Housing and Community Development Specialist III

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION. The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year but can be extended.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE: A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Failure to submit the Application or Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification. Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.

Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires will only be accepted on-line.

THE AGENCY

The Community Development Agency mission is to enhance the quality-of-life of the County residents and plan for the future well- being of the County's diverse communities; to balance the physical, economic, and social needs of the County residents through land use planning, environmental management, neighborhood improvement, and community development; and to promote and protect agriculture, the environment, economic, vitality and human health.

The Alameda County Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) plays a lead role in the development of housing and homeless programs to serve the county's low and moderate income households, homeless, and disabled populations. HCD maintains and expands housing opportunities for low and moderate income persons and families in the county.

THE POSITION

The Housing and Community Development Specialist III is the highest level classification within the three levels of the HCDS class series and located in the Community Development Agency’s Housing and Community Development Department.  The Housing and Community Development Specialist III performs the more complex professional functions of housing and community development programs and projects, including social service, homeless, community development and housing programs and will act as lead over staff while also instructing and participating with subordinates in professional work.  The Housing and Community Development Specialist III is expected to demonstrate proficiency in all areas of housing, community development and other related service-enriched housing programs. 

Please click here for the full job description.

IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate will have a background in affordable housing and have strong analytical skills, excellent writing skills, ability to work independently as well as collaboratively, be organized and detail oriented, comfortable with public presentations and have sensitivity to working with people of different cultural and economic backgrounds. 

In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications stated below, the ideal candidate will have demonstrated a track record of success in the following areas:  

• Technical experience in financing affordable housing, including financial and feasibility analysis experience;
• Experience with asset management, loan portfolio, as well as a knowledge of property management policies and procedures;
• Experience with policy and program development in the housing field and knowledge of the affordable housing industry;
• Ability to clearly convey information and ideas through a variety of media to groups and individuals;
• Ability to use collaborative relationships to facilitate public policy in the affordable housing field;
• Ability to set goals and monitor personal progress;
• Be a high energy, responsiveness and motivated team player with excellent interpersonal and communication skills; 
• Excellent computer skills, including Excel, Word, Power Point and Outlook.   

EITHER I  

Experience:  

The equivalent of one (1) year full-time experience as a Housing and Community Development Specialist II in the Alameda County classified service.  

OR II  

Education:

Possession of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.  A degree in a field related to community development such as city, regional or urban planning, business administration, economics, public administration, public policy, public health, political science, social work or urban studies is preferred but not required.  

AND

Experience:  

The equivalent of three (3) years full-time experience working in a local government or community-based organization performing similar work to the Housing and Community Development Specialist III classification such as program development, policy analysis, grant or contract management, planning, and administrative work.  

Substitution:

A Master’s degree, or higher, may be substituted for one (1) year of experience required in Pattern II.   

Special Requirements:  

Incumbents may be required to possess and maintain a valid California Driver’s License and may be required to drive in the performance of duties.  

Incumbents may be required to attend night and/or weekend meetings.  

NOTE:    The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies: 

Knowledge of:

• Principles of program planning, implementation, and evaluation of community development programs.
• Program monitoring and evaluation methods.
• Housing finance and real estate development.
• Development and preservation of affordable housing.
• Federal, State, and other resources for community and/or affordable housing development.
• Contractual agreements required in residential real estate financing.
• Community Development Block Grant Programs and other related federal and state programs.
• Homeless programs and funding sources.
• California State/landlord/tenant laws.
• Environmental review process.
• Data gathering and assessment techniques related to housing need, market conditions, development costs, etc.
• Bond compliance requirements.
• Computer skills including word processing, spreadsheet, database, and presentation programs.  

Ability to:

• Properly interpret and make decisions in accordance with appropriate laws, regulations, and policies.
• Use evaluation criteria and management information tracking systems.
• Monitor progress and evaluate performance.
• Take initiative and show good judgment.
• Identify community needs.
• Develop proposals, monitor progress, and evaluate performance.
• Reason logically and creatively and utilize a variety of analytical techniques to resolve complex issues.
• Plan and organize.
• Demonstrate interpersonal sensitivity.
• Communicate effectively orally and in writing.
• Develop and make oral and written presentations to groups and organizations of various sizes.
• Meet deadlines.
• Handle a variety of projects at once, while following through and completing projects.
• Work effectively with the public.
• Learn specialized software programs.
• Demonstrate leadership.

The examination will consist of the following steps:

1. A review of the candidates’ application and supplemental questionnaire to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process.
2. A review of candidates' supplemental questionnaire to select the best qualified applicants to continue in the process.
3. An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidates' final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.

CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED EXAMINATION COMPONENTS.

We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components. Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance. The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN:

*Updated: 4/21/2022 (IL)

***WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN***

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statutes. To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes. For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Well-Being

• Medical – HMO & PPO Plans
• Dental – HMO & PPO Plans
• Vision or Vision Reimbursement
• Share the Savings
• Basic Life Insurance 
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage for eligible employees) 
• County Allowance Credit
• Flexible Spending Accounts - Health FSA, Dependent Care and Adoption Assistance
• Short-Term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Voluntary Benefits - Accident Insurance, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity and Legal Services
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Retirement Plan - (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan or Roth Plan)

For your Work/Life Balance

• 11 paid holidays
• Floating Holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Catastrophic Sick Leave
• Group Auto/Home Insurance
• Pet Insurance
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• Child Care Resources
• 1^st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @jobaps.com, acgov.org and Noreply@jobaps.com as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the "My applications" button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to ensure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box Noreply@jobaps.com are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Irene Lu | Human Resources Analyst
Human Resource Services, County of Alameda
(510) 272-6469 | irene.lu@acgov.org
www.acgov.org/hrs

Disaster Service Worker

All Alameda County employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law. Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect. Employees are required to report to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Alameda County has a diverse workforce, that is representative of the communities we serve, and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance and business need. Alameda County does not discriminate in employment on the basis of, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors protected under federal, state and local law. Alameda County celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive, and welcoming workplace environment.