Overview

U3 Advisors is seeking an Associate to join our team full-time in our New York City or Philadelphia offices. Associates work on projects across our consulting firm, providing critical project management for our clients in cities across the country.

The Associate position will work across a diverse range of projects with senior staff and teams, with an emphasis on real estate-related projects and needs. The Associate will have significant client contact and, depending on experience and skills, may take lead project management responsibilities for specific projects or clients.

Project types may include, for example:

  • Real estate portfolio analysis for mission-driven institutions, assessing opportunities and costs of owned and leased properties relative to future mission-related needs
  • Site-specific development options and land valuation analysis, to guide strategic decision-making with institutional leadership
  • Implementation of real estate transactions, including managing real estate development partner solicitation processes, analyzing and comparing proposals, and negotiating complex agreements
  • Campus facilities and master planning support, including project management and management of consultants, budgets, and contracts

Sample tasks and responsibilities may include:

  • Preparation of financial analyses including pro formas, development budgets, operating cash flows, valuations, occupancy cost analyses, and other real estate financial modeling
  • Synthesis of financial analysis to provide optimal solutions for clients that balance their mission goals and financial feasibility
  • Real estate market analysis, including research on real estate comparables, market trends, and relevant public policies and programs
  • Research into case studies and emerging and best practices
  • Facilitation of real estate partnership solicitation process, including developing Requests for Proposals (RFPs) on behalf of clients, analysis and reporting of responses, and managing communications with respondents
  • Preparing presentations, reports, memos, and other materials for client deliverables
  • Assisting in drafting business development proposals and marketing materials
  • Project and client management support, such as preparing work plans and schedules, coordinating internal and client team meetings, coordinating across other project consultants as needed, facilitating agendas, and creating meeting minutes
  • Depending on experience, managing Analysts and Senior Analysts on project tasks and supporting their training

Position Requirements

  • U3 seeks candidates with a strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills, a deep curiosity about equitable growth, cities, and anchor institutions, and creativity and initiative to tackle complex, unique challenges. We are looking for candidates with:
  • 5+ years of work experience in real estate, finance, planning, community and economic development, or consulting
  • A graduate degree in real estate, urban planning, business administration, finance, or a related field is preferred but not required. Previous work experience and/or coursework should demonstrate strong analytical skill.
  • Experience analyzing market-wide real estate trends and parcel-level real estate data
  • Demonstrated ability to create highly customized financial analysis models for clients, including pro formas with discounted cash flows, waterfall distributions, or modeling specific to certain asset classes (e.g., affordable housing financing)
  • Familiarity with real estate transaction structures
  • Self-motivation; capable of managing time and tasks across multiple projects independently with minimal instruction.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and professional demeanor, especially when communicating with clients; an ability to actively listen to clients and teammates.
  • Software:High proficiency experience in Microsoft Excel, including the understanding and mastery of advanced functions critical for professional real estate financial modeling
  • Experience working with GIS (ArcPro and ArcGIS Online) and R preferred
  • Experience and fluency with Adobe InDesign preferred
  • A passion for cities, neighborhoods, active streets, and strong communities.
  • Ability to contribute to and mesh with collegial company culture, to work with grace under pressure, and to thrive in a fast-paced dynamic environment.

Salary & Benefits

U3 offers a competitive compensation package, including salary, the opportunity to earn a bonus, and a generous employee benefits package. Salary and bonus reviews are conducted annually. The starting salary will be within $83,000 – $110,000, commensurate with experience.

U3 provides the following benefits:

  • Medical and Insurance: 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision care insurance, life insurance, and long-term disability; up to ten paid days of sick/medical leave per calendar year.
  • Vacation: Four weeks of paid time off (PTO) per calendar year; 10 paid federal holidays.
  • Retirement: optional self-funded 401(k) plan with employer match up to 4% of salary, eligible after one year of employment.
  • Technology: iPhone, phone plan, and laptop provided.
  • Travel: annual in-person company-wide staff retreat, fall and spring staff meetings, and opportunity to travel to clients.
  • Professional development: annual professional development stipends
  • Work Environment: flexible and hybrid work environment.
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About U3 Advisors

Summary

U3 Advisors (U3) works at the intersection of campus and city. We advance institutional missions through transformative economic, real estate, and programmatic strategies that positively impact communities. Our team is composed of creative, nimble, and strategic multi-disciplinary practitioners with backgrounds in urban planning, real estate development, GIS, data analytics, higher education administration, finance, architecture, and non-profit leadership. We care deeply about cities and are passionate about making communities more vibrant, equitable, and sustainable.

U3 has offices in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston.  We are proud to serve as development managers, advisors, and strategists to a wide and diverse range of higher education and mission-driven clients. Our projects are both local and in places such as Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, Fort Worth, San Diego, as well as abroad. For more information about our firm and clients, visit www.u3advisors.com.

Our Work 

At any given time, U3 has 25 – 40 ongoing projects, affording team members the opportunity to participate in various areas of real estate and economic development consulting and take on multiple client-facing roles. These may include helping clients to monetize real estate assets and select development partners; assisting with public/private partnerships and public approval processes; developing long-term strategic real estate plans for property portfolios; serving as virtual staff to universities seeking to develop new campuses, facilities, and innovation districts; creating new entities to lead neighborhood economic development and engagement strategies; and providing strategic advice around institutional growth and organizational dynamics.

Diversity

U3’s human capital is the most valuable asset we have. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities and talent that our employees invest in their work represents a significant part of not only our culture, but our reputation and company’s achievement as well. We celebrate the diversity that makes U3 unique.While we continue to improve in established metrics for success in diversity, we are proud of where we are today. U3’s inclusive hiring process ensures that we create opportunity and a level playing field for all. Currently, U3 has 25 advisors comprised of a range of characteristics including gender (50% women), religion, race (30% minority), age, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, and education. This diversity fosters a culture of collaboration, innovation, and unique perspectives which translates into our client work.

Since U3’s inception 18 years ago, our work has been primarily based in urban settings that are both socioeconomically challenged and racially diverse. As stewards of development in several of the continent’s largest majority-minority cities, we live by the principle of doing the right thing for better reasons. Our focus on bridging the gap between communities and anchor institutions in cities like Detroit, the South Side of Chicago, Memphis, College Park (MD), Newark (NJ), New Orleans, and Buffalo speaks to the core of who U3 is and our deliberate impact.