Position Overview:
The Vice President, Real Estate Investments is a senior leadership role within the Real Estate Investments Department responsible for leading the day-to-day execution, administration, underwriting, closing coordination, compliance oversight, and portfolio management of Housing Investment Bond (HIB) programs managed by Decide DeKalb Development Authority (Decide DeKalb) on behalf of DeKalb County, Georgia. Reporting to the Chief Real Estate Investments Officer, the Vice President serves as the primary senior leader for HIB program implementation and provides program-level leadership to ensure that HIB-funded investments are implemented with discipline, transparency, accountability, and measurable public benefit. The role is also designed to support departmental continuity and succession planning by providing limited coverage for other Real Estate Investments programs when the Chief REI Officer is unavailable or when special strategic initiatives require additional senior-level support.
This position requires at least twelve (12) years in a related field and a master’s degree. The ideal candidate will have experience working with redevelopment and housing projects, public finance, and creating impactful program(s) in their career that is relevant to this role. The candidate should also thrive in a fast-paced work environment, have excellent organizational skills, be a “big-thinker,” as well as be solution oriented with a strong desire to work in collaboration with internal and external parties.
Although the position title reflects a broader Real Estate Investments leadership role, the Vice President’s primary day-to-day portfolio will be HIB programs and related housing investment activities. The Vice President supervises the Development Managers assigned to HIB programs, establishes clear standards for program execution and documentation, coordinates closely with County partners, legal counsel, bond counsel, developers, lenders, housing authorities, and internal finance staff, and supports the Chief REI Officer in advancing housing investment strategies across DeKalb County. The Vice President is not expected to manage non-HIB programs on a day-to-day basis, but should maintain sufficient working knowledge of related Real Estate Investments tools and programs — including Tax Allocation Districts, the Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund (BRLF), and other public finance initiatives as programming expands — to provide informed coverage, continuity, and executive support as needed.
Starting Salary Range: $160,700
Duties and Responsibilities
HIB Program Leadership
- Lead the day-to-day execution and administration of HIB programs consistent with approved program objectives, bond requirements, County priorities, and Decide DeKalb policies.
- Manage the HIB program pipeline from project intake and eligibility screening through underwriting, approval, closing, disbursement, compliance monitoring, and ongoing portfolio oversight.
- Develop, maintain, and continuously improve HIB program procedures, templates, checklists, approval materials, and internal tracking systems.
- Ensure that program activities are implemented consistently, transparently, and in alignment with public purpose, housing impact, and risk management objectives.
- Lead procurement of implementation partners and consultants to support HIB programs and projects.
- Maintain underwriting standards, financial models, due diligence protocols, and investment review materials for HIB-funded projects.
- Review financial analyses, credit memoranda, investment recommendations, project pro formas, capital stacks, affordability and operating assumptions, and repayment or compliance obligations.
- Evaluate project feasibility, development risk, public benefit, housing affordability outcomes, subsidy efficiency, and alignment with HIB program guidelines.
- Support negotiation, structuring, and closing of HIB transactions in coordination with the Chief REI Officer, legal counsel, bond counsel, County partners, developers, lenders, and other stakeholders.
- Coordinate with internal finance staff to confirm readiness for funding, disbursement, draw review, documentation, and post-closing compliance tracking.
- Identify project delays, compliance gaps, budget concerns, leverage issues, or other risks and recommend corrective actions or escalation strategies as appropriate.
- Develop and maintain portfolio reporting systems that support leadership, Board, County, and stakeholder reporting on HIB program performance and impact.
- Supervise, mentor, and manage the Development Managers assigned to HIB programs.
- Set clear expectations for work quality, analytical rigor, timelines, professional judgment, documentation standards, stakeholder communication, and accountability.
- Review work products prepared by Development Managers, including intake summaries, underwriting materials, board documents, external update and compliance reports, and stakeholder communications.
- Build team capacity through coaching, training, knowledge sharing, workflow management, and continuous process improvement.
- Review and present decision-ready memoranda, resolutions, briefings, dashboards, and presentations drafted by Development Managers related to HIB programs and projects.
- Serve as a main point of contact for HIB program matters and communicate complex housing investment, real estate finance, underwriting, compliance, and risk considerations to the Chief REI Officer, senior leadership, public or quasi-public boards, and external stakeholders.
