Executive Director

Jersey City Redevelopment Agency
Jersey City, New Jersey

The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA), in collaboration with Jersey City Mayor James Solomon, is actively recruiting for an Executive Director to lead the JCRA’s day-to-day operations and advance complex housing, redevelopment, and economic development initiatives throughout Jersey City. The JCRA is an autonomous agency of the City and is the primary vehicle through which the City executes significant and complex housing and redevelopment projects in one of the most active development markets in the New York metropolitan region.

Operating under the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law (N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1 et seq.) (LRHL), the JCRA manages a large portfolio of redevelopment projects in designated redevelopment areas within the City, negotiates redevelopment agreements and redevelopment project agreements, and has the responsibility to ensure that stakeholders deliver on the community benefits promised in these agreements. The Agency is at the center of Jersey City’s most consequential projects — including Bayfront, Canal Crossing, and Holland Gardens — and is a critical partner in advancing the Mayor’s affordable housing agenda and vision for inclusive economic growth.

The Executive Director is the day-to-day leader of the Agency, reporting to the JCRA Board of Commissioners, serving as Corporate Secretary to the Board, and supervising the JCRA staff and outside professionals. The Executive Director is also a critical representative and negotiator for the City with external stakeholders including the development and business community, community, groups, and other governmental entities, including the State of New Jersey. In that capacity, the Executive Director also works in close coordination with the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development, and the Director of the City’s Department of Housing, Economic Development, and Commerce, among others.

What We’re Looking For
The ideal candidate is someone who will work aggressively and creatively to leverage the JCRA’s many tools to maximize the public benefits to Jersey City residents from redevelopment in the City. The JCRA is looking for someone with following experience, skills, and qualities:

• Deep, practical experience in real estate development, affordable housing finance, or a closely related field, with demonstrated responsibility for complex transactions from inception through completion.
• Fluency in development finance — proforma underwriting, capital stack structuring, and the various forms of subsidy instruments that are available in connection with redevelopment projects with affordable housing and public infrastructure components.
• Strong negotiation skills required to credibly engage in high stakes negotiations with sophisticated private-sector counterparts, including institutional developers, lenders, and equity partners.
• Working knowledge of the LRHL, the Long Term Tax Exemption Law, and other applicable statutory and regulatory frameworks — or the demonstrated capacity to master them quickly.
• Strong organizational and leadership skills including, the ability to manage a multi-disciplinary team, oversee external consultants and legal counsel, and maintain accountability across a complex project portfolio.
• Clear, precise written and oral communication skills, including the ability to present complex transactional and policy issues to the Mayor, City Council, state and county agencies, community stakeholders, and the public.
• Exceptional professional integrity and sound judgment in navigating the political dimensions of public redevelopment work.

Core Responsibilities

Development Execution and Negotiation

• Lead and negotiate redeveloper designation processes, RFPs for redevelopment projects and required services, redevelopment agreements, and community benefit terms across the JCRA’s active project portfolio and pipeline.
• Manage redevelopment projects from designation through construction completion, including coordination with developers, lenders, legal counsel, and City agencies.
• Serve as the City’s primary institutional counterpart in negotiations involving complex deal structures, phased financing, mixed-use programs, affordable housing, and community benefit obligations.
• Oversee RFPs for acquisition and development of publicly owned and JCRA-owned parcels and recommend designation decisions to the JCRA Board and the Mayor’s Office.

Affordable Housing and Land Acquisition

• Execute the City’s land revitalization and parcel assembly strategy using LRHL designation powers, the Abandoned Properties Rehabilitation Act, tax foreclosure monitoring, eminent domain, and related tools.
• Advance affordable and workforce housing goals through negotiated community benefits, LIHTC transactions, NJHMFA bond financing, State tax credit programs, and other available financing mechanisms.
• Collaborate with the Mayor’s Office, the Housing Department, and the planning division to coordinate housing production and preservation objectives.

Financial Oversight

• Develop and manage the JCRA’s capital project planning and operating budget; oversee procurement and contract administration.
• Develop financing plans and agreements with public agencies and private parties to support redevelopment projects; identify and pursue federal, state, and philanthropic grant opportunities to expand the JCRA’s capacity and resources.
• Ensure ongoing compliance with Long Term Tax Exemption Law requirements in coordination with other City entities and coordinate with the City Tax Assessor and Corporation Counsel on enforcement matters.

Redevelopment Planning and Legal Coordination

• Engage and coordinate with the Planning Department, Corporation Counsel, and the Mayor’s Office in connection with the development, adoption, implementation, and amendment of redevelopment plans.
• Advance City policy objectives and community benefit requirements in connection with designation of redevelopment areas in the City, area-in-need studies, and redevelopment plan language and requirements.
• Coordinate with City legal staff and outside counsel on litigation, eminent domain proceedings, and other legal matters affecting the JCRA portfolio of redevelopment projects.

Agency Leadership and External Relations

• Manage and develop JCRA staff; oversee agency governance, Board administration, and compliance with applicable law; and serve as the primary staff resource to the JCRA Board of Commissioners.
• Prepare and review Board agenda materials, contracts, RFPs, agreements, and other legal and administrative documents required to advance redevelopment projects and implement Board decisions.
• Manage JCRA consultant contracts and affiliations — including legal counsel, planning consultants, financial advisors, and other experts — to maximize results while stewarding JCRA resources responsibly.
• Represent the JCRA before the City Council, Planning Board, state agencies (NJHMFA, NJEDA, NJDEP), and community stakeholders.
• Serve as a subject-matter resource and liaison to the JCRA Board, the Mayor’s Office, and the broader City leadership team on redevelopment strategy, project status, and policy development.

Minimum Qualifications
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate, Urban Planning, Finance, Law, Public Policy & Administration, or a related field required. Graduate or professional degree (M.B.A., J.D., M.S. Real Estate, M.U.P., M.P.A.) strongly preferred.

Experience: Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in real estate development, affordable housing finance, redevelopment, or a closely related field, of which at least 3 years involved direct responsibility for transaction execution or project management. Prior experience in a public agency, CDFI, or mission-driven developer role with both policy and transaction execution responsibility is valued but not required.

Preferred experience includes familiarity with New York/New Jersey urban redevelopment markets; prior engagement with New Jersey redevelopment programs and processes including through NJHMFA, NJEDA, and NJDEP; experience with developing the capital stack for complex affordable housing projects; and existing relationships with institutional developers, affordable housing lenders, and NJ state agency stakeholders.

Employment Type: Management
Schedule: Full-Time
Location: Jersey City, NJ (on-site)
Reports To: JCRA Board of Commissioners
Salary Range: $175,00.00 to $250,000.00 commensurate with qualifications.
Comprehensive benefits package including pension, medical, dental, prescription, FSA, life insurance, and more.

To apply, please submit a resume via email to:
Joseph P. Baumann, Jr., Esq.,
General Counsel Jersey City Redevelopment Agency
McManimon, Scotland & Baumann, LLC
75 Livingston Avenue, 2nd Floor
Roseland, NJ 07068

Resumes must be submitted no later than 4:00 PM on June 5, 2026

June 5, 2026

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