HOUSING SPECIALIST III

HQS Inspector

Recruitment #2207-1423-001

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Introduction


The City of Tucson, Housing & Community Development Department (HCDD) is seeking motivated team players who are interested in making a difference in our community by participating in the process of assisting families to access Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) affordable housing opportunities by performing Housing Quality Standards inspections. If you are an energetic, organized, detail-oriented individual who enjoys public interaction, come join our dynamic team to assist Tucsonan's and families throughout Pima County to improve their housing options and their lives.

HQS INSPECTOR:  The primary function of a Housing Specialist III - Housing Quality Standards Inspector is to perform specialized office and fieldwork involving planning, implementing, and coordinating Section 8 housing, Public Housing, and affordable housing unit inspection activities for the City of Tucson's Housing & Community Development Department. 

Primary Job Responsibilities include: coordinating and scheduling Section 8 housing, inspecting Section 8 housing units and preparing inspection and failure reports.

General Description

This classification is a lead-level position whose principal responsibility is to ensure housing units meet quality standards by conducting Housing Quality Standards inspections as outlined by local, State, and Federal laws and regulations.   This classification is also responsible for providing a wide variety of public assistance by managing caseloads, determining eligibility of housing assistance, and performing administrative duties.  Additionally, this classification will research and negotiate rent with property owners and act as a liaison between owners, tenants, and government agencies to provide low income housing assistance.  Employees in this classification must be able to understand, apply, and enforce appropriate regulations and assist customers in person, over the phone, and through e-mail.

Essential Functions

Provides technical guidance and training to lower level staff; reviews workloads, assigns work and coaches employees with specialized instructions and practices for job accomplishments; may contribute to other employees’ performance evaluations, assists with hiring process by interviewing, makes recommendations, and provides input to supervisory staff

Inspects housing units by scheduling and performing inspections for compliance with appropriate regulations and documents results; re-inspects deficient housing units to ensure deficiencies are corrected; initiates termination of contracts for landlord and/or tenant deficiencies

Ensures rent reasonableness as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development by researching and compiling rental market data; negotiates rental amounts with property owners

Manages caseloads by maintaining waiting lists, scheduling appointments, updating client files, making arrangements for inspections, preparing contracts for new move-ins, transfers, and re-examinations, calculating and collecting rent, approving rent increases as negotiated with owners, determining the client's needs, offering referrals to outside community agencies, explaining procedures, responding to complaints, and acting as a mediator between all related parties

Determines eligibility by interviewing clients, assisting clients with paperwork, reviewing and analyzing income, asset and deduction information, conducting and reviewing backgrounds, examining reports, and requesting third-party verification

Determines, certifies, and/or re-certifies participants’ assistance eligibility by verifying income, assets, and other financial data; checks for completeness and accuracy of transactions

Completes transfer requests and issues vouchers for families to move; initiates and executes termination of assistance for non-compliance with housing program regulations and/or Housing Quality Standards (HQS) deficiencies for Housing Choice Voucher programs or Uniform Physical Conditions Standards (UPCS) for Public Housing programs

Reviews new regulations and updates supervisory staff, as necessary

Provides seamless customer service by demonstrating tact and persuasion when dealing with customers who may be or become irate or distraught; resolves customer concerns by listening and asking questions, isolating concerns, demonstrating empathy, applying techniques to resolve concerns, and answering questions; researches inquiries and discrepancies; follows-up on complaints and concerns to ensure quality customer service is provided

Responds to telephone calls, compiles information, maintains logs and files, generates maintenance work orders, processes paperwork, prepares reports, enters information into a computer system, reviews files for accuracy, and prepares correspondence

Reconciles purchasing card transactions

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum Education Level & Type: 6 months post High School

Minimum Experience Qualifications:  At least 2 years Assisted housing, human services, community development programs, property management, rental and property contract negotiations, or code enforcement

Special Job Requirements

KNOWLEDGE OF:
• Federal, State local and HUD regulations
• Federal housing quality standards for decent, safe, and sanitary housing conditions 
• Standard practices and procedures for field inspection 
• Housing division policies, procedures, and guidelines
• English grammar, spelling and punctuation
• Traffic laws and rules involved in vehicle operation
• Federal, State and County OSHA regulations and City policies regarding safe work practices

ABILITY TO:
• Follow written and oral instructions
• Understand and/or interpret layouts, and/or maps to locate housing units and to conduct inspections
• Handle confidential and sensitive issues in an appropriate manner
• Prepare clear and concise written reports and maintain review, inspection, and enforcement records and findings, documents, correspondence, and related files and records
• Perform basic mathematical calculations in order to calculate quantities, trends, times, distances, measures and weights
• Detect defects of design, workmanship, materials, and other hazards in an on-site inspection 
• Adhere to site specific safety procedures (ex. hard hat, safety boots, safety vest, etc.) 
• Operate a motor vehicle
• Operate hand tools
• Operate a personal computer and related software and demonstrate proficiency to prepare inspection reports, documents, databases, e-mail and timesheets
• Communicate effectively and establish and maintain working relationships with employees, housing applicants, residents, landlords/managers, property owners and the public, including in difficult and sometimes adversarial circumstances

