Real Estate and Compliance Manager

Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

403(b) retirement plan with employer 


Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Employer‑paid long‑term disability

Voluntary life insurance options

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Pet insurance

Paid Time Off (PTO)

Job summary

Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity is seeking a Real Estate and Compliance Manager to coordinate grant activities supporting acquisition, land development, construction, and affordable for-sale homebuilding.

The role focuses on identifying funding sources, preparing grant applications, ensuring compliance, and guiding staff across Real Estate, Construction, and Homeownership on regulatory requirements and reporting.

Qualifications

• Proven success in grant writing and compliance management in nonprofit housing, community development, or real estate.
• Working knowledge of federal, state, and local affordable housing funding programs and regulatory frameworks.
• Ability to interpret grant award agreements and translate them into actionable internal procedures.
• Excellent writing and editing skills; ability to produce accurate narrative content for a technical audience.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy in managing documentation, reporting data, and deadlines.
• Experience creating and maintaining electronic document management systems and grant tracking workflows.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite with budget handling abilities.
• Must be organized, a self-starter, and able to manage multiple active grants with limited direction.
• Ability to communicate effectively with internal staff and government funders.
• Experience with Habitat for Humanity programs or affordable housing development is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Identify and pursue funding sources aligned with Habitat’s development pipeline.
• Prepare and submit persuasive grant applications and supporting documentation.
• Coordinate with Real Estate, Real Estate Project Manager, and staff on narratives and budgets.
• Maintain a proposal and reporting calendar to meet deadlines across cycles.
• Manage an active portfolio of grant opportunities across multiple cycles.
• Ensure grant strategy aligns with acquisition dates, construction milestones, and budgets.
• Support funder communications and manage site visits or monitoring reviews.
• Lead grant file documentation systems and audit preparation.
• Track grant expenditures and ensure timely draw requests and reimbursements.
• Collaborate with Finance, Construction, and Homeownership on budgets and reporting.

Skills

Grant writing

Compliance management

Research

Cross-functional collaboration

Budgeting

Reporting

Documentation

Microsoft Excel

Salesforce

PowerBI

SharePoint

Communication

Attention to detail

Tools

Salesforce

SharePoint

PowerBI

Teams

Microsoft Office

Job description

General Position Summary

Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity’s Real Estate and Compliance Manager coordinates pre-award and post-award grant activities in direct support of the organization’s real estate acquisition, land development, construction, and affordable for-sale homebuilding operations. This position is responsible for identifying and pursuing funding sources aligned with Habitat’s development pipeline, preparing and submitting grant applications, and ensuring long‑term compliance with all grant conditions and regulatory requirements.

Core Responsibilities

Funding Identification and Application

• Conducts ongoing research to identify federal, state, municipal, and private funding sources whose guidelines and priorities align with Habitat’s real estate development and homebuilding programs, including sources such as WFHTC, HOME Investment Partnerships, CDBG, Iowa Finance Authority programs, and FHLB AHP.
• Develops a working knowledge of Habitat’s real estate development pipeline including property acquisition, land development, subdivision platting, construction, homebuyer qualification, and closing processes.
• Prepares and submits persuasive, complete, and error‑free grant applications and requests.
• Coordinates with the Director of Real Estate, Real Estate Project Manager, and other relevant staff to develop project narratives, budgets, and supporting documentation required by funders.
• Maintains a proposal and reporting calendar to ensure all application deadlines, reporting requirements, and draw request windows are met.
• Manages and tracks an active portfolio of grant opportunities across multiple funding cycles simultaneously.
• Works closely with Real Estate team to align grant application and funding strategy with the active development pipeline, including acquisition target dates, construction milestones, buyer data, and overall budgets for individual developments.
• Pursues grant opportunities that support Habitat’s funding priorities, including from an existing base of grantors, and engages organizational leadership in the cultivation of key funding relationships as appropriate.

Grant Compliance

• Serves as the organization’s subject matter expert on grant compliance requirements applicable to real estate development activities, including all relevant regulations governing WFHTC, HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds, and CDBG, environmental reviews, Davis‑Bacon, and Section 3 requirements.
• Reviews award agreements, documents, assigns, and communicates all compliance obligations to relevant internal departments.
• Provides ongoing guidance to Real Estate, Construction, and Homeownership staff on the practical implications of grant restrictions, including property eligibility, income targeting, affordability period requirements, resale and recapture provisions, procurement standards, and buyer qualification criteria.
• Monitors grant expenditure timelines and works with Real Estate and Finance staff to ensure funds are drawn and expended within contract periods.
• Prepares and submits draw requests and reimbursement requests as grant milestones are accomplished.
• Manages funder relationships and communications throughout the award period, including responding to funder inquiries, requesting contract amendments or extensions, and coordinating site visits or monitoring reviews.

Reporting, Documentation, and Record Management

• Leads the design and maintenance of grant file documentation systems. Ensures all applicable grant documents, correspondence, certifications, and property‑level records are complete, organized, and retained per funder requirements.
• Coordinates audit preparation, including reviewing project files for completeness, identifying and resolving documentation gaps, and serving as the primary point of contact during external grant monitoring reviews and audits.
• Manages grant closeout procedures, including submission of final reports, reconciliation of grant expenditures, and implementation of post‑award record retention plans.
• Tracks and administers long‑term obligations associated with funded properties.
• Maintains accurate and current grant data in Salesforce and other organizational tracking systems.

Cross‑Departmental Coordination

• Collaborates with Finance to develop grant budgets and pro‑forms, track grant‑funded expenditures, and ensure accurate financial reporting to funders.
• Coordinates with Finance on cash flow planning related to draw request timing.
• Coordinates with Construction and Homeownership teams to gather documentation needed for compliance submissions, including project status updates, homebuyer income certifications, and cost documentation required by specific funding programs.
• Works with other grant and funding staff within the organization to align application strategies across teams.

Benefits

We believe in taking care of our employees. Our comprehensive benefits package includes:

• 403(b) retirement plan with employer match
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Employer‑paid long‑term disability
• Voluntary life insurance options
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Pet insurance
• Paid Time Off (PTO)

Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity (GDMHFH) is part of a global, nonprofit housing organization operated on Christian principles that seeks to put God’s love into action by building homes, communities and hope.

We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds to apply. If you are passionate about customer service and making a difference in your community, we encourage you to apply for this opportunity.

Requirements

• Proven success in grant writing and compliance management, preferably in a nonprofit housing, community development, or real estate context.
• Working knowledge of federal, state, and county affordable housing funding programs and the regulatory frameworks governing their use in real estate development and homeownership programs.
• Ability to understand and interpret grant award agreements, federal regulations, and compliance requirements and translate them into actionable internal procedures.
• Excellent writing and editing skills; ability to produce accurate, well‑organized narrative content for a technical audience.
• Strong attention to detail and a high degree of accuracy in managing documentation, reporting data, and regulatory deadlines.
• Experience creating and maintaining electronic document management systems and grant tracking workflows.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel; ability to work with financial data and budgets.
• Must be well organized, a self‑starter, and able to manage multiple active grants and deadlines simultaneously with limited direction.
• Ability to communicate effectively with internal staff and government funders.
• Experience with Habitat for Humanity programs and/or affordable housing development a plus.
• Experience with Salesforce, SharePoint, PowerBI, Teams, and similar business intelligence, database, and document management platforms a plus.
• Experience with contract review, real estate transactions, or regulatory compliance in a legal capacity a plus.