Administrative Special Services Staff III - Exempt (Rental Program Manager)

The position will report to the Director of the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department and will work closely with the Deputy Chief Operating Officer for the City.

The Rental Program Manager will lead the implementation of a major overhaul of how the City of Detroit oversees rental housing to ensure quality, safe housing for residents. This position provides the opportunity to lead a significant City initiative addressing a key priority for residents.

Currently, roughly 10% of rental properties comply with City safety standards. In October 2024, Detroit City Council passed a new rental housing ordinance to increase compliance with safety inspections and ultimately improve the quality of rental housing. Key steps to implement the ordinance include:

1. Revamping the process for City safety inspections of rental housing units 
   1. Implementing a new 15-point inspection focused on the most common and serious safety issues and creating procedures that ensure clear inspection standards and consistent application of them
   2. Ensuring a simple, smooth customer experience for landlords seeking inspections by designing the customer service portal, outgoing communications, etc.
   3. Analyzing the expected volume and types of inspections to accurately set program fees and ensure sufficient capacity to process applications
2. Increasing the effectiveness of the City’s enforcement efforts against non-compliant properties
   1. Working across City departments to establish policies for escalating sanctions on non-compliant properties, identifying high-priority enforcement targets, and monitoring efforts to ensure enforcement translates into greater compliance
3. Reaching landlords and tenants with information on the revamp – and effectively drawing landlords into the City’s rental oversight system
   1. Developing clear, simple materials that explain the new procedures and an effective plan for presenting, distributing, and communicating them to stakeholders
   2. Developing an effective plan to identify homes likely being used as un-registered rentals, persuade them to become compliant, and monitor progress

The position requires a unique combination of skillsets and abilities, including:

• Exceptional project management
• Effectively moving projects forward within a large and complex organization
• Simplifying processes and clearly communicating them to the public
• Prioritizing City efforts across a large number of properties to drive progress quickly
• Monitoring and interpreting data and using metrics to measure and accelerate progress

• Assists with the implementation of divisional goals, initiatives and plans.
• Develops and implements initiatives to improve work processes.
• Drives process improvement initiatives, including automation, on the processes/tools used to increase the capability and efficiency of reporting efforts.
• Manages project development and execution from inception to closure.
• Analyzes data from a variety of database sources and formats for research, systems, and report design. 
• Presents results of analyses concisely and effectively to ensure adoption.
• Provides recommendations for improving business results, operational efficiencies, and system experiences through in-depth analysis.
• Tracks and reports project milestones and status reports to project sponsors.

Education 

Bachelor's degree with a major in project management, public policy, business, management, data analysis, organizational development, or a related field.

Advanced levels of responsibility and five to ten (5 – 10) years of project management or process improvement experience.

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