Department Head - Community Programs
Frederick County Government, Maryland
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
Frederick County Government's Division of Housing seeks an experienced leader to guide daily operations, strategic planning, and program administration for housing initiatives.
The role supervises staff, ensures regulatory compliance, manages budgets and grants, and partners with external agencies to advance affordable housing in Frederick County. Requires a Bachelor's and 6 years' related experience; offers comprehensive benefits and partial telework.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Economics, Urban Planning, Political Science, Public Administration or related field
- Minimum of 6 years of experience in Human Services, Housing, or Community Development, including 2 years supervising staff and 2 years budget/grant work
Responsibilities
- Direct, supervise, and participate in daily operations and strategic planning for assigned program areas
- Provide leadership and supervision to division staff, including hiring, training, performance evaluation
- Oversee program operations to ensure service delivery, regulatory compliance, and budget alignment
- Develop, recommend, and implement policies to improve efficiency and performance
- Manage relationships with external agencies, developers, contractors, municipalities, and partners
- Oversee housing programs and grant administration including State/Federal/local grants
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
Exempt; full-time; 40 hours per week; Monday - Friday; 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; full-benefits; partial telework may be available in accordance with Division policies
The Frederick County Division of Housing is a growing organization committed to innovative and creative approaches to providing affordable housing in our community. Our mission is to assist in the provision of affordable housing for Frederick County residents with an emphasis on special needs populations, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and low to moderate income workforce households. As the fastest growing county in Maryland, it has never been more important to ensure access to affordable housing options for our residents.
This professional role provides essential day-to-day operational leadership and management support for the Division of Housing. The position plays a key role in directing major program areas, ensuring high-quality service delivery, regulatory compliance, and strong alignment with division goals. This role oversees operations, staff performance, program planning, and resource management across assigned functions. The position provides supervision to program staff and reports directly to the Division Director of Housing.
NOTE: The upper pay range reflects possible wage rates for internal County transfers and promotions, which are calculated per County policy. For external hires, offers are made at the base wage rate, with limited exception.
Frederick County Government values the principles of diversity and inclusion, and strives to ensure equal opportunities for its workforce, applicants and community members.
Frederick County offers an extensive compensation package to reflect how highly we value our employees. The following is what you can expect in your first year as a full-time benefited Frederick County Government employee.
- 11 days of Vacation leave with increase after 2 years of employment
- 15 days of Sick leave with unlimited annual carryover
- 11 paid holidays, plus 2 additional floating holidays (10 and 11 month employees may not receive all holidays)
- Day 1 coverage of comprehensive Medical Insurance Plan options to include generous County Health Savings Account (HSA) contribution (if enrolled in the high-deductible plan). This is part of a full range of benefits including Dental, Vision, and Flexible Spending
- Employee Health Center with no or low-cost primary and urgent care
- 100% County paid 2x annual salary Group Term Life Insurance and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) benefit
- County and Employee funded Defined Benefit Pension Plan
- Vesting after 5 years of service
- Additional service credit for eligible previous public service, military service, etc.
- Work/Life balance programs include: Employee Assistance Program and Employee Wellness Program
- Generous Tuition Reimbursement Program
- Other employee-paid benefits such as Deferred Compensation Plan, Legal Resources, Supplemental Life Insurance, Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital Indemnity Insurance, Lifetime Benefit with Long Term Care plan
NOTE: Benefited employees will accrue service and leave based on the FTE and/or hours worked per calendar year.
For more information, visit our benefits page on the Frederick County Government job opportunities webpage.
- Direct, supervise, and participate in daily operations and strategic planning for assigned program areas, including workflow oversight, process evaluation, and implementation of improvements
- Provide leadership and supervision to division staff, including hiring, training, performance evaluation, and coordination of personnel-related administrative tasks
- Oversee program operations to ensure effective service delivery, regulatory compliance, budget administration, and alignment with division goals.
- Develop, recommend, and implement operational policies and procedures to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and overall program performance.
