Since 1979, LISC and its affiliates have invested approximately $29.7 billion in businesses, affordable housing, health, educational mobility, community and recreational facilities, public safety, employment, and other projects that help to revitalize and stabilize underinvested communities. Headquartered in New York City, LISC’s reach spans the country from East coast to West coast in 38 markets with offices extending from Buffalo to San Francisco and in 2,400 rural counties across 49 states and Puerto Rico.
The Philadelphia office of Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) seeks a skilled lending professional with a passion for strengthening communities to fill the position of Program Officer for Lending. The Program Officer will serve as the primary business developer and originator of loans that support LISC Philadelphia’s community development priorities – affordable housing; community economic development; equitable neighborhood development; and financial opportunity. This position reports to the local Executive Director and is responsible for the sourcing, underwriting, and administration of LISC’s pre-development, acquisition, construction, permanent, and bridge financing loans for real estate development in Philadelphia, as well as working capital loans, lines of credit and recoverable grants.
Responsibilities:
- Build effective working relationships with current and prospective borrowers, with national LISC teams, and with LISC affiliates.
- Meet with current and prospective borrowers to build a pipeline of loans in Philadelphia, which may include such asset classes as affordable housing, commercial and mixed-use real estate, community facilities, educational facilities, lines of credit and working capital loans.
- Serve as primary originator and initial underwriter for local financing transactions
- Work with borrowers and national LISC staff as necessary to assess feasibility, structure financing transactions, conduct due diligence and financial analyses, draft credit memoranda, and present loan recommendations to LISC’s local and national Credit Committees and the LISC Board of Directors, as applicable.
- Work with local and national LISC staff to provide technical assistance to community development organizations on the full-cycle of activities related to lending and real estate development, including providing technical assistance (direct and through referrals) and identifying appropriate LISC resources, as needed.
- Work with national LISC Lending and Legal staff to manage timely loan closings, including coordinating the preparation of commitment letters, negotiating key business terms, and reviewing due diligence items and loan documents for consistency with key business terms.
- Assist national LISC Asset Management staff to manage the Philadelphia loan portfolio, including requesting project updates, analyzing financial statements, reviewing disbursement requests, and monitoring loan payments and covenant compliance.
- Assist Executive Director with supervision of other local LISC staff, interns and consultants who are engaged in local LISC lending activities, providing guidance and work management
- Participate fully in local LISC staff meetings and activities and develop an understanding of colleagues’ activities supporting affordable housing, community economic development, equitable neighborhood development and financial opportunity.
- Assist other local LISC staff with structuring and review of recoverable grants, as needed.
- Develop and manage relationships with other strategic partners, including for-profit and nonprofit financial institutions and local, state, and national governmental subsidy programs, that could support potential complementary capital and permanent financing structures for LISC borrowers.
- Work with local and national LISC staff to provide capacity building support to partners to position their organization to implement real estate developments and other projects in need of capital investment.
- Represent LISC at conferences, trainings, and events.
- Prepare reports and findings for the LAB, investors, funders and other stakeholders, as needed.
- Work with local and national LISC staff on new initiatives as called upon to do so.
