Director - Credit

National Equity Fund•Chicago, IL

9d•Onsite

About The Position

National Equity Fund, Inc. (NEF), a nonprofit syndicator of low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC), is seeking a Director of Credit to support new business initiatives. As part of the NEF Credit team, the Director will help approve bids for more than 200 LIHTC projects per year by providing clear, consistent written and verbal analysis of sponsors, guarantors, and projects. The role works collaboratively with Project Management, Originations, and Investor Relations. The Director conducts initial credit reviews for proposed LIHTC projects through an interactive bid-review process. Reviews assess project underwriting criteria, sponsor and guarantor capacity, investor requirements, and deal-specific characteristics. The Director also participates in initial credit reviews for NEF’s non-LIHTC investments, including solar credit investments, preservation loans, preservation equity, and other business lines. The position uses NEF’s database system and coordinates with internal teams to gather information, resolve issues, and support timely project launches. The Director works with Modeling Managers on technical issues, evaluates NEF’s history with developers, reviews underwriting exceptions with management and the Chief Credit Officer, and prepares a launch memo for each approved bid. The role also contributes to formalizing bid-review analyses and performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, real estate, or business.
At least 5 years of experience in underwriting and/or structuring real estate projects, including credit analysis.
Specific knowledge of Section 42 projects.
Experience in financial analysis of real estate developers.
Ability to produce accurate, timely information by reviewing one’s work and meeting defined deadlines.
Ability to exercise initiative and mature judgment and to work as a strong team player in a collaborative process.
Ability to work effectively under time-critical conditions.
Significant experience with Excel spreadsheets.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to work in a team-oriented environment.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree.

Responsibilities

Conduct initial credit reviews of proposed LIHTC projects as part of the bid-review process.
Analyze project underwriting criteria, sponsor and guarantor capacity, investor-specific requirements, and deal-specific characteristics.
Review operating expense budgets, market assumptions, required services and tenant targeting, subsidy programs, rehabilitation scope of work, and other project-specific information before bid approval.
Participate in initial credit reviews for non-LIHTC investments, including solar credit investments, preservation loans, and preservation equity.
Use NEF’s database system to request additional information and coordinate internal responses and approvals.
Coordinate with Investor Relations, Originations, and Credit outside the database system when needed to facilitate project review and timely launch.
Work with Modeling Managers to troubleshoot technical issues for projects in bid review.
Evaluate NEF’s previous history with each developer to assess the reasonableness of proposed deal terms.
Work with the manager and Chief Credit Officer to review underwriting exception requests and determine investment reasonableness before authorization.
Prepare a detailed launch memo for each bid with approved terms and language.
Help formalize bid-review analyses, including deal-specific, developer-specific, and investor-specific terms and underwriting considerations.
Perform other duties as assigned.