Community Services Manager

Job Description:

Community Services Manager

Description

Job Characteristics

***OPEN & PROMOTIONAL JOB OPPORTUNITY***
COMMUNITY SERVICES MANAGER

The City of Concord is currently seeking to fill a Community Services Manager vacancy in the Housing and Community Services Division of the Community Development Department. This position is open until filled and may close at any time. The first round of applications will be reviewed the week of February 17, 2025.

The Community Development Department:
The City of Concord’s Community Development Department, or CDD, is home to several divisions, which work together to maintain and improve the quality of life for residents and visitors. From Planning and Housing to Building and Engineering, CDD focuses on enhancing the quality of life for Concord’s residents and businesses.
The Housing and Community Services Division is responsible for implementation of the Homeless Strategic Plan and administration of federal and state grants to support lower-income residents with a goal of improving the quality of life for the community.

What you will be doing: The Community Services Manager will be responsible for supervising and directing the operations and activities of the Community Services portion of the Housing and Community Services Division, which encompass both administration of local, state, and federal grant programing and implementation of the City’s Homeless Strategic Plan. The Community Services Manager reports to the Director of Community Development.

More specifically, this position will be responsible for identifying community service gaps as it pertains to homelessness and developing recommendations to direct funding for the greatest impact to the community; and ensuring the City is compliance with its grant funding and reporting obligations. This position is also responsible for the development and monitoring of the Division’s budget.
We are looking for someone who:

• Possesses experience with relationship building with elected and appointed officials, community partners, and stakeholder groups with a focus on cooperation and consensus building.
• Possess exceptional oral and written communication, active listening skills, clear articulation, and the ability to adapt one’s communication style when engaging with the public, community partners, and elected officials.
• Has the ability to manage a portfolio of grantees to ensure compliance with the requirements of the City’s awarded grant funds, including drafting and execution of grant agreements, reviewing monthly compliance reports to ensure contract compliance, auditing grant awardees, and manage data entry into the City’s data portal.
• Can develop and complete an ongoing assessment of the City’s key strengths, priorities, and gaps in the City’s ability to address homelessness and to develop strategies to improve the City’s response.
• Embraces and is guided by the City’s Mission, Vision and Values .

What we offer:
The City of Concord offers the opportunity to take part in a collaborative and exciting work experience, where you can grow in your career while working alongside the community to make Concord a city of the highest quality. The City is an employer that invests in its employees’ professional and personal development, values work-life balance, is dedicated to employee wellness and provides numerous benefit and retirement options, to include the following:

• Participation in CalPERS pension, tiered based on date of hire
  
• A variety of health care plans or a cash-in-lieu benefit of $200 if waiving coverage
  
• City-paid dental insurance; employee-paid vision insurance
  
• Vacation accruals starting at 15 days per year, 12 days of sick leave per year, 11 paid holidays per year, plus 80 hours of administrative leave per year available upon completion of probation
  
• Generous tuition reimbursement program
  
• 401(k) and 457 deferred compensation plans, including an employer paid contribution of 3% plus $2000 annually
  
• Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) for healthcare, dependent care and commuting costs
  
• Life insurance in the amount of twice the annual salary (up to $400,000 max) and disability insurance
  
• A wellness program that offers fitness classes, annual health expos, health and nutrition education, as well as a variety of mental health resources
  
• Option for alternative work schedules, based on prior approval
  
  

*Salary is negotiable within the advertised range. Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice. Additional information can be found at www.cityofconcord.org .

The Community:
Nestled in the foothills of Mt. Diablo, Concord is a major East Bay community located 29 miles east of San Francisco and 58miles north of San Jose. With a population of almost 130,000 residents occupying an area of 31 square miles, Concord is the largest city in Contra Costa County. The City’s central location offers easy access to the entire Bay Area including Oakland, San Francisco, and the Silicon Valley. Concord has much to offer; its local lifestyle reflects a careful blending of the City’s early California heritage, along with modern planned development. It is a harmonious community of quiet neighborhoods, an excellent park system, convenient shopping centers, large preserves of open space, a state-of-the-art hospital, and a wide variety of restaurants. Additionally, diverse public and private educational opportunities for students of all ages are available in Concord. Concord residents enjoy a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and mild winters. The ideal weather and natural beauty of Concord make the area ideal for visitors and locals seeking active outdoor activities. In Concord, where “Families Come First,” one is never far from a park or an open green space for active play or just relaxing. Todos Santos Plaza, the heart of downtown Concord, features a year-round Farmer’s Market, several seasonal and community celebrations, as well as serving as a wonderful outdoor space for all to enjoy.

SELECTION PROCESS

1. Submit a completed City of Concord application and the required supplemental question responses online at www.cityofconcord.org . A first review of applications will take place the week of February 17, 2025

2. All qualified applications and supplemental responses will be competitively evaluated, and those candidates demonstrating the strongest qualifications for the position will be invited to participate in a panel interview. If you are selected to participate in the panel interview and are unavailable, we regret that we will not be able to reschedule you.

Conviction History:

If you receive a conditional job offer, you will be fingerprinted, and your fingerprints will be sent to the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The resulting report of your conviction history (if any) will be used to determine whether the nature of your conviction conflicts with the specific duties and responsibilities of the job for which you have received a conditional job offer. If a conflict exists, you will be asked to present any evidence of rehabilitation that may mitigate the conflict, except when federal or state regulations bar employment in specific circumstances. Having a conviction history does not automatically preclude you from a job with the City of Concord.

