Real Estate and Community Development Officer in Portland, Oregon at Prosper Portland

As the Real Estate and Community Development (RECD) Officer, you'll manage catalytic redevelopment projects to get deals across the finish line. It's hand-on deal making in a mission driven environment, where your work directly shapes Portland's development landscape.

Summary

The Real Estate and Community Development Officer serves as a senior project manager and team lead working collaboratively with the Real Estate and Community Development team, management, and staff across the agency. The position plans, structures, negotiates, and delivers complex public-private real estate and community development projects that advance community priorities and Tax Increment Finance District Action Plans. The position balances financial feasibility, public benefit, risk, and equitable community outcomes; coordinates projects from early planning and due diligence through approvals, closing, construction, and closeout; and provides subject matter expertise in real estate, development finance, investment management and community-centered development. The ideal candidate is a skilled dealmaker and project manager with excellent communication skills, experience interacting with public and private stakeholders and managing a budget with multiple funding streams.

Functions and Responsibilities

30% Real Estate Transactions and Development Finance

• Leads complex real estate and development finance transactions and manage the full project lifecycle from early-stage planning through transaction closing and timely completion, applying a strong project management discipline and, exercising sound commercial judgment in evaluating risk, return and deal terms that align with community agreements and protect the agency’s interests.
• Structures capital stacks using appropriate public and private resources, including Tax Increment Finance, loans, grants, debt, equity, and other funding sources; recommends assistance levels, terms, security, and risk mitigations.
• Provides recommendations on investment strategy and financial structuring of real estate projects and work with financial institutions, alternative capital providers and REITs to source funding.
• Supports the agency's investment management activities, including monitoring performance, conducting investment analysis and risk-return evaluations, and crafting and implementing investment strategies across real estate and development finance assets.
• Prepares and evaluates development budgets, operating pro formas, sources and uses, cash-flow projections, sensitivity analyses, funding gaps, returns, and public-benefit measures for commercial, industrial, mixed-use, housing, and neighborhood-scale projects.
• Negotiates acquisitions, dispositions, leases, easements, development agreements, financing agreements, and related business terms in coordination with legal counsel and other technical specialists.
• Leads or supports competitive solicitations and partner selections for developers, tenants, and professional services, including development of criteria, evaluation of proposals, due diligence, negotiation, and documentation consistent with procurement requirements.
• Prepares staff reports, approval memoranda, presentations, and recommendations for agency leadership, the Board of Commissioners, City Council, and other decision-makers, as applicable, and maintains clear records of key assumptions and decisions.

20% Community Development and Stakeholder Partnerships

• Builds and manages public-private partnerships with community-based organizations, businesses, entrepreneurs, developers, property owners, lenders, public agencies, educational institutions, and industry partners.
• Identifies and helps secure external funding and technical resources for real estate and community development priorities, including coordinating or preparing applications and partner commitments.
• Leads inclusive engagement with community stakeholders to understand priorities, explain technical information, document input, and align project strategies with adopted plans and community-defined outcomes.
• Integrates inclusive development, anti-displacement, accessibility, community-benefit, sustainability, and small/local business considerations into project analysis, partner expectations, and recommendations, as applicable.
• Serves as a project and neighborhood liaison; facilitates meetings, advisory groups, public hearings, and partner discussions; and develops presentations tailored to community, business, public-agency, and governing-board audiences.

20% Leadership and Cross-Departmental Coordination

• Oversee high-profile projects and cross-functional project teams, establishing scopes, roles, priorities, decision points, and quality expectations in coordination with RECD management.
• Serves as a subject matter expert, thought partner, and strategic problem-solver to RECD management and staff across the agency on real estate and community development matters.
• Coordinates the work of legal, finance, procurement, construction, asset management, communications, and program staff to advance projects and resolve interdependent issues.
• Reviews project analyses, recommendations, and other work products for accuracy, completeness, and alignment with agency goals; provides guidance and escalates material risks or decisions.
• Supports the annual team workplan and budget process, identifies opportunities for process improvement, and provides input to management regarding team workload and staff performance.

20% Project Management, Due Diligence and Delivery

• Develops and manages project charters, workplans, schedules, budgets, milestones, dependencies, decision logs, and risk-management plans for multiple complex projects concurrently.
• Plans and oversees due diligence, including title and survey review, appraisal, environmental conditions, site and building assessments, market and financial feasibility, land use and entitlement analysis, infrastructure and utility capacity, and other project-specific investigations.
• Coordinates design, permitting, entitlement, financing, construction, and closeout activities; monitors the work of developers, architects, engineers, contractors, and other consultants against approved scope, schedule, budget, and quality standards.
• Develops and administers professional-services and project contracts, including solicitations, scopes of work, selection processes, deliverables, invoices, amendments, compliance, reporting, and closeout.

