Chief of Neighborhood Affairs - Mayor’s Office
ABOUT THE SHEFFIELD ADMINISTRATION
Detroit is entering a historic new chapter under Mayor-Elect Mary Sheffield, the city’s first woman to serve as Mayor. Elected with a decisive mandate, Mayor-Elect Sheffield brings a steady, community-rooted approach to governing—one focused on listening to residents, healing long-standing divides, and delivering meaningful improvements in daily life across every neighborhood. She will take office on January 1, 2026, with a commitment to building a city that lifts every family and expands opportunity for all.
As she forms her administration, Mayor-Elect Sheffield is assembling a talented, diverse team of leaders who bring deep expertise, lived experience, and the courage to put forward bold, innovative ideas that move Detroit forward. Her team will drive a City government grounded in collaboration, equity, transparency, and results. The Sheffield Administration seeks mission-driven individuals who are ready to serve, ready to build, and ready to help shape Detroit’s future.
ABOUT THE OFFICE
The Office of Neighborhood Affairs is the administration’s front-door to Detroit’s communities, responsible for ensuring that every resident—across every neighborhood, block club, senior building, and community group—feels directly connected to City Hall. The office serves as Detroit’s central hub for resident engagement, neighborhood coordination, senior services, youth outreach, violence-prevention programming, and community-based partnerships. Through district managers, deputy district managers, senior advocates, youth coordinators, CVI liaisons, and faith-based connectors, the office brings city services out of downtown and directly into neighborhoods, meeting residents where they are. The work is grounded in Mayor-Elect Sheffield’s commitment to resident voice, block-by-block empowerment, and community-driven government that is visible, accessible, and accountable.
ABOUT THE ROLE
Reporting directly to the Mayor, the Chief of Neighborhood Affairs is the administration’s senior executive responsible for ensuring every Detroiter is engaged, heard, and supported through neighborhood-based service, advocacy, and partnership. This role leads the City’s district infrastructure—including District Managers, Deputy District Managers, Opportunity & Empowerment Hub coordinators, Senior Citizen Services, Youth Affairs, Community Violence Intervention, Faith-Based Engagement, and a range of advisory boards and cultural/identity coalitions. The Chief organizes these functions into a unified, resident-centered system that elevates neighborhood priorities into City policy, strengthens trust between residents and government, and coordinates cross-departmental delivery of services and support. The Chief ensures Detroiters’ lived experiences shape decisions around housing, safety, youth, seniors, small business, development, mobility, and citywide resource allocation.
This role will drive the administration’s priorities, including:
Establish a citywide neighborhood engagement model that ensures every resident has a direct relationship with the administration
Strengthen Detroit’s network of block clubs, promote formation of new neighborhood associations, and expand grassroots leadership development
Launch Neighborhood Opportunity & Empowerment Hubs that co-locate services, supports, and community resources in accessible locations
Ensure neighborhood needs and feedback inform citywide policy, budget, and development decisions
Develop a coordinated service-delivery model across all senior buildings and senior-facing resources
Strengthen community violence intervention strategies through neighborhood-based outreach and trusted messengers
Integrate youth engagement, youth leadership development, and safe-spaces programming into district operations
Formalize the role of identity- and culture-based coalitions (LGBTQ, ethnic groups, returning citizens, immigrant communities) within neighborhood decision-making
Expand faith-based partnerships to support neighborhood stability, social services, and community-led initiatives
Ensure timely information flow between neighborhoods and the Mayor’s Office, with clear follow-through on commitments made to residents
This description outlines the general nature and key responsibilities of the role and is not intended to be exhaustive; duties, responsibilities, and activities may be modified at the discretion of the Mayor.
Core responsibilities include:
Oversee the full district infrastructure, including District Managers, Deputy District Managers, Opportunity & Empowerment Hub teams, and neighborhood-facing service units
Lead the City’s strategy to build, support, and scale block clubs, neighborhood associations, and community-led networks
Supervise Senior Citizen Services, ensuring strong advocacy and support systems across all senior buildings and senior-serving organizations
Oversee the Office of Youth Affairs, including youth coordinators, youth engagement initiatives, and neighborhood-based youth programming
Provide executive oversight of Community Violence Intervention operations within neighborhoods, ensuring seamless coordination with CVI Office leadership
Manage faith-based engagement through the Faith-Based Director and liaisons, ensuring congregations and faith anchors are integrated into neighborhood planning and service coordination
Coordinate identity- and culture-based advisory boards, ensuring their insights inform citywide strategy
Ensure neighborhood needs and priorities are collected, analyzed, and elevated directly to the Mayor to shape policy, programs, and special initiatives
Lead cross-departmental coordination to bring city services directly into neighborhoods and senior/special population buildings
Represent the Mayor at neighborhood meetings, community events, crisis response gatherings, and cross-agency coordination sessions
Provide regular briefings to the Mayor on neighborhood trends, service gaps, resident feedback, and emerging community priorities
Develop systems for case management, service referrals, follow-up tracking, and citywide customer service expectations
Ensure rapid-response protocols are in place for neighborhood-level issues relating to safety, housing, infrastructure, and service delivery
Champion resident-centered governance across all City departments and ensure neighborhood perspectives inform economic development, housing, and public safety decisions
Qualifications:
Advanced degree in public administration, urban planning, social work, community development, public policy, or a related field preferred
Ten or more years of senior leadership experience in community engagement, neighborhood services, or cross-sector public service
Deep familiarity with Detroit neighborhoods, community organizations, senior buildings, block clubs, and resident leadership networks strongly preferred
Demonstrated experience building and leading teams in complex community-facing environments
Proven record of designing or scaling neighborhood-rooted programs or resident-support systems
Experience managing community engagement during major planning, housing, economic development, or public safety initiatives
Strong relationship-building skills with residents, block clubs, youth, seniors, faith leaders, and advocacy organizations
Ability to navigate sensitive community concerns with empathy, diplomacy, and credibility
Experience coordinating multi-agency teams and working in fast-paced executive environments
Commitment to equity, community voice, transparency, and the values of the Sheffield Administration
Rate of Pay: $179,000- 304,000 commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Benefits: Our goal is to attract and retain a highly skilled workforce by providing generous healthcare and other benefits to eligible employees. Learn more about benefits for City of Detroit employees.
Equal Opportunity in Employment: The Sheffield Administration is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. Even if you do not meet all of the requirements listed above, we encourage you to apply if you believe you have the skills, experience, and expertise necessary to thrive in this role. The City of Detroit is an equal opportunity employer, and we encourage candidates of all backgrounds—including those historically underrepresented in municipal government—to apply.