Examples of duties include, but are not limited to

General

Promotes the City's Mission to make Concord a city of the highest quality by providing responsive, cost-effective, and innovative government services; understands and subscribes to the Mission, Vision and Values Statement adopted by the City.Sets work priorities, prepares work appraisals and discusses performance evaluations with assigned staff members; recommends official disciplinary actions as necessary; identifies and resolves work related complaints among assigned staff.Prepares and administers the Housing & Community Services Division budget, estimates revenues and exercises budget control for grants, community services, and housing programs. Oversees all sources of program revenue and administers funds.Makes presentations regarding housing and community services issues to groups such as the City Council, commissions, committees, citizen groups, and other agencies; actively participates in various committees and task forces in support of the City's community-oriented government initiatives.Tracks, reviews, and responds to proposed legislation affecting housing and community services related issues.Performs other work as assigned.

If assigned to Community Services
Researches, prepares and submits grant proposals to federal, state, and local agencies for funding related to homeless services.Develops and completes ongoing assessments of key strengths, priorities, and gaps in the City’s ability to effectively address homelessness and develop strategies to improve the City’s response to homelessness.Facilitates collaboration across all City Departments with responsibilities towards addressing homeless related issues, specifically the Departments of Public Works, Police, and Community Development.Creates and maintains an inventory of the resources available at the local, state, and federal level to prevent and respond to homelessness, including local public and private resources, as well as regional resources and strategies that have the potential to serve people within Concord.Facilitates meetings with service providers related to coordination of services, identification of needs and priorities for new or expanded services, and other items pertinent to assisting with management of the City’s response to homelessness.Researches and makes recommendations to the City Manager and City Council regarding strategies that best meet Concord’s needs within the context of available resources. This may include, but is not limited to, outreach, emergency shelter, and transitional and permanent housing models.Develops and maintains ongoing operational cost estimates for any City Council selected interventions; this includes identifying, pursuing and administering grants.Leads City communication efforts, along with the Community Relations Manager, on efforts and programs related to services and responses to homelessness in Concord, including participating at various community events.Develops the City's five-year CDBG Consolidated Plan and other annual reports for Community Services grant fund utilization. Analyzes community needs to determine programs and projects which will receive the greatest benefit from grant funding; provides staff support to City Council and various commissions; plans events with other cities and community services leaders. Coordinates the preparation of Request for Proposals for allocation of grant funding; reviews and evaluates proposals, including assessing organizations’ abilities to provide needed services, and presents funding recommendations in both written format and orally to City Council. Negotiates and administers contracts between the City and local service providers for programs assisted with grant funds; monitors subrecipients for adherence to federal, state, and local regulations; ensures that performance goals are met; ensures appropriate expenditures of funds and authorizes payments to funded agencies. Coordinates with various agencies and City departments as required to provide cost effective services in support of grant funded programs, including community service programs and capital projects.
To view the full class specification for the position of Housing and Community Services Manager, please visit
www.governmentjobs.com/careers/concord/classspecs
.

Qualifications

Knowledge and Abilities

Knowledge of issues related to homelessness, including community needs and service gaps; programs and resources for housing development; public/private sector approaches and techniques to stimulate and promote housing development; financial techniques and procedures relating to housing development and expansion of affordable housing opportunities; community social agencies and resources; federal, state, and local laws and regulations relevant to housing improvement, including CDBG application requirements and procedures; planning and environmental requirements and federal regulations relating to community development block grant funding; federal grants and state laws related to non-profit organizations; and budget, accounting, and performance measurement techniques.

Ability to understand, interpret, and apply appropriate policies, regulations, procedures, plans, and housing development documents; administer grant funded programs, including establishing budgets, selecting subrecipients, monitoring performance, and authorizing payments; communicate effectively and maintain cooperative relationships with City staff, elected and appointed officials, various commissions, and the public, including unsheltered individuals; supervise assigned staff and coordinate the work of other professionals; evaluate community services needs and recommend alternatives; gain cooperation and consensus through discussion and persuasion during sensitive negotiations; anticipate consequences of proposed actions and implement recommendations in support of goals and objectives; work on several assignments and adjust priorities as needed; perceive responsibilities within the context of citywide goals and objectives and to approach assignments with a customer orientation.

Education/Experience

Education: Possession of a Bachelor's Degree in Public or Business Administration, Urban Planning, or a related field.

Experience: Three years of professional level experience with grant writing and grant program administration, including at least one year of experience working with housing or community service programs and organizations, conducting community outreach to the public, unsheltered individuals, and/or special interest groups.

Other

A California Driver's License and satisfactory driving record are conditions of initial and continued employment.

EEO/ADA: The City of Concord is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant employer, committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants.

If you have a disability and require accommodations in the testing process, please contact Human Resources at 925-671-3308 or hrdept@cityofconcord.org prior to the final filing date.

The City of Concord takes pride in offering a generous benefits program that provides flexibility for the diverse and changing needs of our qualifying employees.

For a complete overview, click here .
Below is a brief listing of what the City offers:

• Dental & Vision Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• Health Insurance
• Holidays
• Life Insurance
• Pre-tax Savings Benefits
• Retiree Medical (3 levels based on date of hire)
• Retirement Program
• Short-term Disability*and Long-term Disability
• Social Security/Medicare
• Vacation & Sick Leave

*Not available for sworn personnel.

Closing Date/Time: Continuous

Salary:

$110,531.20 - $151,964.80 Annually