Assistant Commissioner, Bureau of Housing Services

## Job Description Supportive housing is one of the most consequential interventions available to people experiencing homelessness with behavioral health needs. DMH’s supportive housing portfolio represents a significant public investment and touches the lives of thousands of New Yorkers living with mental illness or substance use conditions. This bureau chief will have the opportunity to build something new: establishing the bureau’s infrastructure, culture, and strategic direction, and creating the systems and relationships that will shape the Division’s housing work for years to come. Position Summary: The Assistant Commissioner for the Bureau of Housing Services is a newly established senior leadership role within the Division of Mental Hygiene (DMH) at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. This position leads a new bureau created to consolidate and elevate the Division’s supportive housing work under unified, expert leadership bringing together policy, planning, procurement, contract management, and quality improvement into a coherent program portfolio. Success in this role over the next three to five years means a bureau that is nationally recognized for excellence in supportive housing practice; a contract portfolio characterized by financial stability, high-quality services, and strong tenant outcomes; and a DMH voice that is consistently heard and respected in city and state housing policy conversations. Job Duties and Responsibilities: Bureau Leadership and Team Development - Recruit, hire, develop, and retain a high-performing bureau team; establish internal structures, workflows, supervisory practices, and a bureau culture that reflects DMH’s commitment to equity, excellence, and accountability. - Build the bureau’s operational infrastructure, including policies and procedures, data systems, performance management frameworks, and inter-agency protocols. - Serve as a senior leader within DMH, contributing to division-wide strategic priorities and cross-bureau initiatives. Interagency Policy Coordination - Engage with city and state agency partners including DSS (HRA and DHS), HPD, OMH, OASAS, and others to coordinate housing policies that expand and sustain affordable and supportive housing for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness who have mental illness or substance use conditions. - Navigate and leverage NYC’s complex supportive housing policy landscape, including key initiatives such as NYC 15/15, CityFHEPS, the Supportive Housing Loan Program, and relevant components of the 1115 Medicaid Waiver. - Represent DMH in policy forums, working groups, and legislative contexts; engage effectively with elected officials, advocates, and community stakeholders to advance the Division’s housing agenda. Service Model Development and Quality Improvement - Identify, develop, and implement supportive housing service models grounded in evidence and best practice that promote health, recovery, and housing stability for tenants. - Champion tenant voice and lived experience in the design, evaluation, and improvement of supportive housing programs; engage tenants, tenant councils, and advocacy organizations as genuine partners. - Lead a robust system of contractor accountability, technical assistance, and quality improvement, including systematic data collection, analysis, and application to service improvement and policy decisions. - Ensure that all program models reflect a health equity and anti-racist framework, with culturally responsive services tailored to the communities DMH serves. Fiscal Sustainability and Financial Oversight - Develop and implement supportive housing fiscal models that ensure the safety and habitability of housing for tenants and financial sustainability for contracted service providers, property managers, and landlords. - Address maintenance needs, plan for capital improvements, and engage in long-term fiscal planning to meet rising personnel and non-personnel costs across the contr…