Development Project Accountant

Development Project Accountant

Brooklyn, NY | Hybrid (2–3 Days in Office)

Own the Numbers Behind Affordable Housing Development

Our client is a mission-driven nonprofit affordable housing developer in Brooklyn with an active development pipeline and a development team of approximately 12 professionals managing 2–3 major projects at any given time.

They’re creating a brand-new Development Project Accountant role to bring structure, accountability, and real development accounting expertise to the organization. Right now, project managers are handling construction draws and requisitions themselves—and chasing down the finance team through Teams to find out whether invoices have been paid.

That system needs to change.

This is an opportunity for an experienced Development Project Accountant to step in, take ownership, and build a more efficient process from the ground up. Reporting to one of the Controllers, this person will own the accounting and financial administration associated with development projects, including construction draws, requisitions, ACRs, lien waivers, variance reporting, anticipated cash reports, and construction fund draw-downs.

What You’ll Do

• Own the development accounting process across an active portfolio of affordable housing projects
• Prepare and manage monthly construction draws and requisitions
• Coordinate ACRs, lien waivers, invoices, and supporting documentation
• Prepare and maintain variance reports and monitor project financial performance
• Develop and schedule anticipated cash reports
• Coordinate with banks, lenders, regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders on construction fund draw-downs
• Track project expenditures and ensure funding requests are accurate, complete, and submitted on schedule
• Partner with Project Managers and the development team to ensure project costs and invoices are properly captured and funded
• Help establish and improve processes around development accounting, draw management, and project financial reporting
• Serve as the internal subject-matter expert for development accounting—you’ll be the person who knows how the process should work

What We’re Looking For

This role requires someone who has already done the job.

The ideal candidate has direct experience with development accounting and construction draws at an owner, developer, or owner-contractor and can operate independently from day one. Construction draw experience is non-negotiable.

You should already know how to:

• Request construction funding from a bank or lender
• Prepare and manage monthly draws and requisitions
• Handle lien waivers and supporting draw documentation
• Build and manage anticipated cash reports
• Reconcile project costs and identify variances
• Coordinate construction fund draws with banks and regulatory parties
• Navigate the financial requirements of active real estate development projects

This is not a role where someone will be trained from the ground up on development accounting. The corporate finance team is strong, but does not have deep real estate development expertise, so the successful candidate needs to bring that knowledge with them.

Ideal Background

A strong candidate could be someone currently working at a NYC real estate developer, affordable housing developer, construction company, or owner-contractor who is ready for more ownership and visibility.

Someone who is currently a small fish at a large firm could be a particularly strong fit—this role offers the opportunity to become the go-to development accounting resource within an organization and have a direct impact on how projects are managed financially.

A CPA is not required. This is a development accounting role, not a tax accounting position.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field required
• Direct experience with real estate development accounting
• Proven experience managing construction draws and requisitions
• Experience with lien waivers, ACRs, variance reporting, and anticipated cash reports
• Experience coordinating with banks, lenders, and regulatory agencies on construction funding
• Experience working for an owner, developer, or owner-contractor strongly preferred
• CPA not required
• Yardi experience preferred; familiarity with job-cost accounting is a plus
• NetSuite experience is a plus as the corporate finance team transitions to the platform
• Familiarity with Northspyre or similar real estate development/project management platforms is a bonus

Why This Role?

This is a newly created position with the chance to build the development accounting function rather than inherit a broken process. You’ll have meaningful ownership over the financial side of active affordable housing projects and work closely with both the development and corporate finance teams.

If you know construction draws inside and out, understand what it takes to get a project funded, and are ready to become the development accounting expert within a growing affordable housing organization, this is an opportunity to make an immediate impact.

Apply today for immediate consideration or reach out to Jennifer Branscome for details!
215-661-8834 x 108
[email protected]

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This is a hybrid position requiring 2-3 days per week in the Brooklyn, NY office.