Director, Home Appraisal Equity Program

This is senior level management work to advance equity in home appraisal industry in Philadelphia by providing leadership and internal capacity to embedding the work of City Council’s Home Appraisal Bias Task Force into the Division of Housing and Community Development. The Director for Home Appraisal Equity will drive the implementation efforts of the Task Force through convening, coordinating City and external stakeholders, innovating and incubating pilots, tracking and evaluation, and developing a scaling and sustainability plan for successful efforts.  Work includes but is not limited to ongoing convening of the Home Appraisal Bias Stakeholder Committee and reporting subcommittees, prioritizing recommendations for implementation, engaging partners to develop a data sharing strategy and plan, implementing outreach and engagement strategies, developing a pipeline for diversifying the field of home appraisals, and coordinating City advocacy efforts at the state and federal level.Essential FunctionsManages relationships with all stakeholders, including members of the Home Appraisal Bias Advisory Committee, reporting subcommittees, contracted program partners, City departments and evaluation partners.  Directs through reporting staff the creation of meeting agendas, minutes and follow-up items and ensures staff completes follow-up items as directed.Works with Division leadership to resolve high level program implementation issues to ensure successful operations, including the development of a scaling and sustainability plan.  Works with the Advisory Committee determine the feasibility and prioritization for implementation of recommendations made by the City’s Home Appraisal Bias Task Force.  Oversees the negotiation with all contracted partners the annual program scopes, budgets and reporting requirements.  This includes consultation with the DHCD leadership and coordination with Fiscal and Contract Administration units.  Manages all required reporting including quarterly reports to City Finance and City Council and updates to program and plans dashboards.Directs and reviews budgets for new federal, state or local grants opportunities; reviews conditions and terms of grant agreements; arranges reimbursement schedules and monitors expenditures during the life of the grant.Manages the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of new programs and services aimed at creating equity in home appraisals.Confers with city officials, members of City Council, federal and state agencies and others concerning the need for funds, including coordination and cooperation in implementing policies; serves on the executive leadership team in negotiations with city, state, federal and non-governmental agencies.Oversees development of plans, reports and evaluations and directs and utilizes data collection and analysis to inform these efforts; and implements best practice research to inform program design and performance.  Coordinates with subordinate and unit staff to develop annual performance and evaluation metrics.Attends meetings and speaks before civic, professional organizations, and city council to promote efforts to address bias in home appraisals.  Directs the program communication strategy and serves as the lead on the City’s response to media inquiries.Performs work as required.Competencies, Knowledge, Skills, and AbilitiesStrong Communication Skills - Relates well to all kinds of people – up, down, and sideways inside and outside of the organization; uses diplomacy and tact; builds constructive and effective relationships.Motivating Others - Creates a climate in which people want to do their best; can assess each person’s strengths and use it to get the best out of them; empowers others; invites input from each person and shares ownership and visibility.Planning/Project Management - Accurately scopes out length and difficult of tasks and projects; sets objectives and goals; establishes accountability measures, and evaluates performance against goals.Problem Solving - Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions; probes all fruitful sources for answers; can see hidden problems.KNOWLEDGE OF:the principles, methodologies, practices, and theories of housing and social programs including best practice research; fair housing principles; local real estate markets and trends; affordable housing preservation and development; and the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of programs.the principles and practices of public administration including such areas as budgeting, organizational development, and staffing.the planning and development of programs, plans, grant applications and reports.  Knowledge of technical systems, databases and applications to advance programs and operations is essential to the position.SKILL IN:managing and maintaining effective working relationships with associates, civic, non-profit housing/legal services agencies, elected officials, and the public.building partnerships with diverse stakeholders such as community and professional groups to achieve division goals and objectives.ABILITY TO:work with existing technology systems for processing in the City systems (ACIS) and databases such as Quickbase and identify and utilize new technology and software.train, prioritize, organize, and direct staff.establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees, other agencies, and departments and the public.create and present project reports and to communicate effectively with stakeholders and senior leadership, including elected officials, federal and state partners, and subject matter experts;analyze, evaluate and exercise sound judgement to resolve complex problems and to determine proper courses of actions.