Director, Real Estate Investments

National Equity Fund • Full-time • Chicago, IL • 1d ago

Director, Real Estate Investments

Location: Chicago, IL

Employment Type: Full-time

About the Employer

National Equity Fund, Inc. (NEF) is a leading non-profit syndicator of low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC). The LIHTC program is the most important resource available today for creating affordable housing in the United States. NEF uses its extensive experience, talent, and resources to create sustainable affordable housing.

Role Summary

The Director, Real Estate Investments will be responsible for supporting and scaling NEF's preservation equity platform. This role serves as the financial and investment continuity lead across preservation equity transactions, from initial underwriting and structuring through closing and throughout the full investment lifecycle. Working in close partnership with Asset Management, Credit, Structured Finance, and Project Management, this position ensures disciplined execution, consistency of underwriting, and alignment between investment assumptions and long-term performance.

What You'll Do

Lead financial underwriting and modeling for preservation equity transactions, including recapitalizations, refinancings, and value-add strategies
Build and maintain institutional-quality financial models, including equity waterwalls, promote structures, and return analysis
Analyze risk-adjusted returns, downside scenarios, and key sensitives such as leverage, cap rates, rental growth, and capital needs
Evaluate and optimize capital stack structures across equity and debt components
Partner with internal teams to structure and execute transactions from LOI through closing
Ensure underwriting assumptions are accurately reflected in final deal structures and documentation
Prepare and present investment committee materials and transaction analyses
Maintain financial ownership of investments post-closing to ensure continuity between underwriting and performance
Monitor portfolio performance relative to original assumptions and support ongoing financial analysis
Collaborate with Asset Management on recapitalizations, refinancings, distributions, and exit planning
Support portfolio-level investment analysis and performance reviews
Develop and refine standardized underwriting frameworks, templates, and investment guardrails
Identify trends and risks across transactions to support the continued scaling of the preservation equity platform

Required Qualifications

8+ years of experience in real estate private equity, institutional real estate credit, REIT acquisitions, or real estate investment banking
Proven experience underwriting value-add, recapitalization, or complex real estate investment strategies
Advanced financial modeling skills, including equity waterfalls and investment return analysis
Strong understanding of capital stack structuring and institutional risk analysis
Experience presenting investment analyses to senior leadership or investment committees
Bachelor's degree

Preferred Qualifications

Exposure to affordable housing and/or LIHTC transactions
Familiarity with agency debt (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD)

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits package.

Equal Opportunity Statement

NEF is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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