Vice President of Housing Stability - Lantern Community Services Inc

Classification: Exempt

Reports to: Chief Operating Officer

Status: Full-time

Work Schedule: Monday – Friday, 9AM-5PM (hours may vary)

Salary: $115K-$125K

Job Location: The Vice President of Housing Stability is based in Manhattan and is required to travel to all Lantern buildings throughout the boroughs of New York City, as necessary. Currently, Lantern Community Services’ portfolio includes 17 residential buildings.

Position Type: This is a full-time position with a regular daytime schedule. Lantern staff may be asked to change the work schedule and hours depending on the operational needs of the site and the agency.

Objective:

The Housing Stability Department is an integral part of the Lantern Community Services and is critical to promoting successful independent living for our tenants and the financial well-being of our residences. Lantern Community Services is seeking a Vice President (VP) of Housing Stabilitywho will be responsible for overseeing the Housing Stability department including all Leasing and Compliance work involving vacancy management, intake, compliance, leasing, rental subsidies, recertifications, lease renewals, manage the lease violation process, arrears prevention and reduction, and rent collection at all buildings which provide low income and permanent supportive housing. The VP of Housing Stability works in collaboration with supportive service and property management staff and is well versed in the various government requirements that affect low-income housing including the low-income housing tax credit program and other City agency regulations. The Housing Stability department interacts with multiple government funders and referral sources including, but not limited to, HRA, HASA, OMH, and DHS.

The Vice President needs to be a “big picture” thinker and look for initiative-taking ways to improve deliverables. The VP will be expected to provide structured staff supervision using data analysis and performance evaluation tools. The ideal candidate must have strong leadership skills and the ability to motivate a team of more than fourteen professionals. The VP of Housing Stability will be responsible for providing support and assistance to all Leasing Staff whenever regulatory questions or challenges arise. The candidate must be a solution-oriented leader who is capable of continually developing systems to help the organization become more efficient and effective. They must be hardworking, analytical thinker with strong ethics. The VP will need to be an experienced manager and excellent communicator, who can facilitate and maintain strong working relationships with government entities, on-site property management, programmatic clinical staff, Lantern Community Services leadership, compliance staff, and residential tenants.

Essential Functions:

Staff Leadership:

• Provides leadership and guidance to the Housing Stability Department.
• Provides direct supervision to the Assistant Director of Vacancy Control and the Housing Stability Managers.
• Uses sound judgment and management skills to identify problems and implement constructive solutions supporting a solution focused mind-set.
• Takes a data-driven, systems approach to departmental organization to promote consistency, efficiency, and effectiveness.
• Comfortable utilizing data to track and analyze deliverables and adjust processes and systems accordingly.
• Ensure staff are utilizing effective strategies to increase placements, reduce arrears, keep up with lease renewals, move to digital record keeping, and better utilize and streamline reporting and use of data.
• Ensure Housing Stability staff are actively collaborating with various stakeholders including program staff, property management, and government funders.
• Ensure Housing Stability staff are actively engaging with tenants and employing a variety of creative methods to help tenants achieve and maintain housing stability utilizing a client centered approach.
• Provides guidance, training, and oversight to department and holds staff accountable for performance and deliverables.
• Recruitment, hiring and training of staff.
• Staff performance evaluations.

Intake and placement:

• Supervise Assistant Director who is responsible for overseeing the vacancy management of Lantern's Supportive Housing portfolios.
• Manage all aspects of leasing a new residential building from initial referrals through move-in.
• Review monthly vacancy reports for thoroughness and accuracy.
• Ensure all apartment vacancies are leased up as quickly as possible and work to address any issues related to vacancies.
• Identify, develop, and implement creative strategies for increasing referrals and placements.
• Develop systems to minimize vacancy time by efficiently identifying and housing eligible referrals.
• Ensure tenant applications are reviewed to verify eligibility.
• Coordinate with referral agencies to ensure they provide enough eligible referrals.
• Train and supervise staff tasked with collection and review of eligibility documentation.
• Utilize data tracking and reporting systems to ensure only qualified applicants are accepted into housing.
• Support and promote Open Houses to increase referrals.
• Work collaboratively with on-site Property Management to ensure vacant units are turned over quickly to shorten the time it takes for move-ins.
• Coordinate with supportive services staff on potential tenants to help assess needs and service requirements.

Rent Collection and Lease Renewals:

• Develop and maintain a schedule for onsite rent collection and ensure staff provide both in person and written rent payment reminders to tenants.
• Ensure staff are effectively issuing arrears notices both in person and in writing and using creating strategies to both prevent and reduce tenant arrears.
• Prepare and review detailed rent collection reports to identify the need for interventions and evictions.
• Ensure Housing Stability staff, in collaboration with program staff, develop and implement strategies such as applying for One Shot Deals, Homebase, financial literacy, employment support and benefits counseling to support tenants with lease payments and budgeting.
• Coordinate with supportive services staff to ensure tenants receive clear notification and comprehensive support when they are in arrears.
• Coordinate with Compliance department and Landlord’s representation to ensure that tenants in significant arrears are fairly and efficiently moved through the legal process.
• Facilitate, support, and host lease renewal events.
• Ensure Housing Stability staff are proactively helping clients through the lease renewal process including the collection of income.

Compliance:

• Ensure compliance with tenant eligibility standards of both supportive services contracts (HASA, DOHMH, OMH, NYSSHP, HUD SHP) and rental subsidy contracts (Shelter Plus Care, Section 8).
• Oversee timely completion of subsidy recertification’s and lease renewals.
• Review tenant charts prepared for LIHTC compliance.
• Coordinate LIHTC and agency audits
• Affirm completeness of HPD recertification prior to submittal
• Supervise completion of DHCR annual registrations.
• Serve as primary contact with compliance agencies and submit corrective action plans, as needed.
• Ensure leasing and compliance files are always audit ready.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree is required with master’s degree preferred.
• Must have 3 to 5 years’ experience working with low-income housing and supportive service contracts in connection with rent up and compliance with relevant regulations, including experience working with funders such as HASA, HPD, or DOHMH
• Minimum of 5 years' experience managing staff and administrative systems for a progressive organization.
• Candidates must demonstrate strong leadership and supervision skills; strong oral and written communication; computer skills and experience with data; and the ability to work effectively with different levels of management, delegate effectively, critically read, interpret and complete documents carefully, facilitate positive changes in organizational culture and collect data and produce analysis to guide decision-making.
• Successful candidates must be excellent collaborators and team members and be able to self-direct.

Preferred Experience:

• Knowledge of HIV/AIDS, mental health, substance use or chronically homelessness population.
• Prior experience working in supportive or transitional housing required.

Supervisory Responsibility: There are five direct reports, department of fourteen.

Work Environment: This job operates in supportive housing sites and works with a population who experiences mental illness, addiction, disability, HIV, and other chronic illnesses.

Physical Demands: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, stoop, climb stairs and/ or kneel. They must also use their hands to type, handle, or feel. The employee is frequently required to talk or hear and must occasionally lift and/or move up to five pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Other Duties: Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Note: Lantern Community Services (Lantern) values the diversity of all our clients, staff, Board of Directors, and partners. By bringing diverse individuals and viewpoints together, we create more vibrant, healthy, and just communities. Lantern welcomes individuals of all backgrounds and experiences regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, pregnancy, religion, immigration status, veteran status, class, creed, mental or physical disability, and any other characteristic protected by federal, state, and local law.