10% Portfolio Oversight, Compliance and Continuous Improvement

• Research real estate markets, development practices, public-finance tools, and policy trends; uses data and lessons learned to recommend program, policy, process, and risk-management improvements.
• Monitors transaction commitments, covenants, public benefits, and performance measures and coordinates compliance with applicable urban renewal and Tax Increment Finance requirements, procurement rules, environmental review, labor standards, civil rights and accessibility requirements, and funding conditions in partnership with agency specialists.
• Maintains complete, organized, and audit-ready project and transaction files.

Scope

• Operates under minimal supervision and independently establishes day-to-day practices, priorities, and project-management approaches within established policy and delegated authority.
• Exercises advanced technical judgment in evaluating alternatives, negotiating business terms, resolving project issues, and recommending decisions; seeks management approval for strategic, precedent-setting, or highly sensitive matters.
• Work has significant financial, legal, operational, political, and community impact and requires management of multiple complex, interrelated projects and funding sources.
• Work requires negotiation, facilitation, relationship management, and sound judgment in settings with intense public interest, competing priorities, and changing conditions.
• Position serves as an agency subject matter expert and must translate complex financial, legal, development, and policy information for varied audiences.
• Position has no formal supervisory responsibilities; however, it may lead the work of staff and oversee consultants, vendors, contractors, temporary workers, and student staff.
• Assignments require regular coordination across departments and with external partners and may involve confidential, proprietary, or politically sensitive information.

Competencies

Putting People First, Inclusion & Collaboration

• Interpersonal Skills: Advanced ability to establish and sustain authentic, effective working relationships and partnerships. Exercises active listening, tact, patience, discretion, and political awareness.
• Mission-Driven Service: Provides responsive, solutions-oriented service and demonstrates a commitment to public benefit, community outcomes, and stewardship of agency resources.
• Teamwork: Works inclusively and collaboratively across disciplines and organizations. Builds consensus, clarifies responsibilities, and helps resolve conflict.
• Leadership: Leads complex work without relying on positional authority. Organizes, guides, reviews, and supports the work of project teams and consultants.
• Communication: Communicates effectively in writing and verbally, including negotiation, facilitation, public speaking, and presentation of complex financial and technical information to varied audiences. Bilingual or multilingual skills are a plus.
• Cultural Curiosity and Reflection: Uses culturally responsive practices to understand, communicate, and work with people across cultures and identities. Honors differences and models inclusivity in interactions and decisions.
• Advancing Equity: Demonstrates commitment to advancing social and racial equity and applies equitable-development principles to project analysis, engagement, recommendations, and implementation.

Excellence, Innovation & Learning

• Knowledge: Advanced knowledge of the real estate development lifecycle, development finance and underwriting, public-private partnerships, community economic development, urban renewal and Tax Increment Finance, land use and permitting, public contracting, and applicable real estate laws and regulations. Working knowledge of community-centered and equitable-development practices, public administration, and agency systems and processes.
• Technical Abilities: Advanced ability to analyze and structure real estate transactions; prepare and evaluate financial models and pro formas; manage due diligence, contracts, budgets, schedules, and project risks; negotiate complex terms; and use spreadsheets, project-management tools, databases, and document-management systems.
• Continuous Learning: Monitors market, regulatory, financing, sustainability, and community-development trends. Seeks feedback, shares lessons learned, and adapts practices to improve outcomes.
• Problem Solving: Applies advanced research, financial, analytical, and creative problem-solving skills. Evaluates alternatives and tradeoffs, exercises sound judgment, and interprets and applies law, policy, contracts, and procedures.
• Adaptability: Responds effectively to shifting priorities, market conditions, project constraints, and ambiguity. Maintains progress and constructive relationships through obstacles and change.
• Planning and Organization: Independently organizes, prioritizes, coordinates, and monitors multiple complex projects, transactions, contracts, and funding streams. Establishes clear deliverables, controls, decision points, and follow-through.
• Accountability: Takes responsibility for actions, recommendations, documentation, and stewardship of public resources. Follows through on commitments, meets deadlines, protects confidential information, and raises risks promptly.

Minimum Education, Training and/or Experience

Eight years of progressively responsible experience in project management, urban or economic development, real estate development or finance, public-private development, or complex community development initiatives, or equivalent experience. An associate's, bachelor's, or master's degree in a related field may substitute for up to one year of experience to meet the minimum experience requirement of eight years. Experience must include independently managing complex projects and performing financial analysis, due diligence, transaction negotiation, contract administration, and multi-stakeholder delivery.

Physical Requirements

With or without reasonable accommodation, the position requires the ability to remain stationary for extended periods; move throughout the office; travel to properties, construction sites, meetings, and events; and navigate stairs, uneven surfaces, and active work areas during site visits. The position frequently uses a computer and standard office equipment, communicates with internal and external stakeholders regarding complex subject matter, and may occasionally lift and move materials weighing up to 20 pounds.

Working Conditions

Normal working hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., in a combination of in-person and remote work. Current expectations include in-person work every Tuesday and Wednesday and one additional day every two weeks, subject to agency policy and operational needs. Early morning, evening, or weekend work and local or out-of-area travel may occasionally be required. Site visits may involve weather, noise, dust, uneven terrain, and active construction; required personal protective equipment must be used.