Minimum Qualifications:
Associate’s degree or higher from a college or technical school and 1 year or more of related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Additional Qualifications (Agency/Dept. Qualifications):
Highly organized and detail oriented. Community-minded and respectful of those in need. Excellent interpersonal skills to communicate with home owners, contractors, tenants, landlords and public officials from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Bachelor’s degree in planning or a related field is preferred. Specific experience with the HOME, CDBG and/or Fair Housing programs is highly preferred. Familiarity with home repair and general contracting work is preferred. Experience administering grant programs is desired.
Summary: Licking County Planning & Development is a great team of people that have the privilege of guiding a growing central Ohio community in various facets of development, infrastructure, and quality of life. Our team consists of multiple planning professionals that have the opportunity to impact our community through housing programs, transportation planning, land use & environmental controls, and community planning. We achieve results through a variety of short term projects and long-term planning efforts. We currently have a professional planning position open and welcome your interest in joining our talented team.
This position is primarily responsible for administering the county’s housing rehabilitation program (CHIP-Community Housing Impact and Preservation), Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, and Fair Housing program. In addition, this position may assist with the securing, implementing, coordinating, or administering of various other local, state, or federal grant programs (i.e. Ohio Public Works-SCIP/LTIP, NRAC-Clean Ohio, etc.).
Hours: 40 hours per week, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Salary: $35,000 - $52,000, depending on qualifications
Duties:
General
• Demonstrates regular and predictable attendance.
• Promotes and maintains positive and effective working relationships and promotes good public relationships as a representative of Licking County Government.
• Provides all necessary housing studies, paperwork, and records to provide any federal, state, local, or private sector grant or loan funding being received by Licking County Board of Commissioners or as part of a community development incentive. Common plans are regularly tied to CHIP grants, Economic Development grants, and Community Reinvestment Areas.
• Writes grant applications, housing strategies, and reports.
• Provides support to or act as a liaison for OPWC District 17 Integrating Committee or the District 17 NRAC Committee in technical assistance to applicants, application processing, preparation of spreadsheets, mailings, notices, etc.
• Contributes to the Department’s annual budget process, year-end CAFR, and/or audit processes as necessary.
• Meets all job safety requirements and all applicable PERRP safety standards that pertain to the essential functions of the position and all agency safety procedures.
• Remains informed of current developments and procedures pertinent to duties; may be required to attend seminars/training.
Housing Rehabilitation Program
• Works with clients during the home rehabilitation application process, including: review of completed applications, ensuring required documentation for loan approval (e.g. appraisals, title work, income verifications, etc.), verification with Development Director for approval, notifications to the client, and regular monitoring of open loans.
• Prepares, executes, and files all mortgage loan documents (e.g., mortgage, note, disclosure statement, right of revision, borrower's responsibilities form, lead-based paint disclosure form, floodplain data form, etc.).
• Coordinates with fiscal officer to ensure fund availability and proper fund usage on all rehabilitation projects.
• Prepares and executes contracts, pay requests, change orders, and other documents (e.g. bid summary, notice to proceed, etc.) among contractor, homeowner, and Licking County.
• Informs participants of project and fiscal status by maintaining and keeping project files updated. Responds to inquiries from clients/lending institutions/mortgage companies regarding loan subordination, loan payoff, etc.
• Ensures continuing eligibility requirements are being maintained (i.e. annual household income verification, necessary loan modifications)
• Prepares and submits quarterly, annual, and final reports to government agency funding source; prepares and submits quarterly status reports for Licking County's Community Development Advisory Commission (CDAC).
• Maintains contact with housing programs of local social service/government agencies in order to coordinate/combine services.
• Prepares requests for proposal (RFPs) for housing rehabilitation contracting opportunities (appraiser, title company, credit bureau, fee inspector); prepares and executes contracts.
• Schedules outreach, promotion, advertising, and conducts public hearings/meetings required by CHIP & CDBG grant.
• Administers the housing rehabilitation program in accordance with all local, state, and federal requirements, and policies. Recommends and implements local policy/procedure changes for housing rehabilitation program in conjunction with the guidelines of the funding agency.
Community Development Block Grant Program
• Plans, develops, and oversees various state and federally funded community development projects through preparation and administration of grant projects.
• Prepares all requests for proposals, bid documents and packages, advertisements, and requests for resolutions; ensures accurate and timely completion of required documents and proper routing of documents for approval and signature; conducts environmental reviews and assessments for projects; prepares minutes of meetings as required.
• Monitors on-going projects to ensure compliance with local, state, and federal guidelines and project time frames including; site inspections, communication between engineer/contractor and community representative, serving as labor compliance officer (i.e. payroll reports, on-site wage interviews), and ensuring contractor eligibility.
• Gathers data and prepares required reports on projects (e.g., project status, expenditures, etc.) and submits them to the proper agencies.
• Coordinates financial account activities with fiscal officer and/or administrative assistant/bookkeeper, including; ensuring fund availability and usage, pay requests, change orders, and contract documents.
• Keeps accurate and organized project files through continual maintenance and updates.
Fair Housing Program
• Responds to Fair Housing calls, and keeps record of Fair Housing inquiries. Maintains proper documentation of seminars attended and provided, complaints and a record of actions taken dealing with any fair housing issues presented to the office.
• Provides Federal Fair Housing materials and information. Provides Fair Housing training and outreach activities identified in CDBG & CHIP grant applications.
Application Procedures: Submit completed application, resume and cover letter to the Licking County Human Resources Department, 20 South Second Street, 3rd Floor, Newark, Ohio 43055. Applications can be obtained in person in the Human Resources Department between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. daily or printed from the web site at www.lcounty.com.
Successful candidates will be subject to Licking County’s pre-employment drug screen
Licking County is an Equal Opportunity Employer.