WORK ENVIRONMENT:
Primary duties of this class are performed in an outdoor environment that may involve adverse weather conditions and related hazards

ESSENTIAL PHYSICAL ABILITIES:
• Sufficient clarity of speech and hearing or other communication capabilities, with or without reasonable accommodation, which permits the employee to discern verbal instructions and communicate with others
• Sufficient vision or other powers of observation, with or without reasonable accommodation, which permits the employee to comprehend written work instructions, technical documents, and diagrams, and move through unfamiliar buildings and across rough terrain
• Sufficient manual dexterity with or without reasonable accommodation, which permits the employee to operate standard office equipment, a personal computer, and make adjustments to the equipment and operate a motor vehicle 
• Sufficient body mobility, flexibility, and balance, to perform housing inspections that require bending, stooping, kneeling, stretching, and other physical exertions climbing ladders on housing roofs
• Sufficient ability to endure prolonged exposure to arid desert conditions, i.e. prolonged sun and heat exposure during summer months

Preferred Qualifications

  • Housing Quality Standards (HQS) Inspector Certification
  • Prior experience conduction Housing Quality Standards inspections
  • Knowledge of and familiarity with Housing Quality Standards regulations

Selection Plan

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING WRITTEN EXAM - Rater Reviewed Supplemental Questions:

**SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONS WILL BE SCORED AS A COMPONENT OF YOUR OVERALL SCORE FOR THIS RECRUITMENT SO IT IS CRITICAL THAT THEY ARE SUBMITTED AS INDICATED IN YOUR APPLICATION**

Applicants MUST attach a resume to the application.  The RESUME may not exceed two typed pages: 

As part of the online application process all applicants are required to submit a resume under the "Resume" tab. The system will allow you to upload one document so you will want to scan your resume into one document for uploading purposes. Resumes may also be sent via email to neil.nickol@tucsonaz.gov by no later than the job closing date.  Please ensure your application contains the required resume prior to submission, or email to the email address above prior to submission. If submitting via email, please indicate "HOUSING SPECIALIST III / HQS INSPECTOR RECRUITMENT" in the subject line.  Applications received without a resume will be considered incomplete.


Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications will be evaluated on the education and work experience in their employment profile and the responses to their supplemental questions, as well as their written exam, which consists of resume and cover letter indicated in the instructions above. 

 The highest scoring applicants will be invited to participate in an oral board interview.


    • Top scoring applicants from the T&E and written exam (rater reviewed Supplemental Questions) will be invited to participate in an Oral Board Interview. Please note that Oral Board interviews will be conducted in person unless a candidate notifies the HR Analyst they are out of town/state, in which case a virtual interview via Microsoft Teams will be accommodated. Interviews are subject to change based on current COVID-19 protocol at time of Oral Board interviews,

**It is important to note that the City of Tucson uses Microsoft Teams for its Virtual Oral Board Interviews. Please ensure that you have access to this software application, and a working camera, if you request a virtual interview due to being out of town/state as you will be required to appear on camera for the Oral Board portion of this recruitment.


Oral board interviews will be scheduled for August 24, 2022 and/or August 25, 2022.

Hiring interviews may be conducted.

Upon completion of all examination processes, the highest scoring applicants will be placed on the Civil Service Employment List.  An applicant's ranking on the Civil Service list will be based on their final score which will be calculated as:  

15% of your rating for Training, Education, Work Experience and Supplemental Questionnaire

15% of your rating for written exam - Supplemental Questions Review 

70% of your Oral Board Interview   

This recruitment will establish a civil service list that will be utilized to fill vacancies in Housing & Community Development Department within the next 6 months. 

Veterans, Native American, or Disability preference points will be added to the final score for those that are placed on the Civil Service Employment List.  If you qualify for preference points as outlined in the Employment Profile, you must upload your documentation as part of the application process.  The DD 214 must be a copy that indicates characterization of service. If you are in need of Americans with Disabilities Act-related accommodation during the testing process, please contact Neil Nickol by email at Neil.Nickol@tucsonaz.gov or by phone at (520) 837-6947 at least 48 hours prior to the evaluation.

Conclusion

You are highly encouraged to print this bulletin because it contains important testing dates and information that you will need to refer to later, as it will not be available after the closing date.

Additionally, communication during this process will be sent via email, so please ensure your browser accepts emails from jobs@tucsonaz.gov and check your email account regularly. Failure to respond or follow instructions may result in disqualification.

 

**The City of Tucson values the safety of our employees, our residents, our community, and our visitors. In support of these values, if you are selected for this job, you must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, except when vaccination is not medically advised or violates your sincerely held religious beliefs. If you are invited to join our team, you must submit proof that you are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to your initial HR representative, or you must request an exemption from your representative. New employees must either provide proof of vaccination or be granted a medical or religious exemption before working with the City of Tucson.**

Pre-employment Medical Testing Requirements

None