Director of Real Estate Development
Self-Help Enterprises (SHE) is a nationally recognized community development organization whose mission is to work together with low-income families to build and sustain healthy homes and communities. An original pioneer and ongoing leading provider of mutual self-help housing in the United States, SHE’s efforts today encompass a range of endeavors to build better homes and communities for farmworkers and other hard-working families.
Since 1965, SHE has helped more than 6,500 families throughout its nine-county service territory in the San Joaquin Valley to build their own homes, rehabilitated over 6,900 unsafe homes, developed more than 2,500 units of affordable rental housing, and provided technical assistance for reliable access to safe drinking water and sanitary sewer infrastructures, which has affected the lives of over 33,600 individuals in 175 small communities. SHE’s commitment to providing resources and training for individuals builds the capacity of highly effective leaders to co-create collaborative solutions to address local needs. These combined efforts have touched the lives of over 68,000 families, providing security and stability for families and building more productive communities.
SHE currently has over 210 employees across 8 departments: Real Estate Development, Administration, Homeownership, Community Development, Finance, Community Sustainability, Asset Management/Resident Services, and Emergency Services. SHE’s FY 22-23 year-end revenue was $73.3M and the organization has a $22M Land Fund with investments in approximately 40 real estate projects in various stages of predevelopment or construction.
Real Estate Development Department
SHE’s Real Estate Development Department is responsible for SHE’s real estate development, owner-occupied housing rehabilitation and strategic partnership areas of work. The Department’s seven core functions include:
- Development of subdivisions to create finished lots to sell to builder participants in the mutual self-help housing program;
- New construction and acquisition/rehabilitation of affordable rental housing;
- Infill new construction of single-family homeownership housing;
- Owner-occupied housing rehabilitation program (“housing rehab”);
- Contract management, grant writing, strategic planning and other duties for local government partners for 80+ existing contracts funded through HOME, CDBG, PLHA, REAP, CalHOME and Joe Serna;
- Construction of resilience centers and other infrastructure in partnership with small community-based organizations in disadvantaged communities; and
- Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) development and financing program.
The Real Estate Development Department is SHE’s primary financial driver, generating 84% of the organization’s FY 22-23 profit. Its developments serve a wide variety of populations, including members of tribal communities, seniors, farm workers and residents of permanent supportive housing. Equally as varied are SHE’s funding sources, which include New Markets Tax Credits, Capital Magnet Funds, and California Energy Commission EPIC energy innovation funds, among more traditional sources.
Recent SHE real estate development highlights include:
- Receiving an $8M allocation of New Markets Tax Credits for the development of 20 infill single-family homeownership units by the Housing Partnership Network. The allocation is scheduled to close in November 2023.
- Winning the Affordable Housing Finance Magazine’s (AHF) 2023 Editors’ Choice for SHE’s Creekside Terrace development from a field of 36 highly qualified finalists, and a ranking of #41 on AHF’s Top Affordable Housing Developers for 2022 (combination of new construction multi-family and homeownership starts and completion, acquisitions, and substantial rehab as preservation).
- Receiving a $8M allocation of Capital Magnet Funds by the United States Department of the Treasury in 2023 to provide short- and long-term loans for the development of over 950 new affordable housing units.
SHE is on schedule to complete, open, and fully lease 405 new multifamily units in 2023, with 1,871 units of rental housing and 505 single-family lots and/or infill homeownership units in development.
About The Position
The Director of Real Estate Development (“Director”) is responsible for the seven departmental functions listed above, which encompass all aspects of real estate development and finance (e.g. site acquisition, development entitlements, financial feasibility planning and implementation, securing capital). The Director will oversee a $4.3M budget and 26 staff, including 2 Assistant Directors as direct reports along with teams of Project Managers, loan processors, rehab construction staff, administrative analysts and fiscal and project technician positions.
The Director will serve as an active participant on the Executive Leadership Team, which develops, guides and advances the goals and mission of the organization. The Director reports to the Vice President, with several functions, including new project selection and organizational-level capital financing strategies, developed in direct coordination with the CEO and CFO. The Vice President previously held the Director position for 9 years and has worked at SHE since 2014; she looks forward to working collaboratively with the Director as a thought partner and strategic ally.
