Loan Officer, Affordable Housing Development

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Loan Officer, Affordable Housing Development Lending/Origination is a senior associate-level position at HPN responsible for the independent development and expansion of lending relationships within the Housing Partnership Network, resulting in both increased loan volume and mission impact.   This position requires strong experience in relationship management, loan underwriting, and financial analysis skills. The Loan Officer will have a demonstrated knowledge of HPF’s lending products to assist HPN’s members in meeting their affordable housing real estate development objectives. The Loan Officer will independently originate and underwrite loan requests and present credit memorandums to HPF’s Board for approval.  The Loan Officer will report to HPF’s Vice President of Lending. 

PROFESIONAL CHARACTERISTICS 

The Loan Officer, Affordable Housing Development Lending/Origination position is appropriate for an entrepreneurial professional with two to eight years of lending experience to non-profits, ideally through both project-based affordable housing loans (rental and/or homeownership) and enterprise financing.  This position requires an individual who can balance their understanding of complex non-profits and multi-layered transactions with sound underwriting and risk mitigation skills. The successful candidate will have the ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects and assignments, meet tight deadlines, and coordinate and communicate effectively across all levels of an organization. Thorough knowledge of federal, state, and/or local community development programs, particularly programs that support affordable housing, is preferred. Experience in a CDFI lending environment is a plus, but not required.

MAJOR DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES 

RELATIONSHIP BUILDING AND PIPELINE DEVELOPMENT (40%) Approximately 40% of the Loan Officer’s daily activities will focus on relationship building and sales efforts with clients and prospects to achieve individual and organizational loan volume goals, including:

• Create new customer relationships by developing an outreach strategy with the support of the VP of Lending, pursuing each prospect in a determined and systematic fashion, and tracking engagement in Salesforce;
• Develop and strengthen existing HPN member-borrower relationships.
• Attending HPN membership conferences, Strength Matters and other opportunities to meet with HPN members. 

UNDERWRITING, CREDIT REVIEW, LOAN CLOSING (55%) About half of the Loan Officer’s daily activities will focus on underwriting, credit review/analysis, and closing activities, including:

• Complete an underwriting assessment for debt and equity transactions and make recommendations to the VP of Lending and, ultimately, to HPF’s Board Loan Committee. This includes a detailed memorandum with assessments and recommendations for terms and credit structure. It also includes a borrower, property/project, and market-level assessment, as applicable, and recommendations on financial covenants and reporting requirements.
• Perform financial, due diligence, and project feasibility assessments for potential borrowers and recommend loan structures to the VP of Lending. 
• Prepare and finalize term sheets based on initial borrower assessment and alignment with HPN’s loan products. 
• Review and interpret third-party due diligence reports, including appraisals, market assessments, entitlement/zoning classifications, and environmental reports to determine transaction viability and appropriate loan structure.
• Provide increasingly advanced technical assistance to borrowers with appropriate recommendations (e.g., dashboards, board packages, audit presentations, etc.).
• Facilitate post-closing hand-off of the loan to the Portfolio management team.

COLLABORATION WITH ASSET MANAGEMENT AND SPECIAL PROJECTS (10%) A portion of the Loan Officer’s time will include collaboration/liaison between Lending and the Asset Management team on portfolio issues and additional special projects, as needed.

• Provide Asset Management and work-out assistance with Asset Management team as needed.
• Assisting with investor applications and surveys to HPN’s members.  
• Support the review and update of HPF loan policy and revamp of credit memorandum templates.
• Provide lending updates for the HPF website, marketing collateral, and other communications (in coordination with HPN communications staff). 
• Other duties as assigned. 

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field of study (e.g. business, finance, real estate, urban planning) is required. Advanced degree in related field a plus.
• 2-8 years of real estate lending or business banking as a sales officer, credit underwriter, or loan officer, preferably with a CDFI or similar organization.
• Ability to manage relationships with borrowers using a customer-centric approach, including through timely responses to opportunities and client requests.
• Track record of lending, meeting production goals, and disciplined use of sales tools for tracking opportunities, calling efforts, and client requests.
• Experienced in credit analysis and preparation of credit memorandums for loan approvals. Formal credit training is a plus. 
• Strong sales and business development skills.
• Proficiency in analyzing the financials of non-profits, particularly in assessing the feasibility of real estate development projects.
• Experience with reviewing due diligence items required to close real estate transactions, including, but not limited to, appraisals, environmental, and construction cost review reports.
• Fluency with federal, state, and/or local government funding sources for capital and operating needs of affordable housing.
• Organized with proven self-initiative, self-motivation, collaborative spirit, and optimistic attitude.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Deep knowledge of Salesforce.
• Commitment to social justice and HPN’s mission.
• Prior Asset Management and work-out experience or exposure is a plus.

LOCATION

HPN is a remote company. Employees may work from anywhere in the contiguous 48 states while staying fully engaged with their team and the broader company through virtual collaboration tools and regular online meetings. Occasional travel is required for in-person meetings, conferences, or team-building events to foster strong relationships and ensure alignment with key initiatives. The ideal candidate should be prepared to work from their home, have a dedicated office, and be comfortable balancing virtual communication with the ability to travel as needed for business purposes.

COMPENSATION 

Salary: $101,600 (min)-$127,000 (mid). Commensurate with education and experience with a bonus potential. 

BENEFITS

15 vacation days, 12 sick days, 12 paid holidays, paid personal day, medical, dental and vision insurance, health savings account, flexible spending account, dependent care flexible spending account, retirement, and savings plan/401(k) match, group life insurance, short- and long-term disability, parental leave, sabbatical leave, professional development and much more!

TO APPLY

Please submit a resume and a thoughtful cover letter detailing your interest in this opportunity and your relevant skills and expertise. 

OTHER

~20% travel is required.

ABOUT THE HOUSING PARTNERSHIP NETWORK

Housing Partnership Network (HPN) is an award-winning membership network of 100 of the nation’s leading affordable housing and community development nonprofits.  Through practitioner-driven peer exchange, policy and innovation, the Housing Partnership Network’s mission is to leverage the individual strengths and mobilize the collective power of our member organizations. Our vision is that all people live in vibrant and inclusive communities where access to affordable homes creates opportunity and economic mobility. 

Since our founding in 1992, HPN has collectively served over 12.8 million people; developed, rehabilitated, or preserved about 470,000 affordable homes; and launched 14 successful social enterprises. Our work has been recognized with honors including the MacArthur Award for Creative & Effective Institutions and Wells Fargo NEXT Award for Opportunity Finance. Learn more at www.housingpartnership.net.

HPN has been an Aeris-rated community development financial institution (CDFI) since 2005, and currently has a 4-star, AA- rating.   HPN operates its lending activity through two certified CDFIs: the Housing Partnership Network (HPN) and the Housing Partnership Fund (HPF). HPN created HPF in 2001 as its primary lending arm to meet members’ growing need for flexible, early-stage financing for affordable housing development. Today, our CDFIs provide capital to our members and social enterprises through a total portfolio of over $70 million+ (on- and off-balance sheet). Our loan products to HPN members include unsecured enterprise-level, secured project-level, and bridge financing for affordable multifamily, single-family and community development projects as well New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) for single-family homeownership initiatives. Additionally, we offer lines of credit and equity investments for housing-focused social enterprises.  

OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

HPN is committed to creating a diverse and equitable environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. HPN recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status and other protected status.