Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office is seeking applicants for at least two positions in the newly created Office of Housing, a small group of executive branch officials tasked with coordinating various statewide housing programs.

Creating a statewide housing authority under the governor’s control was one of Lujan Grisham’s top priorities during the 30-day 2024 legislative session. Lawmakers ultimately blocked her request to create an official office with expanded powers, but she found $2 million to fund new positions in her office on the issue over the next two years.

Among the vacancies is that of a new “director of statewide homelessness initiatives,” who would be responsible for a “coordinated and strategic response” to the growing homeless population across the state, according to a press release from the governor’s office. Work would pay between $75,000 and $130,000.

The statewide housing agency is also hiring at least one more person and creating a general job posting for people “with experience in housing, programs, policy, regulatory frameworks, data and demographics,” according to the governor’s office. Work would pay between $50,000 and $120,000.

The governor’s appointment to the state housing agency comes after the state legislature made a one-time investment of historic proportions to boost housing construction in New Mexico.

The new state funds include a $125 million loan program for affordable housing infrastructure and workforce housing construction, a $50 million payment to the New Mexico Affordable Housing Trust Fund and $20 million for initiatives to combat homelessness.

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The goal of the housing agency is to improve the availability and affordability of housing across the state. The governor’s office is looking for “talented and innovative thinkers” to develop new ideas and develop a strategic approach, the press release said.

“The housing landscape has fundamentally changed in recent years, and it is time for new models and new levels of coordination,” Daniel Werwath, whom the governor hired to lead the office in January, said in the release. “The governor is assembling an experienced team with deep expertise to develop innovative ways to address the unprecedented housing crisis facing New Mexico.”

Lujan Grisham asked lawmakers to approve her proposal for a housing office and give it new powers, including appointing the office’s new director to the New Mexico Board of Directors.

Mortgage Finance Authority, which was recently renamed Housing New Mexico. She took the rare step of personally addressing a legislative committee.

A bill sponsored by the governor faced opposition from some lawmakers who said a new agency could be redundant or hinder existing state agencies such as Housing New Mexico. Housing New Mexico officials also lobbied against Lujan Grisham’s proposal.