Loan Officer -- Charter Schools Financing

Background

LISC Charter School Financing funds school construction for high-quality public charter schools that predominantly educate students from families with income below the national average. We believe that all children deserve access to a successful public school in their community. Historically, there has not been equitable access to high-quality public schools because of structural racism and racist policies. The LISC Charter School Financing (CSF) team is committed to racial equity in education, especially for Black, Latinx, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Indigenous students, and other students of color. Great K-12 public schools help students reach a level of educational attainment that provides economic opportunity and leads to success in the workforce.

To realize our vision, we lend money to schools to acquire, build or renovate facilities; we promote transparency of financing options to help school leaders secure affordable debt; we influence public policy to lower the cost of capital, keeping more dollars in the classroom; and we consult with racial equity experts to provide internal team trainings that increase our knowledge of the racialized history of education in the United States, in order to continually evaluate, inform, and improve our internal lending policies.

Position Description

LISC is seeking candidates for the position of Senior Loan Officer in the organization's Charter School Financing (CSF) team. The Senior Loan Officer will be responsible for evaluating the credit risk and managing the due diligence, underwriting and closing process for LISC's charter school facility financings nationally. As part of a team looking for new and innovative ways to help high-quality charter schools succeed in a challenging financial environment, the Senior Loan Officer will use their strong underwriting background and analytical skills to evaluate projects and structure transactions to support charter school's continued growth. Additionally, the Senior Loan Officer will manage multiple, complex transactions at various stages and coordinate with multiple internal and external parties to meet approval and closing deadlines. The Senior Loan Officer will work on highly complex transactions and present to LISC's board. In addition, the Senior Loan Officer will look for ways to continually improve our process from an operational efficiency standpoint. This position will report to the Director of Lending, CSF. This position can be permanently remote or based at LISC's NYC headquarters.

The primary duties of the position include:

• Structure and underwrite complicated financing requests including analyzing academic performance, historical and projected financial performance, commitment to racial equity, management capacity, organizational structure, construction related due diligence, and project feasibility.
• Present loan recommendations to LISC's credit committee and Board of Directors.
• Collaborate with internal and external parties (banks, co-lenders, attorneys, etc.) to close financings including managing complex intercreditor negotiations, reviewing real estate contracts, leases and due diligence, and identifying and negotiating key risk mitigants including reserves, guarantees and other forms of credit enhancement.
• Process grants or amendments as necessary for charter school borrowers.
• Participate in racial equity internal team trainings and discussions as part of our core commitment to furthering equitable practices at LISC and employing an equity lens in our lending.
• Work with the Director of Lending, CSF, to find and implement operational efficiencies and process improvements.
• Present seminars at various charter school conferences to increase transparency in the field.
• Travel domestically to perform school site visits and attend industry events at least 10% annually.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university preferred. Master's Degree a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple, complex transactions at various stages and coordinate with multiple internal and external parties to meet approval and closing deadlines.
• Minimum 5 years of lending experience; community development/community facilities lending in a bank or CDFI preferred. Experience with construction lending, New Markets Tax Credits, and familiar with charter school underwriting. Experience working for a charter school, charter management organization, or charter school developer a plus.
• Highly skilled in financial statement analysis.
• Ability to produce high-quality work products under deadlines, strong project management skills.
• High proficiency in Microsoft Excel and MS Office.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Strong public speaking skills.
• Commitment to LISC's Charter School Financing's mission.

LISC provides a competitive salary ($81K - 102K; salary is commensurate with relevant work experience and location) and excellent benefits for this position.