Finance Director jobs in Chattanooga, TN

CLASSIFICATION SUMMARY:  
Word is getting out, Chattanooga is one of the nation’s top communities to live, work, and play—known for its natural beauty, culture of innovation, and quality of life. As people from across the country flock to our city, this has brought unique challenges and opportunities. The strength of our housing market has meant that it’s harder than ever to find an affordable place to live in Chattanooga.

The City of Chattanooga is seeking an inaugural Director of Housing Finance to spearhead the city’s public private initiative to fund the creation and preservation of affordable housing in furtherance of our ambitious One Chattanooga Vision. Reporting directly to the Chief Housing Officer, the Director of Housing Finance will lead efforts to create a robust financing environment for workforce and affordable housing in Chattanooga by leveraging millions of dollars of new city investment with diverse public, private and philanthropic funding streams.  

The key responsibilities for this position include developing innovative financing strategies and loan products tailored to Chattanooga's needs; establishing transparent and equitable processes and procedures for efficient utilization of new financing mechanisms, including a loan fund and housing trust fund and collaborating with partners and stakeholders to maximize the impact of available resources. Ideal candidates should have a demonstrated knowledge of affordable housing financing as well as knowledge of various federal housing program regulations and procedures.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
The following duties ARE NOT intended to serve as a comprehensive list of all duties performed by all employees in this classification, only a representative summary of the primary duties and responsibilities. Incumbent(s) may not be required to perform all duties listed and may be required to perform additional, position-specific duties.

Design and develop housing grant and loan programs, policies, and guidelines for the city in accordance with industry best practices, state and local laws and regulations, and community needs. 

Identify and pursue funding opportunities, grants, and partnerships to secure financial resources for needed housing projects. 

Prepare and submit funding applications and manage relationships with funding agencies or investors.

Assess the financial viability and risks associated with housing projects or investments. Conduct due diligence, financial analysis, and feasibility studies to evaluate potential risks and returns.

Collaborate with various stakeholders, including government agencies, lenders, developers, community organizations, and housing advocates, to foster partnerships and achieve housing finance objectives. Represent the organization in meetings, conferences, and industry events.

Advise our partners on financial strategies to structure and maximize complex multi-layers real estate financing, selection of investors and lenders, negotiation of deal terms, and preparation of financial projections and assistance in obtaining funding from a large array of competitive programs including Federal 9% and 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits. In addition, provide expertise to our partners on exit strategies for projects where Tax Credits are reaching the end of their 15-year compliance period by analyzing project economics, tax and regulatory considerations, and assisting partners in structuring a financing plan that employs innovative techniques to ensure that the nonprofit sponsor can retain ownership of the project.

Must meet regular attendance requirements.

Must be able to maintain good interpersonal relationships with staff, co-workers, managers and citizens.

Must accomplish the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodations, in a timely manner.

Performs other duties as assigned.

DEPARTMENT SPECIFIC DUTIES (if any):

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Bachelor’s Degree required. Master’s degree in finance-related field preferred.
Four years related experience in management or administration of housing development, real estate development, housing finance, mortgage lending, loan administration, or economic development programs; or any combination of equivalent experience and education. 
All employees must maintain Tennessee residency from the date of hire.

LICENSING AND CERTIFICATIONS:  
None

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:
Knowledge of financial analytical skills with an in-depth understanding of affordable multifamily housing finance and funding sources, including Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and tax-exempt bond financing;  principles, practices, methods, and strategies in the field of real estate development, affordable housing programs, projects, and policies; affordable housing finance and administration, including development budgets, proformas and financial and feasibility analysis; effective land use planning and economic, community and urban development policies and programs that support the preservation and production of affordable housing;
Skilled in complex, multi-layered real estate financing; analyzing and reviewing real estate proformas to evaluate a project’s feasibility; implementing public private partnerships; public and private development financing and impact investing for affordable housing development.
Ability to effectively foster collaboration with businesses, developers, consultants, organizations, and individuals on a variety of projects; and to effectively conduct meetings and make presentations to various groups.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: 
Positions in this class typically require reaching, fingering, grasping, talking, hearing, seeing and repetitive motions.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: 
Light Work: Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or negligible amount of force constantly to move objects.  If the use of arm and/or leg controls requires exertion of forces greater than that for Sedentary Work and the worker sits most of the time, the job is rated for Light Work.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
Safety Sensitive: N
Department of Transportation - CDL: N
Child Sensitive: N

This position requires pre-employment screening(s) that include: background check.  

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