Executive Director of Credit & Special Underwriting, Office of Policy & Strategy

Job Description

About the Agency:

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and 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.________________________________________

HPD’s Office of Policy and Strategy (OPS) leverages its expertise to guide and support HPD and its many offices in their efforts to deepen their impact, optimize their efficiency, and become more data-driven, climate-adaptive, and mission-focused. To do so, OPS collaborates with staff and senior leadership from across the agency, as well as with representatives from other Agencies. OPS carries out its work through delivery of rigorous data, policy, and financial/credit analysis; technical and statistical research; and techniques in program visioning and design to all of HPD’s areas of practice.

The Executive Director of Credit & Special Underwriting will report to the Assistant Commissioner for Credit & Valuation and will oversee the Credit & Special Underwriting (C&SU) team. The C&SU team is responsible for reviewing and providing feedback on HPD projects that receive City Capital loans and/or discretionary tax exemptions, completing special underwriting feasibility and cost/benefit analyses and conducting complex financial analyses to support agency policy initiatives. The Executive Director will work closely with team members from across OPS and the Office of Development (OOD) as well as engage with the agency’s senior leadership. They will work closely with the Assistant Commissioner on a daily basis in a rigorous, growth-oriented and supportive environment.

The Executive Director will:
- Lead the C&SU team, building and maintaining a culture of rigor, collaboration and inclusivity;
- Serve as the HPD Credit Committee Chair, effectively and efficiently managing the process by which the agency evaluates non-conforming and complex affordable housing transactions, in coordination with the Assistant Commissioner, and working with other members to problem solve, when necessary;
- Oversee the comprehensive review of Development projects, providing rigorous and thoughtful feedback and recommendations to ensure that HPD projects align with agency policies and advance the agency’s mission;
- Collaborate with other members of OPS on financial modeling projects in support of internal and external policy that advance the agency’s mission;
- Work closely with program leads across OOD in the development of new agency financing programs and policies;
- In coordination with the Assistant Commissioner, develop team policies and procedures to ensure the effective and efficient management of the team’s work;
- Undertake critical special projects/initiatives as requested by the Assistant Commissioner.


Preferred Skills:

- Very strong understanding of real estate finance, underwriting, lending, development, advanced finance concepts, valuation and the residential housing market, particularly the New York City context;
- Knowledge of local, state and federal affordable housing finance programs;
- Fluency in financial modeling including the ability to build and understand complex models and translate findings to a wide range of audiences;
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to present/convey complex concepts effectively;
- Exceptional leadership skills with the ability to build team culture, provide feedback and build capacity among individual team members;
- Exceptional people skills with the ability to build relationships, influence others to achieve outcomes and thrive in a team environment;
- Ability to adapt and work under pressure and restrictive deadlines, in an atmosphere of in