Director, Commercial Real Estate Investments

We are looking for an experienced commercial real estate investor to join our investment team and take meaningful ownership of deals from initial opportunity through closing. This isn't a role built around supporting someone else's underwriting—we want someone who can form an independent investment view, identify what actually matters in a deal, challenge assumptions, structure around risk and make a clear recommendation.

You will work closely with our CIO and investment team, with direct exposure to the decisions that shape RRA's portfolio.

The opportunity is to bring both judgment and execution to the table and, over time, help make RRA a better investor.

As Director, Commercial Real Estate Investments, you will evaluate commercial real estate credit opportunities and help determine where RRA should-and should not-deploy capital.

You will own underwriting from the ground up: understanding the real estate and business plan, building and pressure-testing the model, evaluating the sponsor and market, identifying downside scenarios, and determining whether the structure appropriately compensates us for the risk.

Much of that work happens in the models. RRA underwrites using proprietary tools built in-house - by this team, and by you over time - and the expectation is that you are in them, not reviewing someone else's output. This is hands-on data work — pulling and normalizing rent rolls, operating statements, comps and sponsor financials into a structured record. The written product matters as much as the math.

Underwriting memos and investment reports are the foundation the firm takes positions from, and they need to hold up long after the deal closes.

You will also help move good opportunities forward. That means working with brokers, sponsors, property managers and other market participants to gather the right information, resolve open questions and structure executable transactions.

• Leading underwriting end to end - building the models, sourcing the underlying data, and pressure-testing assumptions and downside scenarios
• Structuring loans around leverage, pricing, covenants and other protections
• Developing a clear investment thesis and communicating both the opportunity and the risks
• Building relationships with brokers, sponsors and other investment professionals that strengthen both our underwriting and market perspective
• Owning deals throughout the investment process, from initial screening and diligence through structuring and closing
• Contributing ideas and perspective that improve how RRA evaluates risk and invests over time

We are less interested in someone who has simply spent the right number of years in CRE and more interested in what you have learned to do with that experience.

You should have:

• A meaningful history of commercial real estate investment underwriting - enough reps, across enough deal types and market conditions, that your judgment is earned rather than theoretical
• A track record of independently underwriting and closing transactions
• Strong command of real estate fundamentals, financial analysis and credit risk, with the modeling depth to build it yourself and the writing to make the case on paper
• The judgment to distinguish a complicated deal from a bad one, and the curiosity to dig deeper when the answer isn't obvious
• Experience thinking about investments from both a lender's and an owner's perspective
• The ability to communicate an investment view clearly, defend it thoughtfully and change your mind when the facts warrant it
• A high degree of ownership, urgency and comfort operating on a lean team
• A genuine interest in investing and getting better at it

This role is based in Phoenix, Arizona .…