NeighborWorks Umpqua (NWU) is a rural focused community development corporation working in Southern Oregon. We work to promote opportunity for all by developing, owning, and providing access to quality housing that is affordable, increasing access to capital to build household wealth, assets and
expand homeownership, improve financial resilience, and support community-based economic development efforts.

NWU was founded over 30 years ago to develop quality affordable rental housing in response to a market that was not producing housing the community needed. Over the years, we have continued to develop housing, expanding into other areas of community development in response to gaps in the market. We have an established real estate development department that has a steady pipeline of projects and continues to explore additional opportunities. As this grows, we are looking to add talented, dedicated, diverse, and forward-thinking team members.

We are currently looking for a Real Estate Development Director. This position will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer. The Real Estate Development Director is an important member of the organization’s senior leadership team.  This position is responsible for establishing, leading, and implementing the organization’s real estate strategic plan, to include building and maintaining a pipeline of economically viable and diverse affordable housing projects that expand the housing options not only in the targeted communities, but in partnership with other local organizations in the surrounding region.

The Director has several key areas of responsibility.  First, in the arena of planning, the individual initiates and directs research into new kinds of housing development activities consistent with NeighborWorks® Umpqua’s strategic direction.  Investigating feasible affordable housing initiatives includes project identification, site assessment, and feasibility of various development options that ensure the long-term viability of NeighborWorks® Umpqua’s housing stock.  The Director also serves as the organization’s community liaison on general housing development issues, manages relationships with government agencies, private lenders and investors involved with project financing, and actively seeks collaborative relationships that will support and expand the mission and strategic direction of NeighborWorks® Umpqua.  This includes participating in national, regional, and state housing-related activities with nonprofit,
foundation or government entities related to NeighborWorks® Umpqua’s housing development strategic plan, as well has handling any development project media relations.

A second major area of responsibility relates to specific development projects.  The Director oversees the planning, designing and implementation of particular development projects, including studying project feasibility, site selection, community relations, project financing, design, construction, building turnover (to management), and post construction.  This requires staying abreast of changes in financing sources and regulations, and overseeing competitive bidding processes with general contractors and architects, etc.

A third area of responsibility is business unit management.  The Director manages, evaluates, and supervises department staff and consultants in all their activities.  Responsible for developing, preparing, and monitoring Real Estate Development’s annual goals, objectives, work plans and budgets with input from department staff, the Director also participates in organizational and board strategic planning and provides reports and updates to the Board of Directors. The budget development is in concert with the CEO and other NWU managers and directors and will be approved by the Board of Directors.  The Real Estate Development department is expected to be financially sustainable and contribute resources to asset management and other areas of the company.

Duties / Responsibilities:
The Real Estate Development Director will be expected to achieve the following objectives:
 Ensure the advancement of the development projects currently in the pipeline toward
timely completion;
 Work with Leadership Team and Board to develop strategy and identify development
and rehab opportunities that align with the organization’s mission and vision.
 Identify and complete feasibility studies for one or two new development projects
annually;
 Oversee and guide project managers to complete pre-development, funding
applications, construction completion, and all related activities
 With the CEO, COO and CFO, create and maintain business plan for the Real Estate
Development department;
 Establish and maintain new real estate development partnership relationships for
NeighborWorks® Umpqua;
 Identify and establish infrastructure and systems needed to ensure the overall success
of the Real Estate Development Department;
 Meet annual budgeted revenue goals through acquisitions and development;
 Effectively manage a diverse team of professional staff;
 Participate actively in the Leadership Team of the organization.
 Commitment to the mission of NeighborWorks® Umpqua– a personal commitment to
service;

Required Skills / Abilities:
The preferred candidate will also possess the following skills / abilities:
 Comprehensive knowledge of the regulatory issues related to the financing and
compliance of nonprofit housing and real estate property management;
 Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
 Strong analytical ability to comprehend a project’s big picture and the relationships
between the component parts, both within the organization and within the political and
financial systems beyond;

 Demonstrated ability to conduct real estate development feasibility studies;
 Excellent knowledge of property leasing and/or facilities management systems and
practices.
 Able to develop and perform budgeting and financing calculations
 Proficiency with spreadsheets software, such as Microsoft Excel;
 Demonstrated strategic thinking and business planning skills;
 Strong team orientation;
 Excellent supervisory and mentoring skills;
 Demonstrated ability to plan, develop and coordinate multiple projects;
 Demonstrated skills in managing external relations for an organization;
 Commitment to the community we serve.
Education and Experience:
The preferred candidate will meet all the following requirements:
 BA, MA preferred, in Finance, Business Administration or related field;
 10-years experience in affordable housing development, with experience with rural
housing, and Federal, LIHTC, HUD and Rural Development programs;
 Minimum of 5 years of experience as a Project Manager, or commensurate experience;
 Minimum of 5 years of experience supervising staff and consultants;

Physical Requirements:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to use hands or finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance, and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 40 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this position include those required for reading, writing, and typing. This position will be working both indoors and outdoors as part of your daily routine.  From this movement, the employee will encounter varying temperatures. The environment may require the ability to use safety equipment such as but not limited to eye and hearing protection, safety harnesses, etc. depending on the specific job requirement.