Head of Commercial Real Estate Origination

THE COMPANY

For 175 years, National Life Group (“NLG”) has aimed to keep their promises to provide families stability in good times and in bad. And throughout that history, they have provided peace of mind to those families as they plan their futures.

As a mission-driven business, the cause of what they do is as important as the products they sell. And their cause is a very simple one, directed at the people who live and work on America’s Main Streets: “To Do good in our communities and with the individual families we serve.”

NLG Capital, the investment management company of NLG, manages approximately $40+ billion in AUM. Our purpose is simple – to allow NLG to keep its promises. How we do this – an obsessive focus on delivering investment results. We drive results through a rigorous but collaborative investment process, and we hold ourselves to the highest of standards, both as investors and teammates. While our process is based on rigor, our culture is based on our guiding principles: Meritocracy, Uncompromising Transparency, Intellectual Honesty, Performance Driven Learning, Relentless Pursuit of Excellence. These principles serve as the foundation of our team.  They govern the way we conduct ourselves, how we interact with teammates and how we approach every investment decision.  We act with the integrity and humility required to make the investment decision that is right for the firm, and ultimately our policyholders.  Our culture has been deliberately built to foster curiosity and provide opportunities to learn and grow, both as people and investors. The flat and collaborative nature of our team promotes an atmosphere where the best ideas are continually expressed and rewarded. Our pursuit of excellence is unwavering.

Role Summary

NLG Capital is seeking a Head of Commercial Real Estate Origination to lead deal sourcing and execution across a growing bridge and structured finance investment platform.  The Head of CRE Origination will be responsible for shaping investment strategy, leading the Origination team and deal underwriting, overseeing deal structuring, and collaborating across the organization to ensure efficient deal execution and closing.

NLG Capital manages over $4 billion in Commercial Real Estate debt and is actively expanding the program to focus on opportunities across the capital stack, including whole loans, B-notes/mezzanine, and preferred equity.  The Head of Commercial Real Estate Origination will be expected to expand sourcing channels while ensuring rigorous underwriting and due diligence across the team.  Target sectors will be broad based and opportunistic, with a particular focus on multifamily bridge and modest value-add commercial lending, largely in the middle and lower-middle markets.

Successful candidates will have a demonstrated investment and leadership track record.  Experience lending across the capital structure, in real estate equity investing, construction lending, or in structured finance or banking are all considered a plus.  The Head of Commercial Real Estate Origination should be comfortable interacting frequently with Investment Committee on strategy and deal flow and must have the presence and leadership ability to work among a small entrepreneurial team focused on growing NLGs commercial real estate footprint.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead deal sourcing, underwriting, and structuring across Commercial Real Estate transactions including whole loans, B-notes, and preferred equity
• Evolve and improve upon NLG Capital’s sourcing network, leveraging relationships with borrowers, banks, and mortgage bankers to drive robust deal flow and access
• Collaborate with the Investment Committee to inform and shape investment strategy
• Work across Credit and Asset Management functions to ensure proper pre-close due diligence, ongoing monitoring across the portfolio, and assist with workouts
• Travel (up to 30% of time) to build relationship capital, conduct due diligence, and attend industry conferences
• Develop projections and cash flow models as part of deal underwriting, presenting a clear and concise view of value and risk to relevant investment committees and leadership
• Provide insight on the current real estate market environment, important trends, and property specific dynamics that drive investment strategy
• Ensure consistent reporting and analytics to keep the team aligned and informed, covering market activity and deal flow
• Seek opportunities to improve upon infrastructure and the investment process, maintaining productive relationships with other investment managers and third-party vendors
• Maintain knowledge of the regulatory and accounting environment and provide subject matter expertise to internal functions as necessary

Minimum Quali