Director, Community Development Finance

Jackson Redevelopment Authority; Jackson (MS); On-site; USD 85,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

The Director of Community Development Finance at Jackson Redevelopment Authority leads efforts to expand capital, financing tools, and development models to advance real estate and community development in Jackson.

You will assemble cross-functional teams, structure complex transactions, and oversee public-private partnerships, focusing on housing, commercial corridors, adaptive reuse, and catalytic projects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, real estate, economics or related field is required.
• Six years of progressively responsible experience in real estate finance or public finance.
• Working knowledge of public and community development financing tools such as NMTC, LIHTC, and TIF-related instruments.
• Experience structuring and closing complex real estate transactions with multiple capital sources.
• Ability to communicate sophisticated financial concepts to executives and stakeholders.
• Strong analytical, negotiation, and leadership skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead assigned development projects with complex financing and public-private partnerships.
• Translate funding opportunities into executable JRA initiatives with governance and risk plans.
• Assemble cross-functional teams including developers, lenders, public agencies, and investors.
• Establish objectives, budgets, milestones, and performance measures for projects.

Skills

Financial analysis

Stakeholder engagement

Team leadership

Communication of complex concepts

Project management

Problem-solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree in finance/real estate/economics

Tools

NMTC

LIHTC

Tax credits

PILOTs

Bond financing

Job description

Salary Range: $85,000 - $105,000 Annually

Job Classification: Exempt, Full-time

About JRA

The Jackson Redevelopment Authority (JRA) is building the civic and economic infrastructure for Jackson’s next chapter. We turn underutilized assets, public-private partnerships, and community priorities into high-impact real estate, housing, infrastructure, and economic development projects that unlock long-term value for residents, businesses, and neighborhoods across the city.

Job Summary

The Director of Community Development Finance (Director) leads JRA’s efforts to expand the capital, financing tools, and development models available to advance real estate and community development in Jackson. Working at the intersection of real estate development, community development finance, and public finance, the Director will identify and deploy scalable solutions to persistent market barriers while leading a diverse portfolio of strategically assigned initiatives across housing and neighborhood stabilization, commercial corridors and mixed-use development, adaptive reuse and historic redevelopment, public and institutional assets, infrastructure-supported development, and other catalytic real estate initiatives. These initiatives will often involve complex financing, new sources of capital, institutional partnerships, or innovative development models. The successful candidate will combine strong financial and analytical capabilities with real estate development expertise, entrepreneurial problem-solving, and the ability to move ideas from concept and feasibility through capitalization, closing, and implementation.

Core Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead assigned development projects and initiatives, particularly those involving complex financing, new capital sources, innovative development models, or significant public-private partnerships.
• Translate new funding and financing opportunities into executable JRA initiatives, including program design, financial structure, implementation strategy, partner roles, governance, performance measures, and risk management.
• Assemble and lead cross-functional teams of JRA staff, developers, consultants, attorneys, financial advisors, lenders, investors, public agencies, and other partners.
• Establish clear objectives, budgets, milestones, decision points, risks, and performance measures for assigned projects and initiatives.

Public & Community Development Finance

• Conduct and oversee financial analysis and underwriting of real estate and community development projects, including development budgets, sources and uses, operating pro formas, cash-flow projections, debt capacity, returns, subsidy requirements, and sensitivity analyses.
• Evaluate project feasibility, financing gaps, developer capacity, repayment sources, risk allocation, public benefit, and the appropriate level and form of JRA participation.
• Structure complex transactions using combinations of conventional debt and equity, subordinate financing, public incentives, grants, tax credits, guarantees, credit enhancements, philanthropic and mission-driven capital, and other sources.
• Identify, evaluate, and deploy public and community development financing tools that can unlock investment in Jackson, including urban renewal and redevelopment financing, tax increment financing, PILOT structures, revenue and conduit bonds, tax-exempt financing, value-capture mechanisms, and public credit enhancements.
• Evaluate opportunities involving New Markets Tax Credits, Historic Tax Credits, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, Opportunity Zones, CDBG and Section 108, HOME, Federal Home Loan Bank programs, federal credit programs, and other relevant federal and state resources.
• Lead the research, feasibility analysis, structuring, and initial implementation of new financial and development vehicles, including CHDOs, CDEs, Qualified Opportunity Funds, REITs or similar investment structures, revolving loan funds, predevelopment and acquisition funds, housing development funds, credit-enhancement programs, and shared-equity vehicles.
• Work with municipal advisors, bond counsel, tax counsel, financial institutions, public agencies, developers, investors, and other specialists to structure and execute complex transactions.
• Monitor innovations in public finance, community development finance, impact investing, and real estate finance and identify opportunities to introduce or adapt promising approaches in Jackson.

Stakeholder Engagement & Policy Support

• Build and maintain productive relationships with developers, financial institutions, investors, CDFIs, public agencies, foundations, community organizations, anchor institutions, and other partners critical to JRA’s development and capital strategies.
• Represent JRA in meetings, working groups, industry forums, and other settings related to real estate development, public finance, community development finance, and investment.
• Support JRA leadership in evaluating policies, legislation, regulations, and public programs that affect redevelopment, housing production, capital access, and real estate investment in Jackson.
• Provide financial and development expertise to inform JRA policy recommendations, public-sector partnerships, and engagement with local, state, and federal agencies.
• Prepare and present clear recommendations, analyses, and decision materials for the CEO, Board committees, Board of Commissioners, and other stakeholders.

Leadership & Organization

• Serve as a senior member of JRA’s Community & Economic Development Team and a principal advisor to the CEO on development finance, capital strategy, investment, and complex development transactions.
• Provide technical and strategic leadership to staff working on development-finance initiatives and assigned projects.
• Establish rigorous organizational standards for underwriting, financial analysis, transaction structuring, investment recommendations, and portfolio management.
• Represent JRA with developers, lenders, investors, public agencies, foundations, community development institutions, and other external partners.
• Help establish the systems, relationships, and institutional capacity necessary for JRA to become a leading public development finance institution in Mississippi.

Secondary Functions

• Perform other duties as assigned

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, real estate, economics, accounting, business, public finance, community development, or a related discipline; equivalent combinations of education and highly relevant experience may be considered.
• Six (6) years of progressively responsible experience in real estate finance, community development finance, CDFI lending or investing, commercial real estate finance, affordable housing finance, public finance, impact investing, real estate development with substantial transaction responsibility, or a related field.
• Working knowledge of public and community development financing tools such as NMTC, LIHTC, Historic Tax Credits, Opportunity Zones, TIF, PILOTs, bond financing, CDBG Section 108, Federal Home Loan Bank programs, and related mechanisms.
• Experience working with loan funds, investment funds, credit enhancements, guarantees, subordinate financing, or other catalytic capital structures.
• Demonstrated experience structuring and closing complex real estate or community development transactions involving multiple sources of capital.
• Ability to understand unfamiliar financing mechanisms, identify appropriate technical expertise, and lead multidisciplinary teams through complex transactions.
• Ability to communicate sophisticated financial concepts clearly to executives, governing boards, developers, public officials, community stakeholders, and other non-financial audiences.
• Strong written, presentation, organizational, and relationship-management skills.

Preferred

• Experience creating or launching a financial product, investment vehicle, development program, public-private partnership, fund, or other new initiative.
• Strong financial modeling, analytical, negotiation, project leadership, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Experience working across public, private, philanthropic, and nonprofit sectors.
• Experience working in “weak” markets, legacy cities, or economically distressed communities where conventional development economics frequently require innovative approaches.
• Knowledge of Jackson and Mississippi’s economic and real estate environment.