Director of Real Estate

The Director of Real Estate at the Cambridge Housing Authority (CHA) presents an exceptional opportunity to play a critical leadership role in the continued growth and development of one of the country’s most highly regarded housing agencies. CHA is at a pivotal moment in time, and the Director will lead a highly talented team, work alongside recognized leaders in their fields, and in an agency recognized as being at the forefront of innovation and best practices.

The Director of Real Estate oversees the end-to-end execution of CHA’s real estate development and construction pipeline to protect, preserve, reposition, and expand its housing portfolio in accordance with agency policy and goals and applicable federal, state, and local requirements. The position manages responsibilities related to these initiatives including planning, financing, transaction management and delivery, construction management, and quality review and assurance.

The position ensures compliance with CHA’s goals and objectives, and manages all project schedule and budget, design and financing, and transaction execution for the various projects in CHA’s pipeline. First and foremost, the ideal candidate will be an exceptional leader of people and teams leading staff and consultants, and the management of community and resident engagement related to real estate initiatives. In close partnership with the Deputy Executive Director of Development and CEO, they will also act as liaison between CHA and the outside community, funding, and regulatory agencies. All activities must support the agency’s strategic goals and objectives and produce results that advance the goals of the Planning & Development Department, the CHA’s real estate arm.

The Planning & Development Department has an annual capital budget of approximately $190m and a departmental budget of $7m. CHA leverages its MTW designation, public housing consulting practice, and acquisition and land banking strategies to build a development pipeline of over $1 billion. In addition to CHA’s Cambridge pipeline, the team manages approximately 10 consulting clients with scopes ranging from a development advisor to co-development partner. The Planning & Development Department includes all real estate functions, including construction, with 24 employees and two consultants in total. The Director of Real Estate is a newly constructed position, which will accommodate the continued growth and complexity of CHA real estate activities and ensure efficiency, quality, accountability, and promote clear communication, collaboration, and staff development.

The Director of Real Estate will join an exceptional leadership partnership with direct access to both the Deputy Executive Director of Development and Chief Executive Officer. The role is designed for a leader who wants to combine operational responsibility with strategic influence, leading a high-performing team while helping define the future direction of a development pipeline. Reporting to the Deputy Executive Director of Development, the Director will also work closely with the CEO on agency-wide priorities, strategic initiatives, and major development opportunities.

Reports to:

Deputy Executive Director of Development

Direct Reports:

Director of Construction

Deputy Director(s) of Planning & Development

Other Key Relationships:

Chief Executive Officer

General Counsel

Director of Asset Management

Director of Operations

Director of Facilities Management

Project Managers

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide leadership and coordination from project conception through financial closing, construction, and permanent loan conversion across finance, legal, procurement, construction, asset management, property management, and resident services staff to support project execution and ensure alignment with agency goals.
• Provide thoughtful and adaptable leadership that is inclusive, transparent, and empowering to support and guide a healthy and productive department that delivers on CHA mission.
• Ensure the Planning & Development Department is fully integrated, and partners cross functionally with all agency departments to support a “one CHA” culture. Increase efficiencies and transparent communication during project life cycles.
• Execute funding strategies and prepare materials to support new financing efforts led by the Deputy Executive Director, including becoming a bond issuer and lender.
• Support staff development through the creation of shared project plans with coherent and transparent processes that ensure workflow clarity, clear roles and responsibilities, and communication between all team members and departments.

Project Management Supervision

• Manage planning, design, procurement, construction, and oversight activities for new development, redevelopment, modernization, and capital projects, including coordination with architects, engineers, contractors, owners’ representatives, and CHA staff to support delivery of projects.
• Maintain responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of all financial models and underwriting, and for on-time and on-budget project delivery.
• Oversee financial closings, with particular attention to legal documents and business terms.
• In collaboration with other CHA leaders, be a visible change agent in building new dashboards and reporting templates and leveraging new systems so that all team members and leadership have real-time visibility into portfolio health, cash flow, capital needs, and watch list projects.
• Escalate material risks, budget variances, and strategic issues to the Deputy Executive Director of Development.

External Relations & Resident Engagement

• Oversee resident and community engagement processes related to redevelopment, construction, and real estate initiatives, and help ensure transparent communication with affected stakeholders.
• Coordinate constituent input, and resident and neighborhood participation to secure support and deliver on CHA’s commitment to build strong communities that promote engagement, independence, and inclusivity.
• Participate and support project teams in representing CHA in public meetings.
• Participate and support project teams in negotiations with lenders, investors, developers, public officials, community partners, regulatory agencies, and project design and construction teams.

The Leader:

The ideal candidate will be an exceptional team leader and manager of people with a demonstrated record of success in affordable housing real estate development supported by the following qualifications, experience, and core leadership competencies:

Education and/or Experience

• Minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in affordable housing real estate, community development, public-sector redevelopment, complex real estate transactions, and a minimum of five (5) years of staff supervision.
• Experience with public housing, mixed-finance development, tax credits, bond financing, design and construction administration, and public subsidy programs is strongly preferred.
• Extensive experience in the utilization of real estate practices, principles and associated financing mechanisms, such as tax credits, bond financing, bank mortgages, etc. with the ability to recommend solutions to complex real estate development and affordable housing financing issues.
• Bachelor’s degree in real estate, urban planning, public administration, business administration, finance, law, architecture, engineering, construction management, or a relatedfield; master’s degree is preferred.
• An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
• Commitment: Sets high standards of performance; pursues aggressive goals and works hard/smart to achieve them; strivesfor results and success; conveysa sense of urgency and brings issues to closure; persists despite obstacles and opposition.
• Customer Service: Meets/exceeds the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; identifies, understands, monitors, and measures the needs of both internal and external customers; talks and acts with customers in mind; recognizes working colleagues as customers.
• Effective Communication: Ensures important information is passed to those who need to know; conveys necessary information clearly and effectively orally or in writing; demonstrates attention to, and conveys understanding of, the comments and questions of others; listens effectively.
• Responsiveness and Accountability: Demonstrates a high level of conscientiousness; holds oneself personally responsible for one's own work; does fair share of work.
• Teamwork: Balances team and individual responsibilities; exhibits objectivity and openness to others' views; gives and welcomes feedback; contributes to building a positive team spirit; puts success of team above own interests; able to build morale and group commitments to goals and objectives; supports everyone's efforts to succeed.
• Leadership: Provides clear and effective direction for department and staff; manages performance by providing regular feedback and support to direct reports and all project contributors.

Location:

• Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Offices are located in Central Square
• Initial period in the office, then hybrid work options available

Compensation:

The compensation range for this position is $225,000 - $250,000 plus a comprehensive benefits package.