ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER

job description

THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES

The City of Los Angeles is a world-class city with a vibrant, diverse economy and an unparalleled quality of life. Los Angeles is the second largest city in the United States and has a multi-ethnic population of approximately 4 million. Los Angeles is one of the largest economies, financial entities, and trade centers in the country. It is a trend setting global metropolis with a fascinating history and a rich cultural heritage. The city prides itself on its ethnic diversity, with an estimated 200 languages spoken. As one of the world’s great cities, Los Angeles will host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as other international events.

THE CITY ORGANIZATION

Los Angeles is a charter city, governed by the Mayor and the City Council. The City Council serves full time and has fifteen members elected by district. The other two elected officials of the City are the Controller and City Attorney. The City’s elected officials serve four-year terms. Volunteer Commissions consisting of prominent business and community leaders, appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council, oversee several City departments and bureaus.

The City has over 40 departments, bureaus, and offices for which funds are budgeted annually by the Mayor and City Council. In addition, the City has three proprietary (enterprise) departments (the Departments of Water and Power, Harbor, and Airports), governed by Commissions, which are financed solely by revenue generated from their operations.

As part of a historic new era, Karen Bass began her first four-year term as 43rd Mayor of the City of Los Angeles on December 12, 2022, as the first woman and second African American to be elected as the City’s chief executive.

THE LOS ANGELES HOUSING DEPARTMENT

The mission of the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) is to produce and preserve safe, affordable, and accessible housing for all Angelenos, create livable and prosperous communities through the development and preservation of decent, safe and affordable housing, neighborhood investment and social services. The department is led by a General Manager and an Executive Officer, and is organized into the Executive Office, with two special programs within the Executive Office, and three operating bureaus. The bureaus are each overseen by an Assistant General Manager (AGM), and include: the Housing Development Bureau (HDB), the Regulatory Code and Compliance Bureau (RCCB), and the Administration Bureau. This AGM position will be responsible for managing and directing the operations of the Housing Development Bureau. The AGMs work collaboratively with each other as well as the Executive Officer and the General Manager and may be called upon to act in the absence of the Executive Officer and the General Manager.

The City of Los Angeles is at a pivotal point in its history, currently being the most rent-burdened City in the country, with a record level of homelessness. However, with the recent success of City and County ballot initiatives, the tax payers overwhelmingly approved unprecedented capital and supportive service funding levels over the next 10 years to address the region’s homelessness and housing affordability crisis. One of HDB’s responsibilities is to strategically allocate this capital funding for the creation of affordable and permanent supportive housing.

THE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT BUREAU AT-A-GLANCE

The Housing Development Bureau (HDB) facilitates the financing of affordable housing development projects with the Department’s development partners. Using federal, state, county, and local funding resources, HDB assists with the building and preservation of housing by leveraging funds (capital subsidy, tax-exempt finance bonds) with private investments in order to meet the City’s housing needs. The Bureau also administers a variety of programs and services available to low-income and very low-income residents and first-time home buyers. The Housing Development Bureau is organized into four major divisions: The Development & Finance Division, Asset Management Division, Technical Services Division, and the Housing Innovation Strategies Division. Each Division is managed by a Director of Housing, all of whom report directly to the AGM. At this time there are more than 180 positions assigned to the Bureau, consisting of professionals with various areas of expertise, including financial, construction, technical, administrative, and clerical. Each position is assigned specific duties and responsibilities in accordance with their designated position classification. The Divisions are as follows:

• The Development and Finance (D&F) Division is responsible for affordable housing production and preservation activities in the City. The division manages the City’s Conduit Bond Program, Affordable Housing Managed Pipeline, Proposition HHH Permanent Supportive Housing Loan Program, and Affordable Housing Preservation program. As part of the Bond Program, LAHD acts as the primary issuer of multifamily tax-exempt housing bonds for qualified developments located in the City, managing projects that leverage federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funds with 4% tax credits administered through the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) and tax-exempt bonds administered and allocated through California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC). The Affordable Housing Managed Pipeline (AHMP, or simply “Managed Pipeline”), established in June 2013, oversees the selection process for management of the 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) in the City geographic set-aside. The Proposition HHH program has overseen the issuance of $1.2 billion in General Obligation bonds (GO bond) to finance the development of supportive housing and affordable housing. The Affordable Housing Preservation program sets aside various federal, state, and local funding to provide funding to preserve properties with expiring covenants at risk of losing their affordability and to assist projects that are experiencing financial distress.
• The Asset Management Division (AMD) provides loan servicing and management for the Department’s $3.1 billion loan portfolio, consisting of over 4,500 loans with balances and over 51,000 covenanted affordable rental housing units. The Loan Portfolio Section services multifamily and single-family loans in the portfolio, identifies assets that are experiencing financial and/or operational difficulties and are at risk for default; and recommends and processes various loan workouts to stabilize the assets. The Occupancy Monitoring Section monitors affordable housing in the City for compliance with regulatory agreements and affordability covenants & restrictions; and pursuant to federal, state, and local requirements. The Land Use Section oversees covenant preparation, replacement unit determinations, issues determinations in line with the Mello Act to preserve low- and moderate-income housing in the Coastal Zone, and issues approve/deny determinations for projects seeking to convert or demolish residential hotel units.

THE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT BUREAU AT-A-GLANCE (CONT’D)

• The Technical Services Division was created in 2022 by consolidating technical support units that previously existed in other divisions within the Bureau. The division is responsible for providing technical services to the Bureau including construction monitoring, state Prevailing Wage and federal Davis Bacon compliance monitoring, relocation compliance monitoring, and environmental reviews. The Construction Services Unit (CSU) monitors the construction of all LAHD-funded affordable housing projects and serves as a primary point of contact for contractors and developers. The Prevailing Wage Unit is responsible for monitoring LAHD-financed affordable housing projects for compliance with federal & state prevailing wage requirements. The Relocation Unit reviews and approves the relocation plans and monitors the relocation process and payments to tenants displaced by LAHD-funded projects. The Architectural Services Unit (ASU) conducts architectural design reviews (including construction cost estimates) for projects that are requesting funding from LAHD for the development of housing units. The Environmental Unit (EU) oversees compliance with federal, state, and local government requirements for environmental clearance of all affordable housing projects and other non-housing projects supported through the City’s Consolidated Plan. The Handyworker Program helps seniors and those living with disabilities live independently for longer and age in place by partnering with licensed general contractors to perform minor home repairs and accessibility improvements at no cost to eligible participants.
  
• The Housing Innovation Strategies Division (ISD) leads the implementation of new strategic initiatives and manages long-standing housing services through multiple distinct teams. The Homeownership Loans Team assists low income first-time homebuyers; the Housing Strategies, Neighborhood Initiatives, and Affordable Housing & Sustainable Communities Teams identify, evaluate, and test new strategies for increasing affordable Housing Production and Preservation; the Land Development Team evaluates the viability of and ground leases for development of housing on publicly owned land; the Homekey team administers a program that leverages funds from the California Department of Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) and the federal Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) to sustain and rapidly expand the inventory of housing for people experiencing homelessness or At Risk of Homelessness. Other, smaller teams include: the 710 Gateway Project, which will develop properties left vacant by the unbuilt portion of the 710 freeway into affordable housing; the USC Housing Fund, to develop affordable housing in the USC area; the ADU Accelerator (LAADUAP), which provides subsidies to senior tenants living in Accessory Dwelling Units; and the Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) program, which seeks to preserve non-covenanted properties that already serve low-income tenants.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Los Angeles Housing Department is seeking an experienced and innovative individual to serve as an Assistant General Manager (AGM). The individual that is selected will be responsible for managing and directing the operations of the Housing Development Bureau of the Department.