- Manage relationships with external agencies, developers, contractors, municipalities, and community partners to support housing and community development objectives
- Oversee administration of housing and community development programs, including affordable housing production, developer incentive programs, homebuyer and rehabilitation assistance, and division funding programs supporting housing initiatives
- Oversee administration of State, Federal, and local community development grants, including compliance monitoring, documentation, reporting, and coordination with regulatory entities
- Oversee preparation of required plans, regulatory agreements, and annual reports related to housing, homelessness systems, and community development programs
- Lead implementation of strategic objectives intended to produce and preserve affordable housing in Frederick County; in alignment with the Frederick County Housing Study
- Represent the division in meetings, presentations, audits, and public forums; serve as liaison to boards, committees, and stakeholder groups.
- Perform other related duties as required
To perform this job successfully, an employee must be able to perform all essential functions satisfactorily. Any employee's position may not be assigned all functions or equipment listed above, and the examples may not cover all functions or equipment that may be assigned. Reasonable accommodations may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform their essential functions.
- Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Economics, Urban Planning, Political Science, Human Services, Public Administration or related field
- Minimum of 6 years of experience in Human Services, Housing, or Community Development, which must include at least 2 years of experience supervising or managing staff and 2 years of budget and fiscal work experience which includes grant management
Substitutions for the above-listed required education and experience are a Master’s Degree with 4 years experience as described above, which must 2 years of experience supervising or managing staff and 2 years of budget and fiscal work experience which includes grant management duties.
A successful incumbent operating in this role displays the following:
- Advanced knowledge of federal HUD regulations and programs - HCV, CDBG, LIHTC, and state housing development programs
- Knowledge of the principles and practices of public administration (including personnel, budgeting, accounting, and management activities), and the ability to apply them in overseeing a variety of housing and community development projects and programs
- Advanced knowledge of necessary technology, including specific housing program software
- Skill in managing and supervising a team
- Skill in managing and implementing a program
- Skill in financial management
- Skill in managing federal and state grants, and overseeing compliance of subgrantees
- Strong and effective written and verbal (English) communication skills, including the ability to effectively and clearly prepare and present complicated information to officials, peer groups and citizen groups
- Ability to work effectively and compassionately with vulnerable households, extremely low-income residents, seniors, people with disabilities, and those impacted by behavioral health or trauma
- Ability to effectively research and interpret complex Federal and State guidelines and regulations
- Ability to effectively compile, prepare and administer a budget
- Ability to effectively utilize and administer the grant application process
- Ability to effectively supervise and direct the work of others
- Ability to effectively access and utilize computerized fiscal, data management and word processing systems and equipment
- Ability to effectively compile and prepare program reports, grant applications and other complex written work
- Ability to lead workgroups, including with staff in other County Divisions and with community participants
- Strong organizational and problem-resolution skills including the ability to manage complex projects and establish priorities in a fast-paced environment
- Ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with local government officials, Federal and State program administrators, subsidized housing clients, co-workers and the general public
- Experience in affordable housing finance, such as housing bonds, tax-incremental financing, Payment-in-Lieu of Taxes (PILOT), etc.
- Related experience working with or for Federal, State or local government
- Experience administering the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program
- Experience overseeing compliance of the Low‑Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program
- Experience partnering with nonprofit or for‑profit developers to build or preserve affordable housing
- While working in this position, the employee is required to constantly sit, frequently reach and perform repetitive motions
- While working in this position, the employee is required to constantly work indoors
- Ability to provide own transportation as needed for meetings and other commitments
- Available for varied work hours as needed for meetings and other commitments
- An evaluation of education and experience
- One or more interviews
Frederick County Government is committed to providing an inclusive work environment and complies with all applicable laws and regulations regarding workplace accommodation, including for individuals with disabilities. Applicants who require reasonable accommodation during the application and hiring process may contact the Talent Acquisition section of Human Resources. Inquiries about accommodations can be sent to Recruitment@FrederickCountyMD.gov
A defined benefit retirement plan is provided for all regular County employees. Employees are automatically enrolled in
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