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Denver seeks executive director for Department of Housing Stability

By January 29, 2026 | updated 12 hours ago

FILE PHOTO: HOST Executive Director Jamie Rife, center, answers questions from city auditors in November 2024. Rife departed her position at HOST at the end of November 2025, accepting a senior vice president position with tech-driven nonprofit Housing Connectors.(Deborah Grigsby, The Denver Gazette)

The City of Denver is on the hunt for its next Department of Housing Stability executive director, a role vacated late last year by Jamie Rife. 

Along with a generous benefits package, which includes a lifelong monthly pension after five years of service, the salary range for HOST’s top chair, according to the job posting, is $169,976 to $288,959.

Created by an executive order in October 2019 by then-Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, HOST strives to reduce homelessness in the city through supportive programs and to create and preserve affordable housing.

Comparable positions in other major U.S. cities, based on recent job postings, have similar salary ranges: $184,314 to $235,274 in San Francisco and $117,686 to $194,147 in Seattle. 

Denver’s new HOST executive will oversee more than 100 full-time employees, establish the department’s vision and lead its fiscal and operational strategy, according to the posting.

The position requires a bachelor’s or master’s degree, or comparable experience, in urban planning, public administration, social work, public policy, or a related field, with at least 10 years of experience in affordable housing policy and/or housing development. 

Relevant work experience in housing, community development, homelessness prevention, or a related field is highly desirable.

Rife oversaw Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s “All In Mile High initiative,” as well as the city’s broader homelessness reduction efforts, eliminating large encampments, moving 7,800 people indoors and 6,500 into permanent housing.

But a year ago, Rife and her department faced a grueling city audit that found that Johnston’s citywide program to shelter homeless people was failing to meet accountability measures intended to safeguard taxpayer dollars and achieve some of its most basic goals.

Rife held the position for just under two years and left on Nov. 30, 2025, after accepting a senior vice president post at the tech-driven nonprofit Housing Connectors.

The application period for the position closes Feb. 9, 2026, according to the city’s job posting.

Deborah Grigsby

Reporter

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