CDBG Housing Program Lead – Disaster Recovery

CDBG Housing Program Lead – Disaster Recovery

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in public administration, public policy, government, business administration, or a related discipline or 8+ years CDBG and/or CDBG-DR/MIT experience.
• 5+ years of CDBG-DR/MIT experience
• 3+ years of experience with disaster housing recovery programs.
• Ability to provide expert-level CDBG-DR technical assistance to grantees and subrecipients.
• 1+ year of experience writing technical guidance or procedures.

Responsibilities

• Manage teams and processes that implement CDBG-DR/MIT housing programs, including application intake, eligibility review, income verification, damage assessments, construction management, and closeout.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of housing program documentation, including policies and procedures, program guidelines, and standard operating procedures (SOPs), ensuring alignment with federal, state, and local requirements.
• Lead the creation and refinement of program tools and materials such as applicant forms, income verification guides, relocation protocols, environmental review checklists, and construction oversight templates.
• Supervise staff responsible for evaluating housing applications, determining applicant eligibility, preparing scopes of work, reviewing construction bids, and managing project budgets and schedules.
• Ensure compliance with CDBG-DR housing program requirements, including national objectives, duplication of benefits, income qualification, environmental review, lead-based paint, labor standards, and fair housing.
• Deliver training to internal teams on program requirements, workflow processes, and federal regulations to maintain consistent, high-quality service delivery.
• Coordinate data collection, reporting, and system updates to track progress and performance, ensure data integrity, and support client reporting requirements.
• Conduct quality assurance reviews of program files and construction work to ensure compliance, timeliness, and client satisfaction.
• Lead and participate in regular internal and client-facing meetings to review performance, address challenges, and adapt strategies to evolving program needs.
• Travel throughout the greater Chicago region and work from client offices several days a week, potentially full time, may be required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in a consulting firm, development organization, or public agency preferred.
• Experience delivering training and technical assistance to and/or implementing projects on behalf of state and local government agencies.
• Experience working in or with Illinois state or Chicago-area governments or non-profit organizations.
• Experience with creation of disaster recovery, housing and community development subject-related materials, such as training and technical assistance tools, presentations, handouts, etc.
• Project and operational management skills.
• Excellent analytical and qualitative strategic thinking capabilities and collaboration skills.
• Excellent verbal, interpersonal and written communication skills.
• Skill in managing multiple projects, competing deadlines and stakeholder interests with timeliness, accuracy, and quality.