Position Summary
The Director of Housing & Supportive Services provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for City Heights CDC's housing stability, Resident Services, eviction prevention, supportive services, food security, emergency response, and assigned real estate development and transaction activities.
The Director leads a multidisciplinary team and is accountable for program performance, staff development, contract and grant compliance, budgets, partnerships, resource development, and real estate initiatives that expand affordable housing and community-serving space in City Heights.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities
Leadership & Strategic Oversight
- Provide strategic leadership for housing stability, Resident Services, eviction prevention, supportive services, food security, emergency response, and related housing initiatives.
- Develop and monitor annual departmental goals, work plans, performance measures, and priorities aligned with City Heights CDC's strategic plan.
- Identify emerging needs, risks, and opportunities and lead cross-departmental strategies that strengthen services and outcomes.
- Serve as an active member of the leadership team and represent City Heights CDC with funders, government agencies, elected officials, community partners, and other stakeholders.
Program & Contract Oversight
- Oversee implementation and performance of Resident Services, the Coordinated Eviction Prevention System (CEPS), Feeding City Heights, supportive services, and other assigned programs and initiatives.
- Ensure programs meet goals, contractual requirements, funder deliverables, regulatory requirements, service standards, and appropriate internal controls.
- Oversee subcontractors, service partners, consultants, and external providers associated with assigned programs.
- Use resident feedback, performance data, and best practices to improve, expand, or redesign programs and ensure services remain accessible, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed.
Real Estate Development & Transaction Oversight
- Oversee assigned real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, leases, purchase and sale agreements, due diligence, financing, and closings in coordination with Executive Leadership and external advisors.
- Supervise tenant improvement (TI), build-out, and capital improvement projects for City Heights CDC facilities, including the new commercial space, coordinating architects, contractors, consultants, budgets, schedules, permits, and change orders.
- Proactively identify and evaluate opportunities to acquire, preserve, rehabilitate, or develop additional affordable housing and community-serving real estate in City Heights.
- Build relationships with property owners, developers, brokers, lenders, public agencies, affordable housing partners, and community development financial institutions that may generate future development opportunities.
- Coordinate feasibility, due diligence, project budgets, financing strategies, and risk assessment, and provide timely recommendations and escalation to Executive Leadership.
Community Partnerships & Resource Coordination
- Build and maintain relationships with government agencies, community-based organizations, property management partners, service providers, funders, and other stakeholders.
- Develop partnerships and referral pathways that expand access to housing, financial, workforce, health, food security, legal, and supportive resources.
- Represent City Heights CDC in relevant coalitions, workgroups, advisory bodies, and community initiatives and identify collaborations that advance the organization's mission.
Team Leadership & Development
- Lead, supervise, coach, and develop a multidisciplinary team responsible for housing stability and supportive services.
- Set clear performance expectations, conduct regular supervision and evaluations, and address performance or capacity issues promptly.
- Ensure staff maintain required training, certifications, and competencies and identify opportunities for professional and leadership development.
- Foster a collaborative, inclusive, solutions-oriented, and high-accountability team culture.
Data, Outcomes & Compliance
- Ensure accurate, complete, and timely program documentation, data collection, reporting, and audit readiness.
- Establish and monitor key performance indicators and outcomes related to housing stability, resident engagement, supportive services, and departmental goals.
- Ensure compliance with applicable contracts, grants, regulations, data standards, and funder requirements.
- Use data, resident feedback, and community trends to evaluate performance and provide regular updates and recommendations to organizational leadership.
Budget, Fundraising & Resource Development
- Develop, manage, and monitor departmental and program budgets in collaboration with organizational leadership and Finance, maintaining accountability for responsible stewardship of assigned funding.
- Identify funding gaps, emerging needs, and opportunities to strengthen program sustainability and growth.
- Contribute program expertise, outcomes, budgets, and impact data to grant proposals, reports, funding requests, and other development activities.
- Participate in funder cultivation and identify new public, philanthropic, corporate, and other resource opportunities that advance departmental and organizational priorities.
Emergency Response & Organizational Leadership
- Lead and coordinate responses to resident or community emergencies related to housing displacement, food insecurity, utilities, or other critical needs.
- Maintain appropriate emergency-response protocols and coordinate with organizational leadership and external partners during significant incidents or emerging needs.
- Exercise sound judgment in sensitive, complex, or time-sensitive situations and perform other duties consistent with the scope and leadership level of the position.
Qualifications
Required
- Bachelor's degree in social work, public administration, nonprofit management, community development, housing, real estate, human services, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
- Minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in housing, resident services, supportive services, community development, affordable housing, real estate development, or a related field.
- Demonstrated experience managing programs, contracts, grants, or publicly funded services, including responsibility for goals, outcomes, compliance, and budgets.
- Experience supporting or managing real estate transactions, development projects, capital improvements, or TI/build-out work and coordinating with brokers, contractors, architects, lenders, legal counsel, or public agencies.
- Supervisory and team leadership experience, including coaching, performance management, staff development, and accountability.
- Strong relationship-building and communication skills, with experience working across government, community, funder, service-provider, and diverse resident stakeholders.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, exercise sound judgment, and operate effectively in a fast-paced, community-centered environment.
- Commitment to equity, inclusion, cultural responsiveness, and community-centered service delivery.
Preferred
- Master's degree in social work, public administration, nonprofit management, community development, real estate, or a related field.
- Direct experience with affordable housing development, acquisition, preservation, rehabilitation, or community development real estate.
- Experience managing TI/build-out, construction, or capital improvement projects, including budgets, schedules, contractors, and change orders.
- Experience with real estate due diligence, feasibility analysis, affordable housing finance, public subsidies, tax credits, CDFI financing, land use, entitlements, or permitting.
- Experience with eviction prevention, housing stabilization, homelessness prevention, government contracts, HMIS/Salesforce, or complex grant-funded programs.
- Knowledge of San Diego's housing and community development landscape; bilingual or multilingual skills relevant to the communities served are a plus.
