Community Development Officer

New York, New York
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)

The Organization

What We Do

With residents and partners, LISC forges resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity across America – great places to live, work, visit, do business and raise families.

Strategies We Pursue

• Equip talent in underinvested communities with the skills and credentials to compete successfully for quality income and wealth opportunities.
• Invest in businesses, housing and other community infrastructure to catalyze economic, health, safety and educational mobility for individuals and communities.
• Strengthen existing alliances while building new collaborations to increase our impact on the progress of people and places.
• Develop leadership and the capacity of partners to advance our work together
• Drive local, regional, and national policy and system changes that foster broadly shared prosperity and well-being.

Over the last 40 years, LISC and its affiliates have invested approximately $22 billion in businesses, affordable housing, health, educational mobility, community and recreational facilities, public safety, employment and other projects that help to revitalize and stabilize underinvested communities. Headquartered in New York City, LISC’s reach spans the country from East coast to West coast in 36 markets with offices extending from Buffalo to San Francisco. Visit us at

Position Description

The New York City office of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC NYC) seeks a Community Development Officer for Housing and Economic Development to conduct lending in New York City’s five boroughs. This position reports to the LISC NYC Director of Lending. The local New York City program, LISC NYC, works with nonprofit, community-based organizations to develop affordable housing, commercial enterprises, and community facilities. Since its founding in 1979, LISC NYC has invested over $3.0 billion, leveraging an additional $7.6 billion in low-income communities. This has resulted in nearly 42,000 affordable homes built and preserved as well as 2.5 million square feet of retail and community space created. We also invest in health, economic development, financial well-being, and environmental sustainability so that the communities our partners serve are good places to live, work, do business and raise children. For more information visit

Responsibilities

The Community Development Officer for Housing and Economic Development works with the LISC NYC Director of Lending to develop and execute a program of strategic housing and economic development investments to advance the objectives of LISC NYC’s strategic plan. A primary focus of the role is sourcing affordable housing development and preservation transactions as well as economic development transactions, and managing relationships with nonprofit and for-profit developer partners who are working in coordination with city and state housing and economic development agencies such as the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, New York State Homes and Community Renewal, New York City Housing Authority, New York City Economic Development Corporation and New York State Empire State Development Corporation. The successful candidate will have knowledge of the public and private resources available to leverage LISC’s investments and will have the skills to strategically deploy LISC’s full array of financing products such as predevelopment, acquisition, construction, and bridge loans, lines of credit, and tax credit equity, working alongside LISC’s affiliate National Equity Fund and LISC’s National Economic Development Team.

Specifically, the Community Development Officer for Housing will be focused on the following:

• Business Development, Lending and Technical Assistance
• Market LISC NYC’s financial and technical assistance resources by building upon LISC NYC’s established historic relationships with nonprofit community development corporations (CDCs), with an eye toward continued stewardship of the community-based housing sector, while also identifying opportunities to expand LISC NYC’s client base and pursue other business development strategies.
• Structure, negotiate, and originate a robust pipeline of affordable housing and economic development transactions that facilitate the deployment of LISC capital and technical assistance resources.
• Underwrite all types of affordable housing and non-housing real estate transactions requiring LISC pre-development, acquisition, construction, or permanent loans, tax-exempt bond financing and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing. Conduct financial modeling and presentations to affordable housing and economic development sponsors.
• Coordinate with LISC affiliate National Equity Fund (NEF) acquisition/underwriting staff and LISC’s National Economic Development Team to provide technical assistance and financing where LISC NYC’s client relationships align with NEF’s LIHTC syndication and LISC National’s economic development goals.
• Manage key relationships with public and private sector partners. Work closely with City and State government to develop projects across all of LISC NYC’s housing and economic development programs, including originating LISC loans in conjunction with various programs managed by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) program, the NYC Acquisition Loan Fund and similar financing programs at NYEDC or NYESD.
• Present loan recommendations to LISC’s credit committee. Perform credit analysis, including analyzing borrower operating performance, project financial performance, borrower management capacity, and project feasibility of affordable housing projects.
• Provide technical assistance to LISC NYC’s partners, including nonprofit community development corporations and private entrepreneurs, seeking to develop affordable housing and other types of non-housing real estate. Assist in the preparation of applications and documentation necessary for debt and equity financing, government subsidies, and other related financing.
• In collaboration with LISC’s affiliate National Equity Fund (NEF), assist sponsors of affordable housing whose projects are approaching Year 15 of their LIHTC compliance periods, in order to exit, reposition, and refinance their housing portfolios.
• Work in cross functional teams under deadlines with private and nonprofit real estate developers, attorneys, governmental agencies, lenders, equity investors and other entities to structure and close affordable housing and other non-housing transactions.
• Work with LISC NYC staff to develop and implement programs that apply LISC’s technical assistance and financing capabilities to solve critical challenges identified through LISC NYC’s strategic planning process.
• Performs additional duties as required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university required. Master’s degree in real estate, finance, urban planning, public administration, or related field preferred.
• At least 5 years of experience in lending, finance, community development or related field, with demonstrated experience in real estate development, particularly underwriting, deal structuring and financial analysis.
• Familiarity with the New York City area market, along with familiarity with city, state and federal government financing programs, including bond and tax credit financing, available to support projects.
• Knowledge of financing products such as predevelopment, acquisition, construction, bridge, and permanent loans; lines of credit; and tax credit equity.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple, complex transactions at various stages and coordinate with multiple internal and external parties to meet approval and closing deadlines.
• Commitment to the community development sector and the critical role of nonprofit organizations in driving social change and preserving affordable housing.
• Works collaboratively and effectively with co-workers and representatives from the nonprofit, corporate, philanthropic, and public sectors, and with a diverse range of individuals and organizations.
• Ability to work independently on multiple tasks and projects, set priorities for a challenging workload.
• Excellent writing, financial analysis, and verbal communication skills required.

To Apply: LISC offers a competitive salary and excellent fringe benefits. Please send cover letter and resume via e-mail

LISC IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

COMMITTED TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND JUSTICE