agency compliance requirements.
- Develop and maintain systems to track and analyze new and amended federal, state, and local laws to identify potential compliance and reporting obligations for HPD.
- Prepare and/or act as the point person for the timely submission of mandated reports for a specific portfolio of federal, state, and/or local mandates.
- Work closely with program areas to identify compliance requirements and provide guidance and support to ensure their readiness for reporting deadlines.
- Monitor regulatory changes and keep stakeholders abreast of operational or other implications.
- Create training materials and other resources to support programs based on research, surveys, and accepted best practices.
- Work with CRM leadership to build and maintain a broad network of staff throughout HPD who do or are interested in compliance work.
- Collaborate with other City agencies and Mayoral offices to respond to Requests for Information, contribute to public comments, etc.
- Provide outreach and education to external partners to ensure agency compliance, as needed
- Assist the Chief Compliance Officer with special compliance projects as needed.
Preferred Skills
The ideal candidate will be an inquisitive self-starter and problem-solver who is eager to strengthen their leadership skills and use their expertise to set the foundation for long term compliance and a risk management framework. They must be curious and flexible with the following skills:
- At least three years in a role responsible for interpreting legislation and/or legal documents, and implementing these into program operations
- Demonstrated understanding of how high-level legislation or policy can impact operations
- Experience in organizational or operational change with a strong focus on maximizing service delivery
- Strong attention to detail and excellent organizational and problem-solving abilities
- Ability to balance a variety of projects and priorities for a fast-paced, high-volume workload
- Collaborative team player with strong interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written)
- Passion for public service with a commitment to ensuring effective management of and adherence to policies, procedures, and requirements
Minimum Qualifications
Candidates will need to meet the civil service requirements of City Research Scientist Level 2.
- A doctorate degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and one year full-time experience in a responsible, administrative or research capacity in the appropriate field of specialization; or
- A master’s degree from an accredited college or university with a specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and three years of responsible full-time research experience in the appropriate field of specialization; or
- Education and/or experience which is equivalent to “1” or “2” above. However, all candidates must have at least a master’s degree in an appropriate field of specialization and at least two years of experience described in “2” above. Two years as a City Research Scientist Level 1 can be substituted for the experience required in “1” and “2” above.
Please submit a cover letter as part of your application.
Note: This position is eligible for remote work up to two days per week, pursuant to the Remote Work Pilot Program agreed to between the City and DC37.
Additional Information:
This position is also open to qualified persons with a disability who are eligible for the 55-a Program. Please indicate at the top of your resume and cover letter that you would like to be considered for the position through the 55-a Program.
In addition, the Department of Housing Preservation & Development offers competitive salaries and the following benefits: Generous Pension Plans (The New York Employees’ Retirement System); 401(k) and Roth 457(k) Retirement Savings Programs; U.S. Savings Bonds Flexible Spending Program; Health Benefits, Dental, Vision Coverage, Prescription Drug Program; Training and Professional Development; Opportunity for Scholarship; ‘College Savings Program; Paid Holidays and Generous Annual Leave.
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 StudentAid.gov/PSLF.
HPD’s vision is to promote strength and diversity in our workforce and an inclusive and equitable work environment.