- Oversee the maintenance of reliable project management, pipeline tracking, portfolio monitoring, budget tracking, and reporting systems for HIB programs.
- Use Microsoft 365, Copilot, Excel, Smartsheet, and comparable SaaS platforms to support financial narratives, dashboards, project tracking, board materials, reporting, workflow automation, and internal coordination.
Strategic Coverage, Cross-Program Support, and Succession Planning
- Serve as a designated senior-level backup to the Chief REI Officer for core Real Estate Investments programs when the Chief REI Officer is unavailable, including TADs, BRLF, C-PACER, and other approved public finance or redevelopment initiatives.
- Maintain working familiarity with the department’s broader program portfolio, governance standards, funding mechanics, Board processes, compliance obligations, and stakeholder relationships to support operational continuity.
- Provide strategic support for special initiatives that intersect with HIB programs or require additional senior-level capacity, including cross-program financing strategies, public-private partnerships, portfolio reporting, and program design improvements.
- Coordinate with the Chief REI Officer to ensure coverage responsibilities are clearly scoped, temporary or initiative-specific, and aligned with departmental priorities and authority levels.
Required Qualifications
- Master’s degree in real estate, finance, economics, planning, public policy, business administration, law, or a related field.
- Minimum of twelve (12) years of progressively responsible experience in real estate finance, affordable housing finance, redevelopment, economic development, public-sector lending, housing investment, or related fields.
- Demonstrated experience underwriting, structuring, executing, or managing complex real estate and affordable housing transactions with layered capital stacks.
- Experience with housing finance tools and public finance or redevelopment tools, including bonds, tax credits, mixed-finance transactions as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, federal housing voucher programs, public-sector loans or grants, tax allocation districts, brownfield revolving loan funds, or comparable financing mechanisms.
- Experience preparing clear, decision-ready memoranda, presentations, dashboards, or board materials for public or quasi-public boards, elected officials, senior leadership, or other high-level stakeholders.
- Proven ability to manage multiple projects, stakeholders, deadlines, funding conditions, and compliance obligations in a public or quasi-public environment.
- Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including financial modeling, scenario analysis, budget review, sources and uses review, and portfolio or pipeline tracking.
- Demonstrated ability to supervise staff, manage workflows, review analytical work products, and support professional development.
Degree Substitution
In lieu of a master’s degree, candidates may qualify with a bachelor’s degree and a minimum of fifteen (15) years of full-time, directly related, progressively responsible experience.
Preferred Qualifications
- Advanced degree such as MBA, MPA, MSRED, JD, or a related graduate degree, or a bachelor’s degree and fifteen (15) years of work experience.
- Direct experience with affordable housing finance, mixed-income housing, public-private partnerships, bond-funded housing programs, or similar housing investment programs.
- Experience with HUD PBRA, PBV, RAD, LIHTC coordination, public housing repositioning, or mixed-finance transactions involving housing authorities, developers, lenders, and public partners.
- Asset management or compliance oversight experience for affordable, mixed-income, mixed-use, or publicly funded real estate portfolios.
- Experience using Smartsheet or comparable SaaS platforms for project management, customer relationship management, pipeline tracking, portfolio monitoring, dashboards, budget tracking, workflow automation, or cross-functional collaboration.
Position Type and Expected Hours of Work
This is a full-time position. Days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required as job duties demand. Staff are allowed two (2) days a week to work remote, with the exception of Mondays and Wednesdays.
Travel Requirements
5-10% out of state travel, as well as travel to regional meetings. This position is expected to drive/travel to meetings in DeKalb County daily.
Core Competencies
- Minimum of twelve (12) years of prior mixed-income and/or affordable housing development experience required, including at least three (3) years in a leadership role in a similar organization
- Strong project management experience
- Experience developing new and successful programs
- Strong underwriting capabilities and sound financial judgment, including the ability to evaluate complex capital stacks, assess feasibility, review affordability assumptions, and balance risk with public-benefit objectives
- Proficient in the Microsoft Suite, as well as CRM experience
- Organized and detail-oriented
- Excellent communication skills both oral and written
- Stakeholder Coordination and Communication
- Self-motivated and expert problem solver
- A thought-leader in redevelopment and/or housing
- Strong networking ability
Other Duties:
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Equal Opportunity Statement
Decide DeKalb Development Authority is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected classification.
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Email resume to [email protected]