Community Development Specialist IV

About the role

Community Development Specialist IV positions manage complex programs and projects and supervise subordinate professional and administrative staff. Although different assignments involve varying levels of guidance and supervision, these roles typically exercise a considerable amount of initiative and independent judgment in developing, updating, and implementing programs, projects, and policies.

Responsibilities

• Negotiate, implement, manage and/or monitor budgets, policies, programs, projects, grants and contracts that include community development, business development and assistance, land development, climate action, sustainability planning and development, business finance and loans, community revitalization, housing development and rehabilitation, data research and analysis, workforce development, public infrastructure and public services.
• Collaborate, coordinate, and engage with business and community groups, advisory boards, the community at large, private sector stakeholders, other City staff, other governmental entities, and elected officials through interpersonal interactions and public presentations.
• Participate in the development and/or analysis of plans, reports, studies, feasibility assessments, and metrics for community development and HUD programs, climate and equity, and economic development.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Four years of full-time professional-level experience as described below. Qualifying experience must include performing the full range of professional-level duties in at least ONE of the following areas:

• GRANT, CONTRACT AND/OR PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Grants management and administration, including managing and monitoring grants, subrecipient agreements, and ensuring compliance for programs such as Housing and Urban Development (HUD) entitlement programs; special assessment district formation and management (authorized under California or local law); contract or project management, with for-profit or nonprofit entities.
• BUSINESS ASSISTANCE: Development, implementation, management, and/or marketing of business assistance, attraction, expansion, and/or retention programs; workforce development programs; state or federal incentive programs or resources (e.g., Foreign-Trade Zones, EB-5, Opportunity Zones, EDA); business finance and lending programs.
• COMMUNITY SERVICES AND PROGRAMS: Program development, implementation, management, monitoring, community engagement, and/or marketing of community service programs; government-assisted or affordable housing programs; homeless and shelter programs and services; neighborhood revitalization programs.
• PLANNING, PERMITTING, AND DEVELOPMENT: Land development entitlement processing and building permitting; sustainability planning and development; community development and neighborhood infrastructure project implementation.
• FINANCE, COMMERCIAL LENDING AND BUDGETING: Program or project financial, budgetary, or data development, management, and/or analysis of business finance and commercial lending programs; infrastructure/public facilities financing; contract administrative/budgetary analysis; data collection and analysis (e.g., econometric modeling).
• SUSTAINABILITY/CLIMATE ACTION AND EQUITY: Community engagement best practices and application; development of metrics related to climate action and equity; development and/or implementation of programs supporting climate equity; tracking and application of local, state, and federal funding that relates to climate and equity.

City of San Diego employees using an Out-of-Class Assignment (OCA) experience to qualify must submit written documentation, signed by their appointing authority or payroll specialist, detailing the work performed, dates, and the total number of qualifying OCA hours. OCA experience without the required documentation will NOT be considered.

Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's Degree or equivalent education (i.e., minimum completed college units = 120 semester/180 quarter). Note: Additional qualifying professional-level experience may be substituted for education lacked on a year-for-year basis. One year of full-time experience = 30 semester/45 quarter college-level units.

A Master's Degree in Public or Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Planning, Management, or a closely related field may be substituted for a maximum of one year of the required experience.

Skills

• Intermediate or higher skill with Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS), Geographic Information System (GIS), Salesforce, Tableau, or similar software.
• Bilingual (English/other) – highly desirable depending on the specific position.

Benefits

Eligible benefited employees originally hired on or after July 10, 2021, will be automatically enrolled in the San Diego City Employees Retirement System (SDCERS).

Pay

A general wage increase of 2% is scheduled to take effect effective June 30, 2027.