Executive Director of Compliance

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation 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.


Your Team

The Executive Director of Compliance will play a key policy and implementation role for the new Office of Compliance & Risk Management (CRM). This Office is centralizing various compliance, oversight, and hearing functions from across the agency critical to ensure fairness, consistency, and equity in both our external and internal engagement. CRM will collaborate with programs across HPD to ensure the agency and its partners comply with laws (federal, state, and city), regulatory requirements, policies, and procedures. The Office includes the following Divisions and units:
- Adjudications
- Economic Opportunity & Regulatory Compliance
- Public Information
- Audit Support

Your Impact

CRM will be responsible for coordinating the agency’s compliance programs, liaising with the units and staff responsible for relevant compliance responsibilities, audit responses, site standard adherence for financed construction work, public-facing appeals and hearings, and managing risk for the agency. The Executive Director of Compliance will use their expertise to provide leadership and technical assistance for CRM and compliance functions throughout the agency. They will ensure the agency is meeting Federal, State, and City obligations; promote the seamless integration of compliance into HPD program administration and operations; and strengthen agency compliance culture.

Your Role

Reporting to the CRM Chief of Staff, the Executive Director of Compliance will manage cross-agency programmatic and reporting obligations and assist with policies and procedures for program monitoring and provide compliance-focused technical assistance and training for staff throughout the agency. The person in this role will work closely and liaise with Offices and Divisions throughout HPD, such as Enforcement & Neighborhood Services (ENS), Development, Asset & Property Management (APM), Neighborhood Strategies (ONS), Housing Access & Stability (HAS), Policy & Strategy (OPS), Finance & Administration (OFA), and Legal Affairs (OLA) for effective monitoring, tracking, and coordinating of federal requirements. The Executive Director of Compliance will support and bolster the compliance work already being done by HPD staff.

Your Responsibilities

The Executive Director of Compliance will oversee a team responsible for ensuring programmatic and reporting requirements for the agency’s many compliance activities. This involves monitoring legislative and regulatory changes, assessing their impact and risk related to HPD programs and operations, and coordinating reporting requirements across the agency’s departments.
- Identify strategic priorities for agency compliance efforts, including a means to evaluate and prioritize programs for risk mitigation efforts
o Work with agency staff to proactively identify potential noncompliance risk and assist programs with setting up internal controls, addressing problems, and setting up programs for efficient compliance moving forward.
- Implement and/or enhance processes and systems to effectively inventory, coordinate, and monitor compliance activities. This includes:
o Strengthening the process for monitoring regulatory changes and keep stakeholders abreast of changes.
o Overseeing the creation, modification, and implementation of policies and procedures using language that is clear to all program staff, while incorporating the intricacies and nuances of complex federal, state, or city requirements.
o Work closely with program areas to identify compliance requirements and provide guidance and support to ensure their readiness for reporting deadlines and/or audits.
o Create training materials and other resources to support programs based on research, surveys, and accepted best practices.
- Manage CDBG-specific reporting
o Coordinate external CDBG audits with HUD and/or OMB
o This also includes federal requirements like Section 3 and Build America Buy America (BABA)
- Oversee a team of three Compliance Specialists who will focus on compliance for federally funded programs, cross-agency reporting and related operations, and lead and Healthy Homes programs to:
o Inventory, coordinate, and monitor agency compliance requirements
o Provide technical assistance to programs, especially related to documenting policies and procedures
o Train or assist with training materials to ensure they are written in easy-to-understand language
- Provide guidance to staff throughout the agency on:
o How to properly collect data/documents and prepare mandated reports
o Assist interpretation of mandates, in conjunction with OLA and OFA
o Best practices and providing support to a broad network of staff throughout HPD who do or are interested in compliance work including providing regular opportunities to share ideas and information.
o For those areas already managing federal reporting obligations, the Executive Director may provide support through internal audits or other review functions.
- Oversee outreach and education to external partners to ensure agency compliance, as needed
- Assist the Chief Compliance Officer and Chief of Staff with special projects as needed.

Preferred Skills

The ideal candidate will be an inquisitive self-starter and problem-solver with demonstrated leadership skills in the field of compliance, risk management, and/or grant monitoring. They will be eager to utilize and share their expertise, setting the foundation for long term agency compliance and a risk management framework. They should have proven experience and skills:
- At least three years in a role responsible for interpreting, implementing and/or monitoring legislation, legal documents, and/or other regulatory frameworks, with a focus on federal funding or programs
o Demonstrated understanding of how to transform high-level legislation or policy into programs
o Experience in organizational or operational change with a strong focus on maximizing service delivery
- Strong attention to detail and excellent organizational and problem-solving abilities
- Ability to balance a variety of projects and priorities for a fast-paced, high-volume workload
- Collaborative team player with strong interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written)
- Passion for public service with a commitment to ensuring effective management of and adherence to policies, procedures, and requirements

Minimum Qualifications

Candidates must meet the qualifications of Strategic Initiative Specialist and have a minimum of five years in relevant and related roles demonstrating successful project management capacity and increasing levels of responsibility.

Please submit a cover letter as part of your application.

Note: This position is eligible for remote work up to two days per week, pursuant to the Remote Work Pilot Program agreed to between the City and OSA.


HPD's vision is to promote strength and diversity in our workforce and an inclusive and equitable work environment.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVE SPECIALIS - 13403

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college with emphasis in transportation, city or urban planning, sustainability, civil or transportation engineering, urban studies or design, architecture, business or public administration, economics, operations research, organizational behavior, or a related field; and two (2) years of satisfactory, full-time experience in an area related to the above-described duties; or

2. A satisfactory equivalent of education and experience. However, all candidates must possess at least one year of the experience as described under “1”.

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.