Director of Real Estate Develpment

Director of Real Estate Development

Northern California Land Trust |  Berkeley, CA  |  Full-Time, Hybrid

About Northern California Land Trust and Woolsey Gardens

Northern California Land Trust (NCLT) is California's oldest community land trust, dedicated to developing and stewarding permanently affordable housing on community-owned land throughout the Bay Area. NCLT's model breaks the cycle of displacement by removing homes from the speculative market and holding them in perpetual trust, ensuring that affordability is preserved not just for today's residents, but for generations to come. 

Woolsey Gardens is NCLT's most ambitious expression of that mission to date, a groundbreaking 65-unit mixed-use affordable lease-purchase development in Berkeley. Selected as one of just five projects nationwide through the California Energy Commission's highly competitive EPIC (Electric Program Investment Charge) Challenge, Woolsey Gardens is the first project of its kind in the United States, pioneering:

• A community microgrid designed to operate independently from the grid during outages, wildfires, and other climate emergencies
• Mass timber construction—a renewable, fire-resistant material still rare in U.S. affordable housing—in place of traditional steel and cement
• Zero net energy design, generating 100% of the building's energy onsite
• Using innovative variations of Community Land Trust affordable home-ownership including cooperative and potential lease-purchase elements

Together, these elements make Woolsey Gardens a proof of concept for how sustainable, resilient, permanently affordable housing can be built—and replicated—across the sector.

The Opportunity

NCLT seeks a Director of Real Estate Development to take the helm of Woolsey Gardens at its most exciting moment: years of visionary work are about to set the precedent for affordable housing nationwide. This is a rare opportunity to lead one of the most innovative affordable housing projects in the country across the finish line. The project is fully entitled, design development is complete, and an outstanding team of designers, engineers, and development partners is assembled and working at the top of their game with an anticipated late 2027 start of construction.

The incoming Director of Real Estate Development will need to be creative and equally as comfortable navigating and innovating in both finance as well as design as they are managing a complex construction schedule. Woolsey Gardens has no direct precedent, and the person who delivers it will have helped write the playbook. In addition to driving capital strategy and execution, securing remaining subsidy and permanent financing, and closing a complex capital stack, they will manage a world-class team of consultants, contractors, and public agency partners from construction through lease-purchase launch.

Key Responsibilities

Finance and Capital

• Lead capital strategy for Woolsey Gardens, securing remaining subsidy and permanent financing and closing all required milestones on schedule
• Identify and pursue additional funding sources to fully capitalize the project, and manage ongoing relationships with lenders, investors, and public agencies
• Oversee draw management, investor reporting, and budget tracking, identifying financial risks early and developing solutions

Project Management and Delivery

• Lead Woolsey Gardens from permit approvals through groundbreaking, construction, and certificate of occupancy, overseeing consultants, contractors, and development partners across scope, schedule, and performance
• Coordinate across NCLT's internal teams including community engagement, asset management, and operations to support a successful project launch and lease-purchase rollout
• Serve as the primary point of contact for public agency partners and the California Energy Commission throughout construction
• As capacity allows, contribute to new development opportunities as NCLT grows

Qualifications

Required

• At least 5 years of experience in real estate or affordable housing development, including structuring and closing complex capital stacks and delivering multifamily projects
• Experience financing and project managing a mid-rise multifamily development through construction, including working with a general contractor and major subcontractors
• Ability to structure creative financing solutions and navigate complex, multi-party transactions, including familiarity with lease-purchase or affordable homeownership models
• Strong project management skills with the ability to juggle multiple workstreams, competing priorities, and deadlines
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, including experience with financial reports, investor updates, and public agency correspondence
• Commitment to permanently affordable housing and the community land trust model and comfort working within a small, collaborative team where flexibility, creativity, and initiative matter

Preferred

• Knowledge of California affordable housing finance for a variety of ownership models used by CLT's including ownership, rental and lease purchase. Sources include: LIHTC, NMTC, local and regional public subsidies, Cal-Home, and other hybrid entrepreneurial sources.
• Interest in or experience with sustainable construction, energy resilience, or net zero development
• Existing relationships with Bay Area affordable housing lenders, investors, or public agencies
• Familiarity with community land trust models or permanently affordable homeownership programs

Our Team, Culture and Benefits

NCLT is a small, mission-driven team united by a belief that housing is a human right. Staff bring expertise spanning community organizing, legal advocacy, finance, and construction, and work collaboratively across functions. The Director of Real Estate Development will join a team that has spent years building something genuinely new—and that is ready to build it.

This is a full-time, exempt position. The salary range is $150,000-$165,000 depending on experience. The role is hybrid (at least a day a week) in our Berkeley office. NCLT offers a comprehensive and generous benefits package including stipends to support both professional growth and personal development/wellness.