Development Associate - Real Estate

About Workbench

Workbench is a develop design build company championing and scaling new solutions to solving California’s housing crisis. This means creating housing and community places that are more affordable, equitable, and well-designed for both human well-being and environmental sustainability.

We are a team of experienced multi-family, commercial, and residential builders, developers, designers, and architects, finance experts, policy wonks, and social entrepreneurs. We are unusual in our industry as a majority women company, and we value diversity and inclusion within our staff and project partners. Our diverse portfolio includes many housing types, from large-scale multi-family housing and mixed-use projects down to ADUs. We create housing that is more affordable in part through the increased effectiveness and efficiency of integrating development, design, and construction management in one company.  We also innovate financial structures and partnerships to build more affordable housing without public subsidy.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Development Associate is a member of the Development Team and responsible for supporting its work to manage multifamily development projects and provide development services to Workbench clients. You will apply your education and knowledge, while growing your experience and expertise in real estate development, by assisting in and performing tasks under the supervision of, and with the support of, other members of the Development Team. Your work will touch pre-development, pre-construction, land partner relationships, community engagement, and construction work on projects at Workbench. Additionally, the Development Associate may assist in analyzing new potential projects for both our market rate and impact investment endeavors. As your experience grows and we learn more about your capabilities and unique strengths, your responsibilities will grow.

TEAM RESPONSIBILITIES

Our work is extremely varied, every project is different, and our systems and procedures are constantly being improved. This means you need to be a quick and eager learner, and willing to tackle challenges that are new to you and often to the rest of the team. You will be expected to contribute your best ideas and dedicated hard work to advancing the team and project goals. The Development Team’s responsibilities, varying by project, include the following:

• Pursuing prospective new development projects and development partners.
• Researching and writing feasibility studies for a wide variety of development sites and scenarios, for both Workbench and our clients.
• Creating, improving, and updating financial models for multiple projects. This includes obtaining hard cost estimates through Workbench’s construction team and other sources, obtaining, calculating, and estimating soft costs, creating rent studies, estimating revenue, and creating project summaries and updates useful for ownership partners and funding sources.
• Managing the process of applying for and obtaining development permits (aka entitlements) for multiple projects.
• Obtaining and comparing proposals from project architects, engineers, and consultants; ensuring their scope of work meets the needs of the project; selecting and contracting with them; and creating, updating, and tracking budgets and schedules for their work.
• Working collaboratively with Workbench’s internal design team, construction team, business development team, and principals.
• Analyzing and fully understanding the local and state zoning requirements applicable to given projects, communicating with local jurisdictions on these requirements, and following through to resolve any outstanding issues or questions so that development permits are obtained expeditiously.
• Representing Workbench and our clients and partners in public meetings and hearings, whether as an observer, leader, or participant of those meeting, with integrity, dignity, and respect for the community, and the staff and representatives of the jurisdiction.
• Communicating clearly, respectfully, and cooperatively with both internal and external project stakeholders, partners, funders, neighbors, and vendors.
• Preparing and submitting applications for grants, loans, and other sources of funding. Researching, obtaining, and creating application and underwriting materials.
• Ensuring all plans and required submittals are processed with the appropriate government body and following through to obtain approvals as required and on schedule. Tracking progress of these submittals to receipt of required approvals.
• Coordinating environmental reviews and remediation efforts on various development projects.
• Tracking and approving invoices on all project bills against signed contracts and approved budgets and working with the finance department to ensure timely payment.
• Coordinating property management activities for sites we own that are pending redevelopment.
• Maintaining compliance with partnership agreements, operating agreements, land leases, and regulatory agreements, as applicable.
• Preparing required reports on project status, activity, progress, and finances.
• Reviewing all project reports from other parties.
• Analyzing construction/development costs and understanding the impact of these on the proforma and project feasibility.
• Monitoring project milestone dates and understanding the impact of these on project equity and profit distributions.
• Maintaining all project records in adherence with the file structure system and record-keeping policies.
• Monitoring the project closeout process including contract closeouts and final payments. Creating project punch lists in coordination with the Construction Team, focusing on items required to meet development permit obligations.
• Tracking the sales and marketing and lease-up activities and understanding how these relate to status of construction.
• Participating in advocacy efforts, community education efforts, and relationship building related to housing policy and Workbench development projects.
• Other duties as assigned.

INDIVIDUAL QUALIFICATIONS

We recognize that as a Development Associate you are near the beginning of your real estate development career. You know a lot and will make important and valuable contributions to Workbench, the Development Team, and our projects. You are also eager to learn more and gain experience so that you can take on more responsibilities and advance in your career. You should have the following skills and abilities to contribute to our work together, and where those skills are not fully developed, you should have the desire and dedication to become more expert:

SKILLS/ABILITIES

• Working knowledge to an advanced aptitude in Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Project, Excel, and Word), and ability to learn quickly how to use industry-specific software such as ProCore and Bluebeam. Advanced knowledge and experience with Excel is particularly desirable for this position.
• Ability to communicate precisely with both words and numbers. Experience with technical or legal writing is very helpful, as is experience with financial analysis and modeling.
• Ability to communicate visually, both as a receiver and transmitter of visual information, is extremely valuable. Knowledge and/or experience in creative drawing, technical drawing, CAD programs, graphic design software, formatting text and graphics in Word and Excel, and other forms of visual communication will help you collaborate with design professionals and other members of the project team. The ability to read construction plans or other types of drawings that represent three-dimensional space in two-dimensional graphics will be essential to your long-term real estate career.
• General knowledge of legal principles and the ability to read and understand regulations and codes is helpful.
• Basic knowledge of key state housing and development laws; general understanding of the purpose and scope of local (i.e., city or county) development codes and zoning regulations; and an understanding of California building codes and construction practices for residential and mixed-use buildings are all useful and will help you quickly contribute to our success.
• Interpersonal skills are critical, because real estate is a relationships-based industry. Much of our work involves negotiation between parties with conflicting goals and priorities. You will need to advocate your position while understanding the needs and objectives of others to find common ground and create win-win agreements. You must always maintain the highest standards of honesty and integrity, while also protecting privileged information.
• Be professional, punctual, prepared, and persistent, and represent Workbench in a positive light at all times.
• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position with or without reasonable accommodation. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands to type, handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to walk and stand for extended periods of time. The employee must have the ability to lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. The employee must be able to work for 8 hours a day. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Education and experience in real estate, generally, is an advantage.
• You will need to demonstrate and document your ability to complete educational objectives through some combination of self-study, college-level coursework, industry certification programs, military training, employee training programs, or other educational opportunities.
• 3 or more years of post-secondary (i.e., after high school) education and/or work experience is required for this position.

PERSONAL QUALITIES

• Demonstrates a solid work ethic and strong sense of ownership of their work.
• Demonstrates tenacious attention to detail.
• Active listening skills.
• Superior oral and written presentation skills.
• Communicates effectively with a culturally and ethnically diverse workforce.
• Excellent and dependable follow-through skills.
• Presents a positive attitude and a professional image of themselves and the companies.

This position description is a summary and may not be a complete representation of the position, and the essential functions of the position could change as duties are assigned.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $75,000.00 - $100,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Vision insurance

Experience level:

• 3 years

Schedule:

• Day shift
• Monday to Friday

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Oakland, CA 94612

Salary : $75,000 - $100,000