House Nashville seeks a founding Executive Director to build and lead a new organization designed to translate Nashville’s housing strategy into measurable progress. The organization is looking for a leader to move a complex coalition from shared intent to coordinated action by combining experience in housing finance and capital mobilization with the ability to align various institutions.
Resource allocation for the first year
The role of the Executive Director will shift as the organization matures, but in the first year, time will be heavily weighted toward building the organization and mobilizing capital. According to the opportunity packet, the expected balance of responsibilities includes:
- 35% Mobilizing capital to build the funding and investment engine for Nashville’s housing priorities.
- 30% Aligning partners around measurable results to turn the Unified Housing Strategy into coordinated action.
- 25% Building the organization to establish a lean, effective, and sustainable new entity.
- 10% Building public understanding by serving as a credible public voice for shared housing goals.
Building a housing capital collaborative
A primary responsibility for the incoming leader is to build and lead a Nashville Housing Capital Collaborative. This group is intended to bring together banks, philanthropy, CDFIs, impact investors, public agencies, and other providers of institutional capital. The Executive Director will be tasked with developing a pipeline of local, state, and national funding opportunities, including grants, public funding, guarantees, PRIs, and MRIs.
The position requires an individual who can identify financing gaps and strengthen capital stacks. The goal is to work alongside existing vehicles, such as the Nashville Catalyst Fund and various lenders, to strengthen Nashville’s housing finance infrastructure rather than duplicating it. The director will also work to position Nashville to compete for resources that might not otherwise flow to the region.
Coordinating the Unified Housing Strategy
Beyond capital, the Executive Director will act as a lead convener to translate the Unified Housing Strategy into specific work plans, milestones, and measurable outcomes. The role involves bringing leaders together to coordinate policy and funding strategies to accelerate the production, preservation, and affordability of housing. This includes building an inclusive coalition that integrates professional expertise with participation from neighborhoods and people most affected by housing challenges in Nashville. The director will partner with Metro to establish shared data and public-facing measures of progress.
