City of Sandusky - Chief Neighborhood Development Officer

Chief Neighborhood Development Officer
Pay Range – A3
Department of Community Development

Job Title:  Chief Neighborhood Development Officer 

Reports To:  Director of Community Development

Supervises Directly:  Yes

Supervises through subordinates:  None

Purpose for the Position: 
To address the neighborhood development needs of the City by engaging stakeholders, administering programs, and leading initiatives to create an environment conducive to neighborhood revitalization.

Essential Responsibilities: 
Implements real estate, housing, community-building and neighborhood development activities.

Works in concert with other departments to bring developable housing and neighborhood-based commercial parcels of real estate to market through efforts including, but not limited to, brownfield redevelopment and remediation, demolition and marketing.

Develops and implements strategies to create vibrant neighborhood retail districts.

Serves as a liaison to community groups and residents to increase engagement and participation by organizing community functions, marketing and promoting city resources, and coordinating activities.  

Leads the creation of new partnerships and/or organizations to support collective marketing, programming, placemaking, maintenance, merchant coordination, and volunteerism in Sandusky neighborhoods.

Promotes and administers enterprise zone and community reinvestment area tax abatement program incentives to support neighborhood investment.

Maintains and develops contacts with professional land and building developers, realtors, entrepreneurs, government officials, private industry representatives, Chamber of Commerce, Erie County, Lake Erie Shores and Islands and others related to neighborhood development activities.

Develops and coordinates financial incentive programs/grants and loans available to support housing and neighborhood development initiatives. 

Manages Housing and Neighborhood Development staff members and programs. 

Maintains current data regarding neighborhood districts and vacant/abandoned properties.

Confers with and updates the Director of Community Development, the City administration and City Commission as appropriate.

Serves on various committees, boards and non-profit organizations as a representative of the City of Sandusky.

Annually reviews and updates existing neighborhood development programs and initiatives. 

Performs any other duties and responsibilities as determined by the City Manager and the Director of Community Development.

Ability to understand and communicate written instructions. 

Related and other duties as required.

Responsible to self-initiate activities consistent with the City of Sandusky’s and department’s goals and objectives including all existing strategic plans. 

Must report to work at required time and date and maintain a responsible attendance record. 

The ability to follow a supervisor’s instructions, tolerate certain levels of stress, and attend work on a punctual, regular basis.

The avoidance of violent behavior that threatens the safety of other employees.

The following responsibilities are critical to the effective performance of this position:

Acts in compliance with established city policies and procedures and standards of conduct. 

Acts in compliance with local, state, and federal laws and regulations.

Coordinates activities with other departments.

Directs, manages, coordinates and evaluates the effectiveness and operations of the assigned unit of the City.

Formulates and develops plans, policies, procedures, goals, objectives and regulations necessary to achieve an effective level of organizational performance within the assigned unit of the City.

Assists in the development and achievement of goals and objectives.

Physical Demands: 
Light Work:  Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally (Occasionally:  activity or condition exists up to 1/3 of the time), and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently (Frequently:  activity or condition exists from 1/3 to 2/3 of the time), and/or a negligible amount of force constantly (Constantly:  activity or condition exists 2/3 or more of the time) to move objects.  Requires walking or standing to a significant degree, or requires sitting most of the time but entails pushing and/or pulling of arm or leg controls, or requires working at a production rate pace entailing the constant pushing and/or pulling or materials even though the weight of those materials is negligible.  Fingering.  Feeling.  Seeing.  Hearing

Environmental Conditions: 
Inside:  Protection from weather conditions but not necessarily from temperature changes.  A job is considered “inside” if the worker spends approximately 75 percent or more of the time inside

Reasoning, Mathematical and Language Development are indicative of the general level of development required to do this job.  Some, but not necessarily all, areas mentioned in this section will be included in this job.

Reasoning Development:  
Apply principles of rational systems to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.  Interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagrammatic, or schedule form.

Math Development:  
Compute discount, interest, profit and loss or commission, markups and selling price or ratio and proportion, and percentages or calculate surface, volumes, weights and measures.

Must be able to review and understand certain economic statements and development proformas including, but not limited to, sources and uses statements, construction costs estimates, profit and loss statements, and cashflows.

Language Development: 
Read newspapers, periodicals, journals, and manuals.  Write business letters, summaries, and reports, using prescribed format, and conforming to all rules of punctuation, grammar, diction, and style.  Participate in discussion and debates.  Speak extemporaneously on a variety of subjects.  Adequately and professionally communicate with staff, subordinates and citizens.

Relationships to Data, People and Things:

Data:  Coordinating:  Determining time, place, and sequence of operations or action to be taken on the basis of analysis of data; executing determination of and/or reporting on events.

People:  Supervising:  Determining or interpreting work procedures for a group of workers, assigning specific duties to them, maintaining harmonious relations among them and promoting efficiency.  A variety of responsibilities is involved in this function.

Things:  Precision Working:  Using body members and/or tools or work aids to work, move, guide or place objects or materials in situations where ultimate responsibility for the attainment of standards occurs and selection of appropriate tools, objects or materials and the adjustment of the tool to the task require exercise of considerable judgement.

To do this job, you must have the following licenses or certifications before being hired:

Valid Ohio Driver’s License.

To do this job, you must have the following amount of total education and/or experience:

High School Diploma

Required qualifications include a Bachelor’s Degree in business administration, accounting, public administration, economics, planning, urban development, marketing, or similar discipline with experience in economic development, grantsmanship, or equivalent combination of education and experience.