Introduction
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WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU
- Visit our State Employee Benefits Overview page!
- Work at a Forbes-recognized company! Connecticut is proud to be featured on both America's Best Employers by State and Best Employers for New Grads in 2024. With our dynamic job market and commitment to fostering a thriving workforce, Connecticut stands out as a top destination for both seasoned professionals and fresh graduates seeking to launch their careers.
- Professional growth and development opportunities.
- A healthy work/life balance to all employees.
POSITION HIGHLIGHTS
- First Shift.
- Full Time, 40 Hours/week.
- Monday through Friday.
- Hybrid telework options available.
- Location: 505 Hudson Street in Hartford.
The Housing Specialist 1 will assist local agencies and authorities in areas of program planning, design, operations, and management. This individual will serve as a liaison with agency administrative staff, state agencies and federal government entities, property managers, landlords, private consultants, advocates, service providers and attorneys on housing, and housing related and community development matters including agency projects and programs.
Additionally, the Housing Specialist 1 will:
- Review, analyze and process financial assistance applications, program plans, budgets, term sheets, contracts, revisions to contracts to ensure accuracy and conformity with statutory and agency requirements.
- Review and analyze Consolidated Applications for affordable housing programs, assessing the financial risk of borrowers, and determining whether to approve or deny loans based on established guidelines and eligibility criteria, primarily focused on providing access to housing for low- and moderate-income individuals in Connecticut
- Provide funding and other recommendations on financial applications.
- Review and process requests for disbursements, contract modifications and other program and project modifications requested by the financial assistance recipients and makes recommendations.
- Provide technical assistance to staff, state agencies and federal government entities relative to housing related programs including but not limited to moderate rental housing, rental homes for elderly, urban revitalization, tax abatement, relocation, housing site development, housing development corporations, downtown revitalization, incentive housing zones, local programs to facilitate affordable housing development, lead abatement, emergency shelters, transitional living, rapid re-housing, accessibility, homelessness reduction or prevention, fair housing, transit-oriented development and housing code enforcement.
- Performs additional duties as assigned.
ABOUT US
The Department of Housing, as the lead agency for housing matters for the State of Connecticut, is responsible for the creation of environmental review records for more than ten (10) federal grant programs associated with affordable housing and community development activities.
Watch the video below to see what it's like to be a State of Connecticut employee!
Selection Plan
TO APPLY
- In order to be considered for this job opening, you must meet the Minimum Qualifications as listed on this job opening. You must specify your qualifications on your application.
- The minimum experience and training requirements must be met by the close date on the job opening, unless otherwise specified.
- This position will be filled in accordance with contractual language, reemployment, SEBAC, transfer, promotion and merit employment rules.
- In order to receive educational credits toward qualification for this job posting, the institution must be accredited. If the institution of higher learning is located outside of the U.S., you are responsible for providing documentation from a recognized USA accrediting service which specializes in determining foreign education equivalencies to the recruiter listed on this job posting.
- For current state employees, salary calculations are not necessarily comparable from one of the three branches of state government (i.e., Executive, Legislative, Judicial) to the other.
- Ensure that your application is complete and detailed before submitting it. In order to comply with Public Act 21-69, the State of Connecticut is no longer asking for resumes during the initial application process. You will not be able to make revisions once your application is submitted into the JobAps system.
- Please select all location(s) and shift(s) you are willing to work on your application. Failure to do so may result in not being considered for vacancies in that specific location or shift.
- All application materials must be received by the recruiting agency by the time specified on the job opening for the position for which you are applying. Late applications may not be submitted and will not be considered. Exceptions are rare and limited to documented events that incapacitate a candidate during the entire duration of the job posting time period. It is the candidate’s obligation and responsibility to request an exception and provide a legally recognized justification to accommodate such exception. Requests should be made to DAS.SHRM@ct.gov.
FOR ASSISTANCE IN APPLYING
- Please read or watch our Applicant Tips on How to Apply.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AFTER YOU APPLY
- This posting may require completion of additional referral questions (RQs). You can access these RQs via an email that will be sent to you after the posting's closing date or by visiting your JobAps Personal Status Board (Certification Questionnaires section). Your responses to these RQs must be submitted by the questionnaire's expiration date. Please regularly check your email and JobAps Personal Status Board for notifications. Please check your SPAM and/or Junk folders on a daily basis in the event an email provider places auto-notification emails in a user's spam.
- Although applicants will receive correspondence via email, as a backup they are also encouraged to sign on to their Personal Status Board on a daily basis to monitor their status, view all emailed notices and complete tasks required in the recruitment process.
