Underwriting Associate

About Level Field Facilities Fund (“LFFF”)

Launched in 2021, LFFF is a specialized loan fund established to support the activities associated with early-stage charter school facility development for scaling charter schools that are delivering on the promise of providing a high-quality education. Initially introduced as a $15MM national pilot, LFFF’s lending capacity has grown to $87MM spanning three funds – two national and one focused on the unique facility challenges associated with the Washington, DC real estate market. By allowing charter school operators to finance rather than self-fund early-stage development activities such as making improvements to leased facilities or acquiring to be improved sites, LFFF addresses a critical funding gap in a historically undercapitalized segment of the charter school facilities finance market. LFFF was created by its affiliate, Level Field Partners (“LFP”), a full-service charter school real estate advisory that supports charter schools nationwide, as a response to the limited availability of lending capital to support early-stage facility development. LFP is a team of impact-focused, results-driven professionals with deep expertise and decades of experience in public charter school real estate and financing. Over the past eight years, LFP has partnered with 160+ school and organizations across 28 states (including Washington, D.C.), developed facilities totaling $1.4B+ in project costs, and enabled 47,000+ seats in high-quality facilities.

About the Role

LFFF is seeking an Underwriting Associate to structure and underwrite charter school facility loans that connect vision to practice – enabling emerging charter schools to operate in high-quality, well-designed facilities and expand capacity to support enrollment growth. LFFF is working to ensure that all schools with the potential to deliver excellent academic outcomes, even those with smaller and scaling balance sheets, have a home that supports student learning and achievement. Reporting to the President and working closely with the Chief Credit Officer, the Underwriting Associate will navigate the underwriting process from end to end, beginning with transaction intake through to closing, prioritizing the development of a high-quality and resilient loan portfolio. This role requires a research-oriented mindset to understand how charter school funding, demographic trends, regulatory and authorizer requirements vary across markets – and the implications of those dynamics on transaction structuring. The role also requires a strong client focus with a balance of skilled relationship management and rigorous analysis to assess transaction risk. The ideal candidate will bring a proven track record of effective project management and the ability to proactively advance multiple transactions, at various stages of readiness, through a credit process.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Lead charter school facility underwriting from end to end, including opportunity assessment, due diligence collection, borrower and diligence evaluation, deal structuring, preparation of credit materials and closing.
• Prepare credit memoranda with clear and compelling transaction narratives supported by financial feasibility modeling.
• Ensure transaction alignment with LFFF credit policies and fund-level portfolio guidelines.
• Lead the presentation of transactions to LFFF Credit Committee for approval.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to support asset management, investor reporting and board relations.
• Maintain current knowledge of regulatory requirements and market trends impacting charter school operators.
• Collaborate with peer lenders to facilitate co-lending arrangements and advance initiatives that support the broader charter school sector.
• Build positive and professional relationships with prospective borrowers, stakeholders, partner organizations and third-party service providers.
• Participate in ongoing efforts to establish and improve internal processes.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree is required.
• A graduate degree in a relevant field, such as finance or real estate, is optional but is a plus.
• At least three years of relevant professional experience, including experience with a social impact lender, an institutional investor, a commercial bank, or a philanthropic organization engaged in real estate investment. Community development lending experience is a plus but not required.
• A deep commitment to LFFF’s mission to serve public charter school operators, their students and communities.
• A track record of underwriting high-quality performing loans or investments. Experience underwriting large-balance loans is not required for this position.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills with the ability to clearly communicate to a diverse group of stakeholders.
• Proven ability to analyze complex financial projections and project information to assess risk, determine creditworthiness and make sound credit recommendations.
• Ability to travel to school sites and Level Field team meetings.