This position is based in Visalia, CA, the location of SHE’s headquarters. SHE serves the following counties and travel to these areas is expected: Kings, Kern, Mariposa, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, and Tulare Counties. The Director position can be partially hybrid with several days/week required in the office or on-site for project and partner meetings.
Compensation and Application Process
Interested candidates should send in a cover letter and resume to HR@SelfHelpEnterprises.org. Screening will take place on a rolling basis. The compensation range for the position is $150,000 – $175,000. SHE offers competitive benefits including paid time off (vacation, sick, and holidays), excellent health insurance (health, dental, vision, life, long-term disability), tuition payments and student loan reimbursement, and a matched 401(k) (up to 8% salary contribution from SHE). SHE is committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. All employees are valued for their individual differences and the unique contributions that help us achieve our business goals. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
Responsibilities
- Lead a multi-faceted team responsible for all aspects of real estate development and housing rehabilitation, including but not limited to project feasibility analysis, market research, financing, operating budgets, environmental review, due diligence, risk assessment, land use approvals and negotiations, community outreach, and entitlement processes.
- Develop cash flow projections and coordinate with the Vice President to manage and direct capital investments, resource allocation priorities, and monitor the overall cash flow needs of the Real Estate Department in tandem with the cash needs of the organization.
- Compile and present new multifamily project recommendations, including the financial strategy, site risk analysis, due diligence and development timeline to the Vice President, CFO and CEO.
- Direct searches for appropriate land for single and multifamily housing developments, negotiate site control, and oversee all due diligence data collection and analysis.
- Create urgency and drive within the Real Estate Development team to ensure projects proceed on schedule and within budget.
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with and represent SHE to Board members, colleagues, public elected officials and employees, staff from other community organizations, funders, the business community, and the general public.
- Seek appropriate financial resources to maintain and expand real estate development efforts, including the effective implementation of capital strategies and oversight of funding applications to public and private lenders/funders.
- Oversee an organizational vision for construction standards, product selection and quality control, including collaboration with the Director of Asset Management to ensure operational efficiency and minimize product replacement timelines.
- Prepare Real Estate Development Department program and project budgets; review fiscal data, effectively manage within budget; review and oversee developer fee and equity installment projections to actual.
- Review and analyze program regulations and laws and coordinate on advocacy and outreach efforts at local, state and federal levels.
- Manage relationship capital and provide conflict resolution in support of the Assistant Director of Strategic Partnerships to effectively administer over 70 city and county program contracts, including housing rehab, FTHB, ADU development, and other specialized services provided to local government partners.
- Review and approve production targets, billable rates, contract structure and other programmatic aspects of the Housing Rehabilitation program.
- Perform other duties as required by supervisor.
Must Haves
Candidates well-suited for this position will be able to demonstrate the following skills, experience, and qualities:
- Deep commitment to SHE’s mission, organizational values, and the individuals, families, and communities that SHE serves
- Track record of effective management and leadership of a team, and demonstrated ability to work collaboratively within a complex, fast-moving environment
- Advanced expertise with low-income housing tax credits, and working knowledge of CEQA, NEPA, CUPs, by-right laws and pathways, the subdivision map act and other codes and regulations
- Ability to understand complex financing issues including capital accounts, the allocation of losses and a variety of depreciation schedules, tax credit pricing, and loan terms/rates
- Strong written and oral communication skills
- Demonstrated ability to identify, develop and cultivate partnerships and relationships, and make a variety of public presentations and pitches to a variety of audiences including City Council, Boards, lenders and foundations, and other partners and stakeholders
- Highly motivated, resourceful and able to manage multiple overlapping projects, deadlines, and priorities
- Strategic thinker who can also be detail-oriented
Skills
You're passionate
You're a passionate and energetic person who's excited to connect and strategize with communities and residents.
You love people, communities, and problem solving
You're always excited to meet someone new, listen, and help them find solutions to their needs.
You get excited about the details
You're a detail oriented person who is organized and always looking for efficiencies.
You're a creative and strategic thinker
You strive to come up with innovative and creative solutions to problems that seem impossible. You're capable of thinking about the big picture and coming up with a plan to execute.
You're self-motivated
You see something that can be improved and you go after it. You have a strong desire to help others and to be a part of something special at Self-Help Enterprises.