Director of Real Estate Development & Construction Management

About Us:

Lighthouse MI is a growing non-profit, established in 2019 when Lighthouse of Oakland County and South Oakland Shelter joined forces to offer a stronger collective response to poverty in our Metro Detroit community. With over 80 years of combined experience, Lighthouse serves as a beacon of hope to our neighbors who need it most by offering assistance with basic emergency needs alongside housing programs and supportive services designed to support long-term economic stability.

Lighthouse owns and operates Spero Housing Group, a subsidiary non-profit dedicated specifically to developing and operating high-quality affordable, supportive housing for persons of low and moderate-income, and Hand Up, a community and crowdfunding platform serving 100+ homeless service agencies and their clients across the United States.

Position Summary:

We are seeking an experienced, multidisciplinary leader to join our team as the Director of Real Estate Development & Construction Management (RED & CM). This role serves as a subject matter expert, strategic advisor, and assists the Chief Real Estate & Community Development Officer as needed. Working closely with a team of internal Lighthouse professionals, outside development partners, consultants, financiers, contractors, and others;

under the direction of Chief Real Estate & Community Development Officer; the Director of RED & CM will serve as the organization's primary on-the-ground point of contact throughout all phases of the development process-from feasibility and acquisition through design, construction, and closeout.

The ideal candidate is a seasoned real estate development, construction, engineering, finance, or project management professional committed to community development. They bring experience working with not-for-profit organizations, a background in risk management, and fluency in complex real estate financial structures. They are a proactive problem-solver who thrives in collaborative environments, with a strong commitment to delivering quality projects that serve Lighthouse's mission focused communities.

Desirable professional experience includes: structured project funding including federal tax credits such as Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC);
Tax Incremental Financing (TIF); knowledge of review processes such as feasibility, zoning, design, value engineering, and constructability; due diligence management; public private partnerships; some ability to read and interpret construction drawings, comfort with legal language review such as loan documents and contracts; and knowledge of construction administration procedures such as reviewing pay applications and change order requests.

Breakdown of Responsibilities:

Pipeline management

* Manage and maintain relationships under the direction of the Chief Real Estate & Community Development Officer. Stay aware of potential development opportunities. Includes continual review of public and private RFPs, news releases from development agencies and government affiliated groups, strategic funding initiatives, and requests from established partners and other known lead generators.

* Support early phase financial modeling, pro forma creation, scenario analysis, and predevelopment planning in concert with potential development partners and financiers.

* Exhibit some ability to underwrite the acquisition, renovation, or new construction of affordable housing or other mission serving assets commensurate with mid-career professionals. In this context "underwriting" broadly refers to both qualitative and quantitative methods, feasibility or go/no-go decision processes, some knowledge of broad asset valuation methods, knowledge of available subsidies and entitlements, and consideration of internal staff capacity.

* Lead efforts to secure desired properties for acquisition or development and manage related compliance requirements.

Predevelopment

* Work with Lighthouse real estate development team under the direction of the Chief Real Estate & Community Development Officer to identify project programming needs and expectations after approval of the executive team during preliminary feasibility stages. Assist in procuring: property, development partnerships, financial commitments, future lease agreements, or other arrangements as needed to progress a potential real estate development project.

* Provide early input on project expectations.

* Assist executive team in appraising early project needs assumptions, and negotiating commitments from outside parties as required to progress the project.

* Advise the team on best possible project delivery methods based on the unique factors and expected deliverables. Assist in the procurement of architects, engineers, other consultants, and potentially construction managers/general consultants as needed for future success based on outlined preferred project delivery method. Negotiate beneficial contract terms for all design and pre-construction parties under the Chief Real Estate &…