THE POSITION
The successful candidate will be responsible for the following:

• Plans, coordinates, and directs the activities of major divisions of the Housing Department engaged in affordable housing production and development of new projects and programs for both rental and for-sale housing, including acquisition and rehabilitation; develops new housing initiatives; oversees and coordinates through supporting staff the financing and development of rental and owner-occupied housing, including real estate negotiation, tax credit syndication, mortgage credit certificates, bond financing, and leveraging funding sources with the private sector; translates the advice of the Affordable Housing Commission into feasible and effective strategies; reviews divisional performance and ensures that the Department’s financial and human resources are utilized effectively; ensures that the Department is in compliance with all federal, state and city policies and regulations.
• Coordinates the activities of the Department’s programs with other governmental agencies; confers with and prepares reports for management representatives from other City Departments, other governmental jurisdictions and civic and business organizations regarding affordable housing development and rehabilitation; acts as Department representative and liaison to other governmental, private and community based organizations; appears before Oversight Committees, City Council and Council Committees to present and discuss Department programs.
• Develops and approves standard operating procedures for the Department and works with the General Manager in the development of Department policy; recommends the establishment or change of department policies; reviews and approves recommendations to select, promote, reassign, or discipline employees; may review the preparation and administration of the Department’s annual budget.
• Oversight of loan portfolio of over $2.1 billion, and occupancy monitoring function for over 40,000 units under rent regulatory agreements.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The successful candidate will:

• Provide day-to day management of all bureau staff.
• Provide mentoring and development while having strategic and managerial responsibility, ensuring systems, processes and resources are in place to support staff.
• Review and monitor work products and ensure all lending staff are trained and certified to deliver high-level quality programs.
• Be an expert on policies related to housing, housing financing and program development
• Be a business professional with strong strategic and conceptual skills
• Be an experienced, proven manager of a large, multi-faceted organization
• Be highly collaborative
• Be experienced in directly advocating policy positions to executives and elected officials
• Be able to establish strong, credible relationships with technical staff and client departments and handle City administrative functions with effectiveness and precision
• Be able to act as a facilitator and catalyst for meaningful city-process change
• Have experience in developing budgets and managerial control and be knowledgeable of general principles and systems relative to administration, budget preparation and expenditure control
• Have strong leadership abilities and superior interpersonal and communication skills
• Have high customer orientation with high levels of service
• Have excellent problem solving skills, coupled with great analytical skills
• Have the ability to negotiate keenly as well as partner with others in an effective manner
• Have the skills necessary to define a direction, facilitate change, inspire teamwork, and adapt to rapidly changing environments and issues

QUALIFYING EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

EDUCATION

Graduation from a recognized and accredited four-year college or university with a Bachelor’s degree. A Master’s degree in management, public policy, public administration, finance, economics, real estate or a related field is desired.

EXPERIENCE

A minimum of five years of full-time paid professional experience as the head of or assistant head of an organization responsible for the development, implementation and administration of a major government or private housing development or rehabilitation program;

OR

A minimum of two years of full-time paid experience with the City of Los Angeles in a position at least at the level of Chief Management Analyst or equivalent, managing a medium to large staff engaged in administering multiple programs.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

The current salary range for Assistant General Manager is $169,441 - $247,741 per year.

A highly competitive benefits package includes an independent retirement plan to which both the employee and the City contribute; a multi-option deferred compensation plan; generous vacation and sick leave; 13 paid holidays per year; a flexible benefits plan including multi-option health, dental, and vision coverage; and family and domestic partner leave.

How to apply

Interested candidates should apply by emailing a comprehensive resume, cover letter of interest, and three work-related references with contact information to per.execsearch@lacity.org. References will not be contacted until mutual interest is established. All completed submissions will be acknowledged via email. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Note: When emailing your application material, the subject line should be “LAHD- Assistant General Manager”

Submissions from interested candidates will be accepted until Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

THE SELECTION PROCESS
Submissions will be screened against the criteria listed in this brochure.

The most qualified applicants will be invited to participate in a formal interview process with the City of Los Angeles. Questions and confidential inquiries may be referred to per.execsearch@lacity.org.

The position of Assistant General Manager is an exempt, at-will management position. The incumbent will not accrue any civil service tenure, contractual employment rights or due process rights. The Assistant General Manager is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the General Manager. The incumbent may be removed, without any finding of cause, by the General Manager. Such removal would not be reviewable or appealable.

Executive

High level executive job opportunities requiring various degrees of managerial or administrative experience. Executives normally manage major functions in one of the City's many operating departments.

Closing Date/Time: 5/20/25

• 

• City of Los Angeles

Show more