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Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner

Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner, Department of Housing and Urban Development
Responsibility
Management Scope

In fiscal 2015, the assistant secretary for housing and federal housing commissioner oversaw a budget of $11.619 billion.3 In 2016, there were 980 nonseasonal full-time permanent employees in this office.4

Primary Responsibilities

• Develops strategic and budgetary plans for the mission area; manages senior staff and operations; serves as the key contact point with the secretary on matters involving those areas; and testifies in Congress as needed
• Oversees the $400 billion Federal Housing Administration insurance portfolio, the largest mortgage insurer in the world
• Runs the following: multifamily programs providing mortgage insurance to HUD-approved lenders to facilitate the construction, rehabilitation, purchase and refinancing of multifamily housing projects; single-family housing programs, including mortgage insurance to purchase new/existing homes and manufactured housing; regulatory programs designed to assist homeowners with home-buying and regulate real estate transactions; health care programs (hospitals and nursing homes financing); and the reverse mortgage program for seniors
• Advises the secretary on the above housing programs5
• Oversees the Office of Risk Management, which has its own deputy assistant secretary who oversees taxpayer risk of the various programs
• Chairs the Mortgagee Review Board, which includes the HUD general counsel, inspector general and other key staff

Strategic Goals and Priorities
[Depends on the policy priorities of the administration.]
Requirements

• Technical expertise in lending, especially single-family lending experience (critical)

Competencies

• Management and leadership skills
• Strong communication skills and ability to appear before the media and conduct testimonies
• Strong finance skills
• Ability to identify and recruit core talent
• Ability to work under pressure
• Ability to handle sensitive matters
• Willingness to travel
• Strong negotiation skills
• Ability to work across a matrixed organization
• Ability to work across partisan lines
• Ability to negotiate complex subjects with other leaders in the department with different priorities, and ability to build internal alliances

Past Appointments
  • Carol J. Galante (2012 to 2014): Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs, Department of Housing and Urban Development; Member, California Housing Finance Agency, Business Transportation and Housing Agency, State of California; President and Chief Executive Officer, BRIDGE Housing Corp.6
  • David H. Stevens (2009 to 2011): President and Chief Operating Officer, Long & Foster Realtors; President, Affiliated Businesses, Long & Foster Realtors; Executive Vice President, National Wholesale Manager, Wells Fargo & Company7
  • Brian D. Montgomery (2005 to 2009): Chair and Operational Lead, Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Effort Coordinators, Department of Housing and Urban Development; Deputy Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary, Office of Cabinet Affairs, Executive Office of the President, George W. Bush Administration; Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Advance, Executive Office of the President, George W. Bush Administration8
AGENCY

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Mission: Create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality, affordable homes for all

COMPENSATION

Level IV $155,500 (5 U.S.C. § 5315)1

REPORTS TO

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development2

SENATE COMMITTEE

Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs

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Footnote
  1. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public Law 115-31, May 5, 2017), contains a provision that continues the freeze on the payable pay rates for certain senior political officials at 2013 levels during calendar year 2017.
  2. http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/2014AG-43.pdf
  3. Leadership Directories
  4. Partnership for Public Service analysis of FedScope data
  5. OPM
  6. Leadership Directories
  7. Leadership Directories
  8. Leadership Directories
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