Affordable Housing Finance Analyst

ABOUT US | HR&A is a leading real estate, economic development and public policy consulting firm. We provide strategic advisory services for clients in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to solve some of the most complex challenges of urban development across the nation. Our projects range in scale from single assets to full districts and with focuses ranging from citywide policies to individual transactions. We care about improving the quality of the urban environment and urban life and advancing equity for all that live and work in cities.

We are former public servants, urban planners, economists, and real estate developers. Our projects win awards due to our ability to integrate disparate disciplines for our clients, and we often lead teams with engineers, architects, lawyers, community organizers, and other specialists. 

HR&A is proud to be an employee-owned company, and is committed to building a diverse workforce while centering issues of equity and inclusion in the work that we do. In 2020, we convened an Anti-Racism Task Force to lead the development of internal equity initiatives and strategies to more effectively incorporate equity into our client work. 

THE PRACTICE | We are a team of passionate affordable housing practitioners. Our team includes former public servants, real estate developers, urban planners, city officials, community advocates and economists.

The Housing Practice works at all levels of the housing ecosystem: federal policy local housing plans and strategy, and financing structures, and executing individual transactions. This range of work makes us better at designing policies and local housing plans that achieve their goals in practice and at integrating public incentives into individual projects. We enjoy understanding and working with the complexities of the housing market to advance the interests of all community members.

Our rapidly expanding practice is evolving to support affordable housing funds and transactions. Our work ranges from supporting municipalities to private sector clients looking to deploy capital in the affordable housing market. This work involves helping structure funds, develop investment strategies, identify partners and supporting transactions.

THE ROLE | HR&A’s Housing Practice is seeking an Affordable Housing Finance Analyst to assist with underwriting of investments in mixed-income and affordable housing developments. The Affordable Housing Finance Analyst will be part of the Housing Practice and work closely with the Partner in Charge (PIC), principals, and analytic staff from across our six offices. At HR&A, our project teams comprise of small teams of three to five consulting staff who work collaboratively on timelines and deliverables, often spanning several weeks to several months. Directors manage multiple projects and business development efforts concurrently and serve as an internal and external go-to for the practice.

Day-to-day tasks will include:

• Conduct market research to identify and size gaps in the existing housing finance market for affordable and mixed-income housing.
• Support the negotiation of partnerships with other investors and public sector partners.
• Evaluate the feasibility of implementing and monitoring new housing investment vehicles.
• Organize workshops and outreach events with community, public sector, nonprofit and for-profit investors.
• Support new business development opportunities through writing proposals and outreach to potential clients.
• Provide analysis of detailed loan applications and supporting documentation required for initial assessment and full underwriting of housing transactions.
• Work with development teams to determine optimal deal structure for housing transactions.
• Conduct feasibility analysis necessary for team to render decisions for investments that have both financial and mission requirements (affordability, investment in specific communities, etc.).
• Draft underwriting memos and project models for internal and client review.
• Review third party due diligence reports.
• Assist in transaction closing process by working with the developer, lenders, legal counsel, and other funding sources such as public agencies and subsidy provider.

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED | Candidates should bring strong quantitative and qualitative skills aligned with the roles and responsibilities described above, including:

• Bachelor's Degree in Real Estate, Finance, Planning or another related field;
• Masters in Real Estate Development (MRED) or a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) a plus;
• 2+ years of experience in Real Estate, Planning, Development, and Finance;
• 2+ years of experience in multifamily underwriting, either market rate or affordable;
• Knowledge of common underwriting practices and procedures;
• Knowledge of housing and affordable housing related market forces including; general real estate principles, supply and demand economics and other multifamily demand drivers

• Experience synthesizing data and crafting a compelling narrative;
• Experience presenting to internal senior leadership and external clients;

COMPENSATION | HR&A offers competitive compensation packages, based on qualifications and experience.  We are an employee-owned company, meaning you will have the opportunity to benefit from the firm’s growth over time through participation in our Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Each year, the firm will contribute funds to this long-term wealth-building account and may make contributions to other retirement accounts. We also provide a comprehensive benefits package that goes well beyond coverage of 90-95% of healthcare premiums, dental and vision coverage.

HOW TO APPLY | HR&A is committed to attracting and retaining a talented, diverse, competitive team of professionals dedicated to solving the challenges of urban life. Women, people of color, members of the LGBT community, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.

Please submit a cover letter and resume as a single PDF document (maximum of 2 pages) on HR&A’s website. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Applications without a cover lever will not be reviewed.

• A version of your resume that has your school information removed.
  • There is no need to reformat your resume, and you should leave your degree (e.g. “B.A. Economics”). But please remove all undergraduate and graduate school name references. This request is part of our ongoing work to build a hiring system that is free from bias and based on candidate merit and performance in the hiring process.

All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to their race, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital status, medical condition, veteran status or any other basis as protected by federal, state, or local law.

Please do not call regarding this position.