Program Officer for Housing & Capacity Building

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

LISC Connecticut seeks an individual with passion to join our highly productive and capable team as a Program Officer for Housing and Capacity Building. This person will provide support to the implementation of the local office's affordable housing agenda across Connecticut, especially in suburban and rural communities, to build and renovate affordable multi-family rental housing and affordable homeownership properties.

Primarily, the Program Officer for Housing & Capacity Building will provide technical assistance to LISC's community development partners related to the construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing properties and will be responsible for building and nurturing such partnerships in diverse communities throughout the state. The successful candidate should have a commitment to community-based development, experience in developing affordable housing and/or other community-based real estate development, knowledge of basic real estate development fundamentals, awareness of statewide housing policy initiatives, and an ability to share this knowledge through technical assistance to partners.

In addition, the position will work closely with the Senior Executive Director on all new housing initiatives as this body of work continues to scale, to include the exploration of a housing investment fund to support sustained investment in affordable housing and enable equitable development opportunities for mission focused developers in Connecticut.

The Program Officer must have the capacity to simultaneously work on multiple tasks, solve problems, pay strong attention to detail, and follow-through in a timely fashion. The position requires strong communication skills, both written and verbal, and the ability to provide quality customer service to a variety of stakeholders - developers, advocates, and community residents.

The Program Officer will report directly to the Senior Program Officer for Lending & Investments but will work closely with several members of the Connecticut team, including the Senior Executive Director and Director of Partnerships and Programs.

To accommodate our stakeholders, periodic evening and weekend work may be required.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Project Investments

• Collect and conduct review of due diligence items needed to help determine borrower capacity to build and renovate affordable housing properties and assess feasibility of projects proposed.

Building Partnerships

• Provide technical assistance to local groups looking to start building and renovating affordable housing, particularly in rural and suburban Connecticut.
• Assist community development corporations (CDCs) and others with establishment of affordable housing development strategies.
• Assist volunteer groups seeking to increase the availability of new affordable housing in suburban and small towns by helping them form effective partnerships, understand the affordable housing development process, identify consultants and development partners and access professional and financial resources.

Organizational Capacity Building

• Participate in LISC capacity-building activities for CDCs, municipalities and community partners, including organizational assessment, technical assistance and training.
• Assist in organizing educational activities and forums to share best practices in community development and affordable housing development.
• Underwrite LISC capacity building grants to help strengthen CDCs that lead to their delivery of effective, sustainable programs.
• Assist with grant monitoring, disbursements, site visits and grant compliance.

Reporting and Communications

• Prepare reports and presentations for funders and investors as needed.
• Assist with staffing of the local LISC Advisory Committee and with coordination of national LISC programs and investments in Connecticut.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university required; or relevant work experience can be used as proxy; Master's degree in urban planning, community development, economic development, public policy or related field preferred.
• At least three years of experience in community development, affordable housing development, or related field, preferably in the non-profit sector.
• Demonstrated understanding of neighborhood revitalization and affordable housing issues; familiarity with Connecticut's suburban communities and small towns preferred.
• Demonstrated capacity to analyze quantitative and qualitative information required. Experience in lending, project management or related field preferred.
• Experience and commitment working with urban communities and with people from a variety of cultures, income groups, and ethnic origins.
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically to implement LISC's program goals. Ability to work simultaneously on multiple tasks and projects, set priorities and coordinate with multiple internal and external parties to meet project guidelines.
• Detailed and timely attention to reporting requirements and deadlines.
• Excellent computer skills including competency in full Microsoft Office suite and comfortable learning new programs.
• Local travel required (~20%) to conduct site visits, meet with partners, and to attend in-state training/workshops.

COMPENSATION:

LISC provides a competitive salary ($62,300 - $77,900)commensurate with experience and location and excellent fringe benefits for this position.