- Note: At any point during the recruitment process, applicants may be required to submit additional documentation which support their qualification(s) for this position. These documents may include: a cover letter, resume, performance reviews, attendance records, supervisory references, licensure, etc., at the discretion of the hiring agency.
- Interviews will be limited to candidates whose experience and training most closely meet the requirements of the position.
- Read through this helpful link to prepare for your interview.
- The immediate vacancy is listed above, however, applications to this recruitment may be used for future vacancies in this job class.
CONNECT WITH US
- Due to the large volume of applications received, we are unable to provide confirmation of receipt or status during the recruitment process. Updates will be available through your JobAps portal account. Should you have any questions pertaining to this recruitment, please contact Brittney Woodley at brittney.woodley@ct.gov.
PURPOSE OF JOB CLASS (NATURE OF WORK)
In the Department of Housing this class is accountable for independently performing a full range of tasks related to housing and/or community development programs and/or projects.
EXAMPLES OF DUTIES
- Reviews, analyzes and
processes financial assistance applications, program plans, budgets, term
sheets, contracts, revisions to contracts to ensure accuracy and conformity
with statutory and agency requirements;
- Provides funding and
other recommendations on financial applications;
- Reviews and processes
requests for disbursements, contract modifications and other program and
project modifications requested by the financial assistance recipients and
makes recommendations;
- Provides technical
assistance to staff, state agencies and federal government entities relative to
housing related programs including but not limited to moderate rental housing,
rental homes for elderly, urban revitalization, tax abatement, relocation,
housing site development, housing development corporations, downtown
revitalization, incentive housing zones, local programs to facilitate
affordable housing development, lead abatement, emergency shelters,
transitional living, rapid re-housing, accessibility, homelessness reduction or
prevention, fair housing, transit-oriented development and housing code
enforcement;
- Assists local agencies
and authorities in areas of program planning, design, operations and
management;
- Serves as liaison with
agency administrative staff, state agencies and federal government entities, property
managers, landlords, private consultants, advocates, service providers and
attorneys on housing, housing related and community development matters
including agency projects and programs;
- Performs inspections,
recertifications, reviews and evaluations to determine quality of program
operation, conformance with program plan and other contractual requirements and
effectiveness and makes recommendations;
- Prepares comprehensive
statistical, financial, budget, progress and other reports;
- Maintains and monitors
program budgets and completes related paperwork;
- Monitors status of
payment requests;
- May serve on committees,
task forces and work groups;
- May represent the agency
in meetings with financial assistance recipients and public fora;
- Performs related duties as required.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY
- Knowledge of
- local, state, federal
governmental and private resources available in the area of housing and
community development;
- the challenges and
programs related to the expansion of affordable housing, community
revitalization and homelessness reduction and prevention;
- social and economic
factors related to expansion of affordable housing, community revitalization
and homelessness reduction and prevention;
- Skills
- considerable oral and
written communication skills;
- interpersonal skills;
- Ability to
- review, analyze or
prepare financial assistance applications from local, state, or federal
governmental entities;
- plan, analyze and
evaluate housing programs and projects;
- utilize computer
software.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - GENERAL EXPERIENCE
Six (6) years of professional experience in the development and coordination of housing programs or projects or financial or technical advisory assistance to local, state, or federal government entities relative to housing or related housing matters.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - SUBSTITUTIONS ALLOWED
- College training may be
substituted for the General Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester
hours equalling one-half (1/2) year of experience to a maximum of four (4)
years for a Bachelor's Degree.
- A Master's Degree in
housing and community development, housing studies, housing and human
environments, urban planning, business administration, public administration or
a closely related field may be substituted for one (1) additional year of the
General Experience.
- For state employees, one
(1) year of experience as an Assistant Economic And Community Development
Agent, with a concentration in housing and community development, may be
substituted for the General Experience.
- Successful completion of
a Connecticut Careers Trainee program approved by the Department of
Administrative Services may be substituted for the General Experience.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience related to federal resources available in the areas of housing and community development.
- Experience related to Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC).
- Experience related to financing housing construction or rehabilitation.
- Experience in providing financial or technical assistance to local, state, or federal government entities.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
- Incumbents in this class may be required to travel.
- Incumbents in this class may be required to possess and retain a valid Motor Vehicle Operator’s license.
- Incumbents in this class may be required to speak a foreign language.
Conclusion
AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
As defined by Sec. 5-196 of the Connecticut General Statutes, a job
class is a position or group of positions that share general characteristics
and are categorized under a single title for administrative purposes. As such, a job class is not meant to be
all-inclusive of every task and/or responsibility.