The Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) is seeking a Chief of Real Estate Development to oversee the management and expansion of its Housing Development Department and related real estate functions. This new executive team member will be integral to driving UHAB’s mission to preserve and create affordable cooperative homeownership and cultivate real estate partnerships. UHAB is rethinking and reshaping its development work. This is a unique opportunity for a creative thinker and motivated leader to mold the transformation of a mission-driven housing development program.
About UHAB
UHAB empowers low- to moderate-income residents to take control of their housing and enhance their communities by creating strong tenant associations and lasting affordable co-ops. Since 1973, UHAB has helped form hundreds of tenant associations and transformed troubled rental buildings into 1,200 Housing Development Fund Corporations (HDFCs), providing homeownership opportunities for over 25,000 households. With democratic community control at the core of our mission, we work to sustain this thriving affordable housing community for this generation and those to come.
We organize residents to be active participants and decision-makers in shaping their neighborhoods. UHAB’s programs address a full spectrum of affordable housing needs: from building resident power and organizing tenants as community leaders to developing thousands of units of affordable housing across the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, to making small loans to first-time homeowners, to preserving affordable co-ops through training, education, and technical assistance. UHAB’s programs address the needs of future generations through long-term solutions: developing new affordable co-ops, increasing energy efficiency introducing renewable technologies, and strengthening housing policy.
The Position
As Chief of Real Estate Development, you will lead UHAB’s growing Real Estate Development Department, including a small team of incoming Project Associates, a Housing Development Director, and professional consultants. Supporting UHAB’s holistic approach to cooperative development, you will also work in close collaboration with the Organizing, Training, Legal and Policy Departments. The key expectations of the position are:
• Capably lead the end-to-end real estate development process from site consideration through financial and feasibility analysis, underwriting, acquisition/site control, design, loan closing, construction administration, and conversion.
• Manage project development teams, including the general contractor, architect, engineers, and consultants, and effectively coordinate with other key partners, including NYC and NYS housing agencies, lenders and other funders, attorneys, and property managers, to keep projects on track throughout all stages of pre-development, construction, and conversion
• Implement efficient project and construction management workflows and tracking to ensure that projects are delivered on time and budget and that risks and delays are easily identified for prompt course correction
• In close partnership with UHAB’s Fiscal team, manage the Real Estate Department’s operational budget and project finances, creating sustainable work streams to manage working capital, building operations, & requisition flows.
• Prepare applications and RFx responses for public and private funding of prospective deals; as opportunities arise, work with UHAB’s Fundraising & Communications team to prepare capacity-building grants for the real estate development department.
• Lead the development and implementation of community engagement strategies to garner support for UHAB’s housing development projects. Work with the Communications team on marketing and informational materials to ensure that public messaging is consistent, accurate, and maintained during all phases of a project.
• Establish a strong market position by leveraging market research, industry knowledge, and networking opportunities to identify potential real estate opportunities.
• Cultivate partnerships for joint real estate ventures including development projects and HDFC nominee services.
• Maintain appropriate data and documentation related to project financing, construction, and development milestones, especially to support performance analysis.
• Play an active role on UHAB’s management team, participating in meetings and strategic planning.
• Produce quarterly reports on development projects and related matters for UHAB’s board of directors.
The position reports to the Executive Director.
Qualifications
• Extensive experience (8+ years preferred) in affordable housing development, including a demonstrated track record of leading all aspects of the real estate development process
• Extensive experience managing project and construction budgets, as well as programmatic and operating budgets; Strong and demonstrable capacity for preparing, analyzing, and working with pro formas, budgets, and management and financial reports
• Strong expertise in NYC and NYS affordable housing programs, finance opportunities, and legal/regulatory landscape
• Expert negotiator, communicator, and relationship builder/manager
• A problem solver able to respond to crises and changing conditions quickly and effectively
• Well organized with excellent project management skills
• Keen ability to communicate data and programmatic planning in a clear and accessible way
• Excellent time management and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment and successfully deliver on heavy contract and programmatic requirements
• Experience leading, engaging, and motivating a team of staff
• Mission-driven with a strong commitment to housing, racial, and economic justice
Location This position is based at UHAB’s office in Lower Manhattan and operates on a hybrid work schedule. In addition to some in-office work, it requires frequent in-person site visits to projects in pre-development, construction, and conversion, and occasional attendance at other events across NYC.
Salary $140,000 – $150,000 annually. UHAB offers a generous benefits package including 100% employer-paid medical and dental insurance; long-term disability insurance; a 403b retirement plan; medical and dependent care flexible spending accounts; 3 weeks of paid vacation for new employees and 4 weeks of paid vacation after 2 years of employment; 15 paid holidays, 12 sick days, and 1 personal day per year; and bereavement leave.
Application To apply, send a resume and cover letter to jobs@uhab.org with the Subject: Chief of Real Estate Development.
UHAB works with a diverse community of tenants, community members, and co-op shareholders and believes that the UHAB Staff should reflect this diversity. Women, people of color, LBGTQ+ people, and people with lived experience of economic and housing instability are encouraged to apply. UHAB is an equal-opportunity employer.