AVP, Development Finance

Lifestyle Communities•Columbus, OH

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The AVP, Development Finance serves as the owner’s financial lead on Lifestyle Development Services projects from pursuit through stabilization. The role owns monthly project performance forecasting, assesses financial impacts on project returns, and advises leadership on recommended actions. It partners with development, construction, accounting, capital markets, asset management, and property operations. The position independently reviews underwriting for new land and multifamily pursuits, builds financial plans for the development pipeline, and leads development finance reporting and controls. It manages the Project Accounting Manager and is responsible for building a Columbus-based development finance team. The position is based on-site in Columbus, Ohio, with periodic travel to local and out-of-state project sites.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, real estate, or a related field.
Seven to ten years of real estate development finance, development, or investment experience.
At least four years in an owner- or developer-side role on ground-up multifamily development.
Demonstrated owner-side experience monitoring ground-up development projects against proforma, budget, schedule, and return targets.
Experience with large-scale, multi-phase multifamily or mixed-use developments through construction, lease-up, and stabilization.
Experience at a merchant developer, fund sponsor, or institutional owner where returns and promote depended on execution.
Expert financial modeling skills, including development proformas, phased cash flows, sensitivity analysis, and debt and equity waterfalls (NPV, IRR, DCF).
Working knowledge of construction lending, draw processes, loan covenants, and joint-venture agreements.
Ability to read a contractor cost report and form an independent view of cost to complete.
Clear, concise written and verbal communication and ability to present to a CEO, investment committee, lenders, and investors.
Strong leadership qualities and experience managing, motivating, developing, and coaching team members.
Advanced Microsoft Office and Excel skills.
Ability to achieve results by working with others across the organization regardless of reporting relationships.
Ability to work on-site in Columbus, Ohio, and travel periodically to project sites.

Nice To Haves

At least three years of management or team leadership experience (preferred).
MBA, CPA, or CFA (preferred but not required).
Experience supporting a program with a high volume of starts per year or multiple concurrent starts (preferred).
Experience with job-cost or development software and Spreadsheet Server (preferred).

Responsibilities

Own the monthly owner-side forecast for every active development project and phase, reconciled to approved proformas, budgets, and construction loans.
Establish and monitor project KPIs, including cost to complete, delivery schedule, asking versus achieved rents, and progress toward stabilization.
Quantify project variances in terms of return on cost, yields, IRR, equity multiple, and promote, and recommend actions to leadership.
Maintain phased development proformas, sensitivity analyses, and investor return waterfall models.
Lead monthly budget-to-actual and cost-to-complete reviews with development and construction; challenge change orders, contingency usage, and buyout results.
Develop an independent owner’s estimate of cost to complete.
Oversee job costing and pre-development, development, and construction-management billings through the Project Accounting Manager.
Coordinate draw packages with Construction Finance and Accounting; reconcile lender, investor, and internal figures; monitor loan covenants, interest reserves, and equity requirements.
Track milestones across multi-phase communities from entitlement and closing through vertical start, first delivery, and completion.
Model the financial impacts of schedule delays, phase sequencing, and interest carry, and recommend mitigation.
Monitor leasing velocity, concessions, and achieved rents against underwriting; forecast stabilization date, stabilized NOI, and value, and recommend pricing, concession, or timing changes with Asset Management and property operations.
Assess and stress-test Development team underwriting for new pursuits and future phases against market data and actual project results.
Build the start schedule, equity and debt requirements, and development fee forecast for the annual company budget and pipeline planning.
Provide Finance’s independent view on deals and phases presented to investment committee; prepare project packages for lenders, joint-venture partners, and investors; support Capital Markets & IR on construction loans, equity, and fund reporting.
Produce a monthly development dashboard for management and standardize reporting across projects.
Establish templates, approval thresholds, and review cadence to provide an independent check on project spending.
Lead, coach, and develop team members; set goals and provide consistent performance and career-development feedback to direct reports.
Improve processes and adoption of technology, automation, and AI tools to increase reporting speed and accuracy.
Complete other projects as directed and assigned by the Executive Team.