Manager Community Investment Operations

Job Description

Who we are

Our mission at FHLBank Chicago: To partner with our members in Illinois and Wisconsin to provide them competitively priced funding, a reasonable return on their investment, and support for their community investment activities.

Simply said, we're a bank for banks and other financial institutions, focused on being a strategic partner for our members and working together to reinvest in our communities, from urban centers to rural areas. Created by Congress in 1932, FHLBank Chicago is one of 11 Federal Home Loan Banks, government sponsored in support of mortgage lending and community investment.

What it’s like to work here

At FHLBank Chicago, we bring people together. We are committed to a high performing, engaged workforce, and to supporting the communities we serve across Illinois and Wisconsin. Our Buddy Program pairs new hires with tenured employees to guide their onboarding. Our professional development and training opportunities through upskilling, mentorship programs, and tuition reimbursement allow employees to grow their career with us. Our collaborative, in-office operating model brings teams together to foster innovation, connection, and shared success. To support balance and flexibility, employees are provided an allocation of remote days to use as needed throughout the year.

What you'll do

The Affordable Housing Program (AHP) is a regulated housing development program awarding multifamily and owner-occupied projects grants through a competitive application process. This role focuses on leading the team of analysts supporting the operational needs of the program: disbursing funds, completion reporting, project monitoring, program reporting, and generally adhering to program requirements throughout the project lifecycle.   

How you'll make an impact:

• Strengthen Back-End Operations: Implements policy and process improvements to enhance consistency and scalability in post-award operations. Streamlines workload management and develops clear procedures and user guides. Leverages data and reporting tools (e.g., AHP systems, RPA, CRM, Tableau) to improve decision-making, identify trends, and provide reliable reporting, resulting in more efficient and resilient operations.

• Develop Team Capability: Builds team expertise through coaching, ongoing feedback, and professional development. Strengthens day-to-day execution while maintaining institutional knowledge and continuity. Ensures technical assistance provided to members and sponsors is accurate, timely, and consistent.

• Enhance Compliance and Risk Management: Improves tracking across the full post-award lifecycle, proactively identifies and resolves compliance issues, and leads timely responses to audits and examinations. Translates regulatory guidance into clear operational practices, reducing risk and reinforcing credibility with regulators and stakeholders.

What you can expect:

• Streamline existing procedures and processes to remove inefficiencies; automate manual, repetitive steps, while still meeting regulatory requirements.

• Develop and implement service level agreement (SLA) metrics, producing clear, trend-based reporting to support informed decision-making across the team and the Bank.

• Lead the delivery of high‑quality technical assistance to Affordable Housing Program participants, ensuring effective support for disbursements, project completion reporting, long‑term monitoring, and ongoing compliance requirements.

• Direct the ongoing operational management and tracking of AHP projects, with a focus on monitoring compliance status across each phase of the project lifecycle.

• Lead management responses and requests related to internal audit and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) exams as it pertains to AHP post-award work.

• Supervise the application of updated/new program guidance related to FHFA regulations, advisory bulletins, exam recommendations, and other requirements to ensure post-award projects are in compliance.

• Oversee post‑award workload planning and distribution for post-award AHP operations staff to support effective and consistent program execution.

• Oversee updates to existing procedures and user guides, and lead the development of new documentation supporting post-award management of AHP projects under retention.

• Implement recommended updates to program policies, procedures, and broader process improvements.

• Facilitate performance management of direct reports through coaching, training, professional development, and ongoing feedback

What you'll bring:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.

• MS Office Suite

• Tableau and/or SQL – (plus)

• Salesforce (or other CRM system) – intermediate

• Experience working in grant management online systems is preferred.

• Experience in affordable housing finance, community development, commercial real estate or community economic development is preferred.

• 7+ years work experience in business-related field

• 3+ years leadership experience

• Deliver regular, data‑driven updates to internal stakeholders on AHP post‑award performance metrics, ensuring the accuracy and consistency of team reporting.

• Ability to leverage data to inform decision‑making and communicate trends and insights effectively to senior Bank leadership

• Analyze, apply, interpret, and communicate policies, procedures, and regulations effectively.

• Take initiative in a fast-paced work environment, work effectively under pressure, either independently or as a member of a team.

• Communicate effectively and succinctly to a variety of audiences including the Board of Directors and Bank Executive Leadership both in writing and orally, including public speaking.

• Demonstrated leadership and management skills; strong interpersonal skills; ability to plan and prioritize work requiring input from several areas within the Bank.

• Strong working knowledge of AHP Online or other AHP operating systems and how those connections relate to other systems or demonstrated ability to learn this quickly.

• Ensure post-award compliance issues are properly escalated to appropriate team(s).

• Demonstrated knowledge of local, state, federal, and community development/affordable housing programs and how they are used in various financing structures, is desired but not required. If skills do not exist, new hire would need to acquire the knowledge/skills upon taking the role.

• Ability to independently analyze affordable housing project’s development and operating budgets is desired but not required. If skills do not exist, new hire would need to acquire the knowledge/skills upon taking the role.

The Perks

At FHLBank Chicago, we believe in rewarding our high performing workforce. We offer a highly competitive compensation and bonus package, and access to a comprehensive benefits program designed to meet the needs of our employees. Our retirement program includes a 401(k) and pension plan. Our wellbeing program supports employees at work and in their personal lives: Our PTO plan provides five weeks of vacation for new employees and 11 paid holidays per year; our Lifestyle Spending Account provides an annual stipend for employees to support wellbeing activities; and our central downtown location at the Old Post Office provides easy access to public transportation and breathtaking views from our award-winning rooftop. Visit FHLBCbenefits.com for additional details about our benefits. Step into a brighter future with us.

Salary Range

$108,450.00 - $180,825.00

The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we may also consider your experience, and other job-related factors. In addition to the base salary, we offer a comprehensive benefits package which can be found here: https://hrportal.ehr.com/fhlbc