Wesley Housing Launches Search for New President & CEO

Wesley Housing President and CEO Position Profile

 

Wesley Housing Development Corporation (Wesley Housing) seeks a dynamic and strategic leader to build on our track record of success, lead us through a period of significant growth and expand and deepen our impact on the lives of our current and future residents. After more than 15 years of outstanding service to Wesley Housing, our President and CEO Shelley S. Murphy has decided to retire. For more information about Wesley Housing, please visit https://www.wesleyhousing.org.

 

About Us

Wesley Housing is one of metropolitan Washington, DC’s top developers of service-enriched affordable housing in Northern Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland. Founded in 1974, Wesley Housing broke ground on our first community in 1979, the 128-unit Strawbridge Square Apartments. Today, Wesley Housing owns 30 stabilized communities comprising more than 2,100 units, providing housing and services to more than 3,000 residents, 88% of whom are people of color. Our portfolio includes family, senior, and special needs housing.

 

Wesley Housing has experienced significant growth in the past two years and currently has four projects under construction, with nine more at different stages of the development or acquisition process.  Recently named one of the Top 50 Affordable Housing Developers of 2020 by Affordable Housing Finance magazine and Developer of the Year by the Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND), Wesley Housing combines affordable housing with supportive services to build up the lives of residents, including low- and moderate-income families, older adults, and individuals with disabilities and/or chronic disease.

Our Core Values:

• Hope: We fuel our commitment, our creativity, and our compassion with faith in the future and human resources entrusted to us.
• Inclusiveness: We lift and celebrate the value of diversity within our communities and in our actions and choices. We are proactive in speaking out for equity so that each person has access to what they uniquely need to accomplish their aspirations.
• Leadership: We inspire and motivate everyone to magnify our mission and impact.
• Leverage: We maximize and influence available financial and human resources through partnership, volunteers, and tapping into the talent and energy in our communities.
• Stewardship: We apply ingenuity and pursue solutions to make the best use of available financial and human resources entrusted to us.

 

Wesley Housing Program Areas and Lines of Business Include:

• Real Estate Development (current staffing – 10 employees)
  Wesley Housing has a unique perspective on real estate development and focuses on a broad array of projects. Recent projects range from 30 to 200 units and include partnerships with tenants, churches, and local governments. Wesley Housing’s developments always feature a people first approach. We currently have approximately 650 units in the pipeline. To match our growing portfolio, our Real Estate Development team has grown from 4 to 10 staff, with skills in development, construction management and relocation.
• Resident Services (current staffing – 14 employees)
  Resident Services has been providing on-site supportive and educational services to residents at all of Wesley Housing’s properties since 2016. In 2019, the Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future recognized Wesley Housing as a Certified Organization for Resident Engagement & Services (CORES), which identifies owners of multifamily affordable properties that provide resident services in line with a robust coordination system. Wesley’s award-winning Housing Stability Initiative, named 2020 VA Governor’s Housing Conference “Best Housing Program or Service”, is the foundation of our resident services programming, which operates on the basis that stable housing is a requirement for vulnerable families to thrive. The resident services team is made up of 14 “others focused” individuals.
• Property Management & Asset Management (63 property management & 2 asset management employees)
  Wesley Housing provides in-house property management to ensure our people first approach is incorporated into all our properties. The team has recently grown in anticipation of more than 350 new units coming on-line before the end of this year.  Supplementing the portfolio and providing owner’s representation of our properties is the asset management team, comprised of 2 professionals.
• External Relations/Operations (current staffing – 6 employees), Human Resources (current staffing – 3 employees) and Finance/Accounting (current staffing – 6 employees)
  Support for our core operations of service delivery is provided by the teams of external relations/operations, human resources, and finance/accounting, all of whom provide a variety of key technical services necessary within the affordable housing industry.

 

Wesley Housing is governed by a 14-member Board of Directors and has a current annual operating budget of approximately $6 million. Wesley Housing’s financial position has improved in the last four years, ending 2021 with unrestricted cash of $10 million and total consolidated assets of more than $360 million.

Wesley Housing has a talented team of approximately 100 people. The leadership team includes the President and CEO, Chief Financial Officer, President of Wesley Property Management, Chief Operating and External Relations Officer, Senior Vice President of Real Estate Development, Director of Resident Services, Senior Manager of Human Resources, and Senior Advisor.

 

The Position

Reporting to and working with the Board of Directors, the President and CEO helps set and implement our strategic direction and provides internal and external leadership to continually increase Wesley Housing’s impact and raise our visibility and brand.

 

Key Responsibilities and Initial Priorities

• Effectively manage the transition from a long-term executive so that programs and services continue seamlessly.
• Maintain a positive organizational culture, especially in light of the leadership transition and the move to a new hybrid workspace.
• Continue to lead and support ongoing organizational conversations around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
• Work with Board and staff to develop a new strategic plan and lead its implementation.
• Provide leadership, guidance, and support to staff while fostering an inclusive work environment.
• Evaluate and make recommendations around the changing external economic conditions that impact affordable housing development—such as rising interest rates and supply chain problems—and their impact on Wesley Housing’s finances.
• Interface with Wesley Housing’s external stakeholders, such as local government officials, financial institutions, Virginia Housing, etc.

 

Experience and Attributes

Successful candidates for the President and CEO role will bring a variety of experiences and attributes to our organization, including some or all the following:

• Passion for Wesley Housing’s mission, including experience in and commitment to developing and maintaining high-quality resident-focused affordable housing.
• Knowledge of affordable housing and experience in real estate development strongly preferred.
• Big picture and strategic, forward-looking thinker with the ability to inspire others.
• Compassionate, confident, inclusive, and inspirational leader with high emotional intelligence who is collegial, consultative and involves others in the decisions and work.
• Significant leadership and management experience leading a complex organization and team.
• Proven business and financial acumen, with experience developing and managing budgets and demonstrated success in maintaining fiscal stability.
• Strong communicator, including well developed written and oral communication skills.
• Experience working for, with, or on a board of directors and supporting involvement in organizational governance.
• Strong work ethic, while practicing and supporting work/life balance.
• Ability to attend periodic evening and weekend meetings with external stakeholders.

 

Application Process

To apply, upload resume and cover letter by clicking here. For other inquiries, contact Peggy Sand at Peggy.Sand@marcumllp.com. No other application materials will be reviewed at this time. Resume review begins immediately.

Decisions regarding the recruitment, selection, hiring, compensation, and promotion of candidates and staff will be made without regard to race, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by federal, state, and local laws.

 

About Marcum’s Nonprofit & Social Sector Group

On behalf of Wesley Housing, Marcum’s Nonprofit & Social Sector Group is working with the Board of Directors to advance the search. Founded in 1984 and merged with Marcum in 2018, we are, and always have been, a mission-driven professional services firm seeking to do more for nonprofits and socially conscious companies. We exist to do meaningful work for organizations like Wesley Housing that are making a difference in our communities and our world. Learn more about our work at http://marcumllp.com/industries/nonprofit-social-sector.