Affordable Housing Specialist

UDR is seeking an Affordable Housing Specialist to join our team at Waterside Towers located in Washington, DC.

GENERAL SUMMARY OF DUTIES: Responsible for maintaining compliance, monitoring and management of Affordable Housing Programs, including processing new applicants, renewals, maintaining waitlists, and ensuring compliance with local and state regulations for multiple assigned properties.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED: Reports directly to the Regional Manager or to the primary Community Director

SUPERVISION EXERCISED: N/A

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
1. Maintain up-to-date knowledge on all Affordable Housing Program regulations.
2. Update the application renewal and affordable unit leasing documentation as necessary.
3. Process applications for Affordable Housing and Section 8 applicants including credit and resident certification.
4. Approve qualified applications.
5. Maintain participant files to ensure completeness of required documentation and verifications.
6. Educate and advise residents regarding program issues.
7. Conduct program orientations for participants as needed.
8. Keep up to date on affordable housing policy changes and confirm that the community(s) follows local and state rules and regulations.
9. Work with respective monitoring agents and program administrators to ensure that rents and income levels are being set at their maximum allowable levels.
10. Review utility allowance schedules to confirm that the Company is in compliance and recognizing the greatest possible net rents.
11. Provide superior customer service to internal and external customer.
12. Prepare and confirm required data entry to update month-end reporting.
13. Investigate and take appropriate action for fraud, unreported income, etc.
14. Ensure that actions taken are correct and timely.
15. Provide backup to sales as needed to assist and interact with prospects by answering questions, lease terms, and the local area.
16. Provide assistance for the community(s) as needed with reports and tasks associated with the operation of the community and actions to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and company policies.
17. Provide assistance to Business Manager team to diligently collect rent, utility payments, and fees to reduce delinquency and bad debt write offs. And perform administrative tasks associated with site operations including, accounting and financial reporting, reconciling resident accounts, and performing other clerical tasks as needed.
18. Assist with resident communication as needed.
19. Assist other communities, as necessary or as requested.
20. Create, update, and conduct periodic Affordable Housing Program training for UDR associates.
21. Complete internal training for market-rate: One-Site - Navigation and Prospects, move-ins and rent, and move-outs.
22. Complete internal training for affordable housing: One-Site - Navigation of Receipts and Waitlists, Certifications and Charges.
23. Perform other duties as assigned or as necessary.

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS: Knowledge of organizational and community policies and procedures. Ability to apply policies and procedures to solve everyday issues.

Knowledge and skill to provide audits and tracking. Ability to establish priorities and coordinate work activities. Maintain diary system and reports on matters which are not routine, exercising independent judgment regarding individual matters and reporting results as necessary, following up without specific direction on appropriate matters to achieve desired results. Responsibilities may include providing training and assistance to others in completing tasks and activities, compiling statistics, and preparing reports as required. Development of work papers and documents that support our audit or compliance conclusions; adjusting role as necessary to help accomplish the overall objective of Affordable Housing functions.

Must know and follow the Fair Housing laws. Ability to exercise initiative, problem-solving and decision-making skills.

Demonstrate skill to collect persistently and aggressively. Ability to establish priorities and coordinate work activities. Knowledge of basic accounting/bookkeeping practices; office practices and procedures; filing and maintenance of fiscal records. Ability to travel, when applicable.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to create, compose, and edit written materials including email.

Attention to details, and basic experience with MS Office software applications required (e.g., Microsoft Office, Word, Excel, and Visio). Must be skilled in spreadsheets, drafting correspondence and creating and maintaining databases. Ability to process computer data and to format and generate reports. Physical presence onsite is required to perform essential job functions unless otherwise noted.

TYPICAL PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Some bending, stooping, and stretching. Occasionally lifting items weighing up to 30 lbs. Requires eye-hand coordination and manual dexterity sufficient to operate a keyboard, photocopier, telephone, calculator, and other office equipment. Requires normal range of hearing and eyesight to record, prepare, and communicate appropriate reports. Regular and consistent attendance on the job is an essential function.

TYPICAL WORKING CONDITIONS: Normal office environment. Incumbents must be able to physically access all exterior and interior parts of the community and amenities. Periodic exposure to outside elements where temperature, weather, odors, and/or landscape may be unpleasant and/or hazardous. Flexible schedules with occasional evening and regular weekend work.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
1. Bachelor's degree and equivalent experience, required.
2. Minimum of two years' experience in residential properties, property management or related business operation is required.
3. Minimum of one year of experience working with federal housing programs, financial eligibility determination, other affordable housing programs.
4. Accounting and Insurance experience is a plus.
5. OneSite software experience is a plus.
6. Must have and maintain a valid driver's license unless otherwise noted.

UDR is proud to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

UDR is committed to providing and maintaining a diverse workforce and an inclusive work environment with equitable access and opportunity for associates to participate, grow, and reach their full potential.