Chicago Residential Investment Fund Senior Development Analyst Chicago, IL · Full time Company website

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The Chicago Residential Investment Fund (CRIF) is a start-up nonprofit real estate investor established by the City of Chicago to build, own, and operate mixed-income multifamily housing. Capitalized with $130 million in funding, CRIF takes controlling equity positions in ground-up and substantial rehabilitation projects then holds them as long-term assets. Each development is designed to be environmentally sustainable, financially self-sustaining, and governed in partnership with its residents. CRIF's approach treats affordability as a core underwriting parameter with the objective of developing and operating high-quality housing that remains within reach of a broad range of Chicago households. As a start-up organization, CRIF is actively building the team, pipeline, and operating infrastructure that will carry the fund through its first decade of activity.

The Chicago Residential Investment Fund is deploying a nine-figure equity allocation to co-invest alongside experienced market-rate developers in the Chicago market. Deals are structured as CoGP, LP, or preferred equity investments. The investment strategy is both long-term and flexible, enabling the deployment of capital during all phases of the real estate cycle with the goal to build a portfolio of institutional-quality assets.

The Senior Development Analyst or Development Associate is a critical member of the Fund’s investment team, primarily responsible for financial modeling, underwriting, and analyzing multifamily development and investment opportunities. This individual will work closely with the Director of Investments to evaluate potential investments, monitor ongoing development projects, conduct market research, and prepare clear, decision-ready analyses. 

This role is intended for a highly analytical professional who can make an immediate contribution through underwriting, financial modeling, and investment analysis. As the Fund has a lean team, the candidate will also have the opportunity to develop broader experience in areas such as development oversight, transaction execution, and fund strategy. As the Fund and team grow, there will be opportunities for the individual to take on greater responsibilities based on performance and the organization’s needs.

Core Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and audit detailed financial models for multifamily investments, including ground-up development, adaptive reuse, acquisitions, recapitalizations, and refinancings; including capital structures, waterfall distributions, and sensitivity analyses.
• Evaluate opportunities by analyzing development budgets, schedules, market conditions, lease-up assumptions, financing terms, exit strategies, and other key return factors.
• Support due diligence and closings by reviewing project, financing, and third-party information in order to summarize key economic terms.
• Monitor active development projects, assess performance against approved plans, and identify significant variances and potential risks.
• Collaborate with co-development partners, consultants, lenders, and other participants to gather and assess project information.
• Prepare investment committee materials, portfolio reporting, and other analysis supporting investment decisions and fund planning.
• Track market comparables, submarket trends, and portfolio performance to inform underwriting and strategy.
• Other analysis and projects, as assigned on an as needed basis.

Required Qualifications

• At least three years of experience in market-rate real estate investment analysis, acquisitions, or development finance, with significant exposure to multifamily development projects.
• Expert Excel skills with proven ability to independently audit and create complex real estate financial models from scratch. Includes modeling joint venture waterfalls or Co-GP, LP, and preferred equity structures.
• Strong understanding of market-rate multifamily underwriting, development economics, capital structures, and investment returns.
• Experience with development budgets, schedules, construction processes, lease-up activities, and project stabilization.
• •Excellent analytical and communication skills, coupled with the ability to manage several projects and deadlines independently.
• Bachelor’s degree in real estate, finance, economics, accounting, engineering, architecture, or a demonstrated expertise in real estate finance post-graduation; MBA or master’s degree in real estate a plus.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated understanding of entitlements, zoning, and permitting.
• Familiarity with development monitoring, transaction documents, and materials from 
• investment committee meetings.
• Knowledge of the Chicago multifamily market, including rent dynamics, submarket conditions, and entitlement processes.
• Experience presenting to investors.
• Familiarity with accretive sustainability investments.
• Experience modeling at the fund level.

Attributes for Success

• Highly analytical, technically proficient, and attentive to detail.
• Intellectually curious in understanding both the financial and operational dimensions of development.
• Able to question assumptions constructively and identify risks that may not be immediately apparent.
• Able to synthesize complex information, identify decision-relevant issues and datapoints, and succinctly communicate conclusions.
• Comfortable working in a lean, entrepreneurial environment with evolving processes and priorities.
• Proactive, collaborative, and motivated to expand beyond a core analytical role as the organization grows.