Senior Lending Officer

Leviticus Fund • Full-time • Tarrytown, New York, United States • 2w ago

Senior Lending Officer

Locations: Tarrytown, New York (Westchester County); candidates who reside in the NYC metropolitan area are preferred, though flexibility will be considered for strong candidates. Moderate travel within the NY metropolitan area required.

About The Employer

The Leviticus 25:23 Alternative Fund is rooted in faith and the call for access to economic improvement. The Fund provides flexible capital, expertise, and support to propel the growth of healthier communities. Leviticus creates opportunities for vulnerable, low-income people to thrive and live with dignity.

Our loans assist the pre-construction, construction, and permanent phases of affordable housing, including housing with supportive services for those with special needs and extremely low incomes; childcare and early learning centers; charter public schools; nonprofit office and program delivery space; and community economic development projects. Leviticus is also committed to decarbonization and upgrading the energy efficiency of existing and new affordable housing and community facilities in all communities.

Our target market is all counties in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Leviticus has grown from $19 million in size at the start of 2014 to $157 million today, and we continue to see significant demand from nonprofit housing and community development organizations for our capital and expertise.

Role Summary

Leviticus needs a Senior Lending Officer to join Origination & Underwriting to engage in the screening, origination, and underwriting of pre-construction and permanent loans, primarily to new, affordable, rental housing projects.

The Senior Lending Officer is expected to take on independent origination and underwriting responsibilities as soon as possible after an initial orientation and onboarding stage.

Under the guidance of the Senior Lending Manager, with additional support from the Director of Lending, the Senior Lending Officer will be responsible for contributing to the growth in Leviticus’ investments in low-income communities and people throughout New York, with some lending focused in New Jersey and Connecticut.

The person who fills this position is expected to have increasing responsibility while also having the support of experienced colleagues who are equally passionate about our charitable mission. We are open to candidates who has some experience lending to affordable, rental housing projects, with knowledge of the NYC area market, and supportive housing, being pluses, and who is results-oriented. This is not an entry-level position, but passionate and committed individuals excited by our mission will be considered.

There will be room for advancement within Leviticus since we are still a relatively small staff, though a growing organization.

What You’ll Do

Loan Origination And Underwriting

Have responsibility for deep knowledge of our loan policies, and the initial vetting of loan inquiries; pre-application assessment after review of preliminary documents; discretion to recommend moving a potential loan to the application stage; and initial due diligence review of the loan application.
Provide technical assistance to borrowers, usually at the pre-construction phase, in structuring their financing and/or addressing project issues and connecting them with resources to address local needs.
Propose loan structures and terms that meet borrower needs, comply with our credit policies, and advance our strategic priorities.
Send out loan applications, review underwriting checklists, and manage important project items through the underwriting process.
Underwrite loans based on thorough review and analysis, comprehensive due diligence, sound risk assessment, and incorporate analysis into required templates and present loans for approval to our credit committee.
Re-underwrite amendments or re-structure when necessary; write credit memos for loans requiring maturity extensions and present extensions to the credit committee, and evaluate and recommend loan extensions, enhanced monitoring, restructurings, and workouts, and adjustments to risk ratings and loan loss reserves.
Assist the Loan Closing & Portfolio Review team, as needed, including sitting on closing calls, monitoring borrower compliance with loan covenants and repayment provisions, reviewing borrower reports, conducting periodic site visits as necessary, and assisting with the annual portfolio review on an as-needed basis.
Work collaboratively with other members of the Lending team, including participating in pre-application meetings and providing feedback on potential transactions, reviewing and providing feedback on portions of the underwriting completed by other team members, and supporting special projects to promote efficiency in internal processes and protocols.
Answer specific questions on projects and loan prospects for other departments, as needed.

Relationship Management And Business Development

Assist Senior Lending Manager, Director of Lending and other Lending Team members in managing relationships with existing borrowers and developing new relationships that lead to new lending opportunities throughout Leviticus’ geographic footprint.
Develop new and innovative relationships and collaborations with local nonprofit community development organizations and other stakeholders to address local needs through participating in community and local events, including regular attendance at non-profit borrower-sponsored events and coalition-sponsored events.
Develop relationships with other CDFI lenders to promote co-lending opportunities, and represent Leviticus within one or more CDFI member networks that cover program issues of supportive housing, climate change, childcare, healthy food-access, and community health centers.
Represent Leviticus at industry conferences in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Regularly communicate with borrowers and lending partners regarding project details and status updates on underwriting, maintaining a “continuity of communication.”

Training & Rotations

As needed, Leviticus will provide in-house and external training to build and reinforce the successful candidate’s real estate lending knowledge quickly.

Required Qualifications

A minimum of 3-4 years of experience in rental housing finance, including borrower financial analysis and underwriting, deal structuring, relationship management, and loan closing. Preference will be given to those with expertise in affordable and/or supportive housing lending or development, including a solid grasp of federal, state, and local affordable and supportive housing finance programs.
An undergraduate degree is required; however, Leviticus acknowledges that the expertise we seek may be secured through lived or work experience.
Knowledge of and interest in community development, with experience in affordable housing and possibly more of Leviticus's core sectors: supportive housing (including supportive service programs that address mental illness, chronic homelessness or substance use issues), purpose built shelters, nonprofit facilities development, community economic development and revitalization, organizational financing to strengthen the nonprofit sector and environmental sustainability.
Willingness to work within a team to further housing development and finance-related activities that achieve Leviticus’ goals.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including a desire to be part of a team of a mission-based nonprofit organization, openness to learning new skills, and a good sense of humor.

Preferred Qualifications

Knowledge of the NYC area market.
Supportive housing experience.
An understanding of the challenges faced by low-income people and communities, and an interest to learn more; a desire to engage various communities through open dialogue; and the ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders from a wide range of backgrounds.

Compensation & Benefits

The starting salary for the Senior Lending Officer ranges from $80,000 - $90,000 to commensurate with alignment of an applicant’s experience with the job requirements. We negotiate actual salary with final candidates.
Benefits include up to a 10% employer match to a 403(B) plan, health, dental, vision and paid time off beginning at 25 days per year.
We are always looking to recruit individuals interested in advancing to more senior positions within the organization.

Candidates are expected to initially work in-office at least three days per week. For telecommuting, candidates must have access in their personal work environment to a secure high-speed internet signal (preferably hard-wired) at a capacity sufficient to support video, web, and email processing simultaneously (this is typically 100Mb and above).

How To Apply

Please submit a letter of interest, resume, and salary requirements to JOBS@leviticusfund.org.

Salary requirements must be provided to be considered.

Equal Opportunity Statement

The Leviticus Fund is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to building a culturally diverse staff. We strongly encourage a broad base of interested applicants to apply.