Development Manager - Affordable Housing

Macdonald & Company; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Macdonald & Company, partnered with a long-established affordable housing developer in Salt Lake City, is adding a Development Manager to its growing team. This role offers exposure across the entire lifecycle of a project, inviting candidates from finance, construction or architecture backgrounds to contribute beyond a single specialty.

The successful candidate will join an experienced team with strong backgrounds in finance, construction and architecture, capable of managing portfolios from

Qualifications

• 3+ years of relevant real estate development experience.
• Experience in affordable housing or multifamily development preferred.
• Strong grounding in at least two areas: development finance, construction or architecture/design.
• Financial analysis and development economics as either a primary strength or meaningful secondary capability.
• Experience across multiple stages of a development rather than within one narrowly defined function.
• Strong project management and problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, priorities and external stakeholders simultaneously.
• Hands-on mentality and willingness to tackle whatever is required to move a project forward.
• Bachelor's degree in related discipline preferred.

Responsibilities

• Managing projects across multiple stages of the real estate development lifecycle.
• Supporting financial analysis, underwriting, budgeting and development feasibility.
• Coordinating due diligence, design, entitlement, permitting and pre-development activities.
• Working with complex project financing and affordable housing capital structures.
• Managing architects, contractors, consultants and other external project partners.
• Monitoring construction progress, budgets, schedules, draws and key project milestones.
• Working with municipalities, public agencies, lenders, investors and community stakeholders.
• Identifying issues, solving problems and stepping into different areas of a project as required.
• Supporting projects through construction, lease-up and stabilization.

Skills

Real estate development

Development finance

Construction

Architecture/design

Project management

Stakeholder management

Education

Real Estate/Finance degree

Job description

Macdonald & Company is partnered with a long-established affordable housing developer in Salt Lake City to add a Development Manager to its growing team.

The organization has more than 50 years of history in the market and develops housing that has a direct impact on communities across the Salt Lake region. With 13 active projects currently in the pipeline, a newly awarded development and further opportunities expected to follow, the team is now looking to add another versatile real estate professional who can help execute that growth.

The Opportunity

This is not a narrowly defined development role.

The team is deliberately looking for someone with a broad development skill set who wants exposure across the entire lifecycle of a project. You might come from a finance, construction or architecture background, but you should have developed capabilities beyond one particular specialty and be comfortable getting involved wherever a project needs you.

Financial capability is particularly important. You don't need to be purely a finance professional, but you should be comfortable with the numbers behind a development and able to combine that understanding with experience in another area such as construction, design, project management or broader development execution.

The successful candidate will join an experienced team whose existing members bring complementary backgrounds across finance, construction and architecture. The goal is to add another well-rounded developer who can operate across those disciplines rather than being confined to one piece of the process.

The Role

As Development Manager, you will work across an active portfolio of affordable housing projects from early-stage evaluation through construction and stabilization.

Responsibilities will include:

• Managing projects across multiple stages of the real estate development lifecycle
• Supporting financial analysis, underwriting, budgeting and development feasibility
• Coordinating due diligence, design, entitlement, permitting and pre-development activities
• Working with complex project financing and affordable housing capital structures
• Managing architects, contractors, consultants and other external project partners
• Monitoring construction progress, budgets, schedules, draws and key project milestones
• Working with municipalities, public agencies, lenders, investors and community stakeholders
• Identifying issues, solving problems and stepping into different areas of a project as required
• Supporting projects through construction, lease-up and stabilization
• Taking ownership of both major development initiatives and the less glamorous details required to successfully deliver a project

Who We're Looking For

The strongest candidates will be real estate professionals who are established enough to bring meaningful development experience but still hungry to broaden their capabilities, take ownership and get into the details.

You will likely bring:

• 3+ years of relevant real estate development experience
• Experience in affordable housing or multifamily development preferred
• A strong grounding in at least two of the following areas: development finance, construction or architecture/design
• Financial analysis and development economics as either a primary strength or meaningful secondary capability
• Experience working across multiple stages of a development rather than within one narrowly defined function
• Strong project management and problem-solving capabilities
• The ability to manage multiple projects, priorities and external stakeholders simultaneously
• A hands-on mentality and willingness to tackle whatever is required to move a project forward
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively within a highly collaborative team
• Bachelor's degree in Real Estate, Finance, Construction, Architecture, Planning or a related discipline preferred

For someone who wants to become a genuinely well-rounded developer, this is an opportunity to work across a substantial pipeline, learn alongside professionals with complementary expertise and take meaningful ownership of projects that directly shape housing in Salt Lake City.