Position Description 

LISC Greater Kansas City seeks a self-motivated and skilled lending professional passionate about affordable housing, economic development, and strengthening communities for a Program Officer (PO) position. This individual will be responsible for coordinating the deployment of LISC loan capital to communities experiencing lower incomes and for developers and entrepreneurs who have previously experienced challenges accessing capital. This person should have expertise in community development, finance, real estate development and/or lending fields. The Program Officer will help to grow LISC Greater Kansas City’s lending pipeline, from loan origination, to underwriting, closing, and asset management to support LISC’s strategic priorities and comprehensive approach to community development. This person must have the capacity to simultaneously work on multiple tasks, set priorities for a challenging workload with great organization, initiative, attention to detail, and timely follow-through, as well as high standards for accuracy and efficiency. The Program Officer reports directly to the Executive Director (or Deputy Director) and collaborates with fellow LISC staff to structure and deploy mission-based capital to create opportunities for all in our region.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Originate, structure, and underwrite financing requests for real estate projects that create more affordable housing, commercial development and small business support in the Kansas City region. This will include identifying project opportunities, providing technical assistance to potential borrowers, vetting of projects, structuring financing to meet their needs, and developing and maintaining key relationships and partnerships with non-profit and for-profit affordable housing and community developers.
• Conduct due diligence and financial analyses, draft credit memoranda, and present loan recommendations to LISC’s national Lending staff and Credit Committee, or those of respective affiliates, as applicable. Manage closing process with in-house and external counsel.
• Manage the deployment of capital and reporting to funders on local revolving loan funds, such as the KC Predevelopment Fund, NE Preservation Fund, and additional funds under development.
• Lead the origination and deployment of capital from the KC Regional Housing Fund in coordination with the Executive Director, LISC colleagues from affiliates and/or national Lending staff, as well as partners involved with the Regional Housing Partnership.
• Work with community development partners to help them craft financing strategies, access public subsidies, and secure private financing to assure successful project execution.
• Evaluate mission alignment of proposals, management capacity of entities, organizational structure, and financial feasibility.
• Develop and implement a local lending strategy which responds to unmet needs in the housing, commercial, and small business markets and work with other LISC staff to design appropriate programs, applications, and collateral.
• Originate loans that bolster LISC KC’s investments with local programming and initiatives.
• Coordinate internal and external relationships that are critical to the growth of the office’s lending portfolio including relationships with LISC national and local staff, originators of LIHTC and NMTC transactions via LISC affiliates, including NEF, Broadstreet, LFM, as well as coordinate with financial institutions and other program partners.
• Develop strategic collaborations with public sector agencies at the local level.

• Work with LISC national and local staff, stakeholders, and funders to identify challenges and opportunities for risk mitigating strategies, including reserves, guarantees, and other forms of credit enhancement.
• Support LISC national and local staff’s small business lending initiatives.
• In partnership with other LISC local staff, provide technical assistance to community development corporations, mission-aligned partners, and emerging developers, and assist in facilitating and convening meetings, trainings, workshops, and/or other events to increase community awareness and build partners’ capacity and access to resources.

• Represent LISC as an expert on community development lending and share best practices to community partners and stakeholders, as well as at regional and national conferences, trainings, and events. In person attendance at meetings and events is a required dimension of this work.
• Perform all other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

A successful candidate will have the following expertise and experience:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a concentration in Business, Finance, Real Estate, Planning, Community Development, Urban Studies or related fields/equivalent experience. Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant work experience in lending, finance, affordable housing, community development, nonprofit management, or related field, with demonstrated experience in housing real estate development, including project financing, market analysis, deal structuring, and financial analysis.
• Highly motivated, solution-oriented, entrepreneurial individual who is self-directed, and able to successfully balance multiple priorities and tasks, be flexible, and work in a fast-paced environment, while contributing to a positive and productive work culture.
• Knowledge of financing products, such as predevelopment, acquisition, construction, bridge and permanent loans; lines of credit; tax credit equity; and program related investments.
• Understanding of, and experience with community development financial tools, including but not limited to LIHTC, NMTC, tax-exempt bonds, and federal, state, and city subsidy programs, including HUD programs.
• Demonstrated commitment to working with residents in all communities and a strong commitment to achieving shared prosperity in the region.
• Must be highly detail-oriented and possess excellent interpersonal skills, as well as strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple, complex projects and transactions at various stages and coordinate with multiple internal and external parties to meet approval and closing time frames and deadlines. Must work well under pressure, seek and synthesize information.
• Must be able to embrace and promote a culture of individual and shared trust and accountability – internally and externally.
• Ability to work collaboratively with co-workers and representatives from the nonprofit, philanthropic, public, and corporate sectors and operate in a small team setting.
• Experience working with complex non-profit or for-profit data and financial management systems, including program and case management, budgeting, grants and contract management.
• Working knowledge of the economic, political, and social environments of the Kansas City region, especially neighborhoods experiencing lower-incomes, organizations, and community development efforts is a plus.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, particularly Microsoft Excel, is strongly encouraged.
• Occasional travel of up to 5% of time annually.
• Demonstrated interest in LISC’s community development mission.

COMPENSATION:

LISC offers a competitive salary ($79,683-$99,604) and excellent fringe benefits.