Director of Community Investment

Position Description

LISC Bay Area is seeking a collaborative and passionate leader to join our team as Director of Community Investment. The LISC Bay Area team takes a bold and joyful approach to our work to support local communities in creating prosperity and well-being – defined in their terms. We bring the tools of community development – mobilizing funds, cultivating partnerships, and deepening capacity – in the areas of economic development and housing to support the self-determination of communities that have been historically prevented from accessing investment and opportunity.

The Director will report to the Executive Director and will work closely with members of LISC Bay Area, in partnership with LISC National teams, to develop new capital products, structure and underwrite loans, and provide technical assistance and expertise to community partners. The Director will handle the full range of lending activities, including business development, structuring, underwriting, and closing of Bay Area loans, in concert with LISC National Lending and Legal department staff. This person will be responsible for developing and managing LISC Bay Area’s lending pipeline, and managing LISC Bay Area’s lending programs, including PLUS, the Catalyst Housing Fund, and the Family of Loan Funds.

The candidate will have ten or more years of experience with community development and investment. The ideal candidate brings a breadth of experience, including not only technical skills in organizing or deploying capital, but also experience providing technical assistance to community organizations and real estate projects, working in underinvested communities and building relationships. The ideal candidate brings a deep passion for and commitment to supporting community self-determination.

Responsibilities

Transformative Investment (40%)

In close collaboration with the Executive Director and other members of the LISC Bay Area team:

• Drive a strategic approach to support and manage the growth of lending and real estate-based transactions in the 9-County Bay Area, including developing, launching, and managing new and existing loan products and initiatives aligned with LISC Bay Area’s programmatic priorities.
• Strengthen the Bay Area community-based organization ecosystem by building relationships and providing support to community development partner organizations to position their organizations to successfully implement more complex real estate developments. Work with organizations to identify their needs and deploy existing LISC resources where available and co-create pilot programs and capital funds as needed.
• Collaborate with LISC Bay Area team members to shape new and/or improve existing technical assistance and capacity building programs and trainings.
• Develop programs with non-profit, private and public sector agencies at the local and state levels that leverage LISC’s capabilities and national platform, utilizing National LISC as needed.
• Work closely with Executive Director to raise capital and programmatic funds.

Lending and Project Technical Assistance (50%)

• Build and manage a pipeline of projects in such asset classes as affordable housing, commercial developments and community facilities. Identifying projects that qualify for and benefit from access to green capital.
• Activate LISC Bay Area’s lending programs, including PLUS, the Catalyst Housing Fund, and the Family of Loan Funds and connect local projects to national subsidy sources and lending strategies.
• Source, originate and underwrite loans, including working with borrowers to assess feasibility, structure transactions (develop realistic financing strategies, access public subsidies and conventional financing to assure successful project execution), conduct due diligence and financial analyses, and draft credit memoranda.
• Present loan recommendations to LISC’s national credit committee and facilitate loan closings by working with counsel and borrowers on loan documentation and ensuring that all closing conditions have been satisfied.
• As needed, hire, onboard, and supervise junior staff, consultants, or temp employees.

Other Responsibilities (10%)

• Prepare reports and present to LISC Bay Area’s Local Advisory Committee.
• Represent LISC at external meetings, conferences and events.
• Periodic evening and weekend work to accommodate our local stakeholders. Interested candidates must be comfortable traveling and working within a wide range of neighborhood and professional settings.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Minimum eight (8) years of demonstrated and increasingly progressive experience in the field of community development and affordable housing, including lending and investment roles. Interest and experience in supervision a plus.
• Highly motivated, solution-oriented individual who is self-directed, and able to successfully balance multiple priorities and programs.
• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Community Development, Urban Planning, Finance, Business Administration, Public Policy, or related field. Master’s Degree a plus.
• Ability to work collaboratively with others and demonstrate flexibility and poise in dealing with a range of individuals and organizations.
• Understanding of underwriting issues with respect to affordable housing, commercial development and community facilities and/or small business; and experience in transaction structuring and underwriting, including ability to analyze financial statements, project development budgets, and project operating pro formas.
• Experience working with city, county, state and federal financing programs available to support community projects.
• Familiarity with the real estate markets in the Bay Area and California.
• Demonstrated commitment to working with traditionally underserved, working class, or other underinvested communities. Familiarity with navigating various cultural contexts.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex transactions at various stages and coordinate with multiple internal and external parties to meet approval and closing deadlines.
• Excellent writing and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, particularly Microsoft Excel.

Salary

LISC offers a competitive salary of ($133,900-$167,400) commensurate with experience and excellent benefits. The position is based in Oakland, CA and is a hybrid position, with an expectation of two (2) days in office or in the field. Candidate must reside in the Bay Area.

• Actual salaries may be based on several factors including, but not limited to, a candidate's skill set, experience, education, work location and other qualifications.