When you join the City of Guelph, you join a team of over 2000 employees who deliver services the community relies on every day. Together, we are bringing to life Guelph’s vision of an inclusive, connected, and prosperous city where we look after each other and our environment. As a single tier municipality, we offer a variety of occupations and career specialities within our organization. Guided by the goals and objectives of the Future Guelph: Strategic Plan and committed to the Corporate Values of integrity, service, inclusion, wellness and learning, the candidate will aid in the achievement of the Community Vision for an inclusive, connected, prosperous city.

What we offer

We offer competitive wages and comprehensive benefits to meet the needs of our diverse employees. Many of our positions offer:

• Paid vacation days, increasing with years of service

• Paid personal days;

• Hybrid and flexible work arrangements;

• Defined benefit pension plan with OMERS, including 100-per-cent employer matching;

• Extended health and dental benefits, including Health Care Spending Account;

• Employee and Family Assistance Program;

• Parental leave top up program;

• Learning and development opportunities including tuition assistance

• Employee recognition programs.

Position overview

Resumes are being accepted for the position of Development Advisor in the Planning and Building Services department. The successful candidate will help to maximize the housing supply. Collaborating through self-driven workstreams, with teams of internal and external groups, stakeholders and subject matter experts, the Development Advisor will provide advisory services and expedited planning recommendations in support of key City housing initiatives.

In addition to providing leadership and strategic direction for the implementation of the City’s housing supply to address the housing crisis, the Development Advisor will be responsible for working with a wide variety of community stakeholders to develop, design, and implement policies, processes and programs that drive positive changes to increase the housing supply.  This role presents a legacy and leadership opportunity to have a positive impact on the health of the City’s housing sector.

Key duties and responsibilities

• Leads strategic engagement of the affordable housing sector (broadly defined) in the community, including, but not limited to non-profit, supportive and transitional housing providers, the philanthropic sector, land use planners, property developers, rental housing owners, and affordable homeownership proponents.
• Prepares RFP’s and makes formal recommendations for the selection of consulting support while ensuring corporate purchasing guidelines are followed for tenders, contracts, and RFP/RFQs.
• Directly oversee external consultants.
• Reports both internally and externally on progress of affordable housing and housing starts.
• Prepares applications to attain external funding through government funding opportunities meant to maximize the housing supply. Records progress and is responsible for reporting on KPI’s.
• Provides leadership and collaboration to work cross-departmentally with senior management, City staff and key community stakeholders. Incorporates recommendations to Council on strategies and implementation approaches on delivering best possible housing outcomes in alignment with the City’s Affordable Housing Strategy.
• Provides senior level policy support to the department to enable informed decision making on housing deliverables and to provide context for planning and resource deployment.
• Pro-actively builds and maintains positive relationships with key stakeholders and develops options for implementing innovative strategies through collaboration with community partners, national housing experts, business leaders, appropriate provincial and federal agencies, and other levels of government.
• Works to remove barriers and strengthen local planning for more housing, including developing and evaluating development applications and making recommendations.
• Provides leadership, visioning, and strategic direction responsible for working with a wide variety of community stakeholders to develop, design, and implement policies, processes and programs that drive positive changes along the affordable housing continuum.
• Provides expertise that will meet future local needs and the provincial housing targets.
• Makes recommendations related to resourcing to support community and housing.
• Monitoring budget variances and complying with variance reporting requirements, as well as risk assessment for capital and operating budgets.
• Performs other duties as assigned which are directly related to the responsibilities of the position.

Qualifications and requirements

• Experience related to the duties listed above, normally acquired through post-secondary education in Planning, Health or Human Services or closely related discipline, and considerable experience in affordable housing policy development and approvals. Candidates with an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
• Excellent knowledge of, and relationships with, community stakeholders related to affordable housing.
• Negotiation, collaboration and conflict resolution skills with the ability to analyse problems, identify alternatives and make recommendations.
• Highly developed analytical and business planning skills with a proven track record for long-term visioning and big picture thinking.
• Excellent interpersonal skills including the ability to effectively communicate with elected officials, government departments, all levels of management, staff and the general public.
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of statutes, regulations, codes and by-laws affecting affordable housing in the City.
• Knowledge of policy frameworks, research methods and data analysis, consultation techniques and program planning and program evaluation models including the knowledge of best practices.
• An understanding of land use planning processes and experience with housing, housing targets, affordable housing polices and processes.
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a larger multi-disciplinary, inter-departmental team and proven ability manage, co-ordinate and track diverse project-based teams.
• Experience working in land development, not-for-profit housing, and other community development initiatives.
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple assignments, set priorities, meet deadlines and budgets concurrently in a very demanding environment.
• Extensive computer experience in a Windows environment utilizing MS Office software
• Experience with Eclipse is considered an asset.
• Experience working within an environment that leverages unique and under-utilized public land and buildings to create a more sustainable future, is an asset.

Hours of work

35 hours per week, Monday to Friday.

Pay/Salary

Non-Union Grade: 7: $105,560.00- $131,950.00

How to apply

Qualified applicants are invited to apply using our online application system by January 29, 2025.  Please note all applicants must complete the online questionnaire specific to this position at the time they submit their resume and cover letter in order to be considered.

Please visit the job posting listed on our City of Guelph careers page and click on the “Apply for this job” button. Instructions will follow.

The City of Guelph is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where employees feel welcome, valued and engaged. Our employment policies strictly prohibit all forms of discrimination on any of the grounds in relevant laws. All employment practices are solely based on individual merit, qualifications, and organization's needs at the time. In keeping with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, we are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals in our job application procedures. If you need an accommodation in order to participate in the hiring process, you may contact us to make your needs known in advance.

Personal information collected through the recruitment process will be used solely to determine eligibility for employment. We thank all candidates in advance; however, only those being considered for an interview will be contacted.