Vice President, Insurance and Group Buying Companies

The Housing Partnership Network (the "Network") is seeking an entrepreneurial leader to manage and grow our cooperative businesses that provide insurance and group buying for our nonprofit members. The Network's award winning captive insurance company offers property and liability coverage on 40,000 affordable apartments valued at nearly $4 billion. In its fifth year of operation, the captive's strong financial performance has generated significant growth and dividend opportunities. Additionally, the Network is launching a new joint venture with an international purchasing cooperative that will negotiate preferred pricing, rebates and terms from national manufacturers for $250-$500 million annually of housing construction and maintenance materials to benefit the Network's members. The Vice President will provide executive oversight of the insurance company, spearhead its expansion through new products and broadened member participation, and direct the start up and operation of the group buying company. The position will be based in either Boston, MA or Denver, CO.

About the Housing Partnership Network
Founded in 1990, the Housing Partnership Network is a business alliance of the nation's top-performing nonprofit housing organizations. The Network helps these strong, accomplished organizations increase their production and impact through a unique, member-driven cooperative that shares knowledge and innovation, pools resources to access the capital markets more efficiently, and shapes policy that reflects and enhances their practice.

The Network creates and operates affiliated companies that provide short-term predevelopment and acquisition loans, permanent mortgage financing, venture capital, and insurance. These enterprises enable nonprofits to finance, develop, and manage more and better affordable housing and services for residents of their communities. The companies include the Housing Partnership Fund, Housing Partnership Insurance, Housing Partnership Ventures, the Gulf Coast Housing Partnership and the Charter School Financing Partnership.

The 96 members of the Network are entrepreneurial, innovative, and grounded in their local markets through partnerships with the private and public sectors as well as civic leaders. They combine charitable mission with business savvy for maximum social impact. Together, the members have developed or financed more than 500,000 affordable homes; helped improve and repair nearly 200,000 homes; and provided homeownership counseling and support to more than 400,000 families.

About the Insurance Captive and Group Buying Company
The Housing Partnership Insurance Exchange was established by the Network in 2004 to provide property and liability coverage the affordable apartments owned by the Network's nonprofit By pooling risk and forging partnerships with international insurance carriers such as AIG and Lloyds of London, HPIEx significantly improves insurance terms for a select group of top-performing owners. The company, which received an award from the Yale School of Management and Goldman Sachs for its innovation as a nonprofit business venture, combines social mission, superior insurance products, excellent customer service, and demonstrated profitability. The captive has been very successful - earning an average 33% annual return on equity - and expects to distribute $1 million in dividends to its member owners in 2008. The Network has a 10% equity stake (with 90% sold to the participating nonprofit members) and serves as general manager on behalf of its board of directors.

The Network's philosophy is to design and operate social enterprises through business partnerships with firms that have specialized expertise in order to offer its members products and services that are best in class. The insurance company is operated through contracted relationships with a dedicated team of top rated vendors and partners that provide underwriting and program management, captive management, TPA/claims services, actuarial analysis and legal and accounting services. The company is highly responsive to its member owners and provides strong financial incentives to reward superior performance. There is significant expansion potential for the captive's existing liability and property insurance programs among the Network's members as well as opportunities to broaden its lines of coverage to other insurance products the membership utilizes such as professional liability, directors and officers liability and workers compensation.

Modeled after the success of the insurance captive, the Network is preparing to launch in the 3rd quarter of 2008 a new group buying venture to leverage the large-scale purchasing power of its members for construction, management and building materials. The company will be formed as a joint venture with an international cooperative that purchases billions of dollars of inventory directly from manufacturers. In addition to reducing costs and sharing in program-wide rebates with members, the new company will seek to develop custom, branded products that are more energy efficient and/or more environmentally friendly. The Vice President will oversee the launch and operations of the enterprise and will take the lead in expanding the company's reach into new product areas.

Position Requirements
The newly formed position will report to the president of the Housing Partnership Exchange, Chuck Wehrwein, who in turn reports to the Network's CEO. The Exchange is an umbrella group within the Network that includes half of the Network's business lines and membership related services, including insurance and group buying. The Vice President will work closely with the Network's CFO and CEO, with other staff of the Exchange, with comparable leadership of our member organizations, and with the boards of directors of the insurance and group buying companies.

The Network is seeking a highly experienced and entrepreneurial self-starter with an undergraduate degree plus ten years of progressively responsible work in financial or business management. A Masters in Business Administration is preferred with insurance credentials such as ARM/CPCU designation a plus. Working knowledge of commercial property, casualty and other lines of insurance are required. Understanding of rental real estate and affordable housing is helpful, as is experience working in a cooperative structure. Excellent collaboration skills are a requisite as well as a facility with marketing, public speaking and negotiating. Given the breadth of business experience and capabilities sought, applicants with requisite skills sets plus some of the desired experiences are encouraged to apply.

• Provide day to day leadership and management of the entrepreneurial, customer focused insurance and group buying enterprises that mirrors the mission and collaborative style of the Network and its members.
• Ensure that the insurance captive and group buying enterprises achieve their business goals, generate budgeted revenues and provide value added benefits to the owners.
• Lead the marketing efforts to add members to the enterprises and offer additional products to existing Network members.
• Manage and ensure performance accountability of key buy business partners to deliver superior customer service and satisfaction.
• Oversee all contracts and legal agreements with our insurance and group buying partners and vendors.
• Work with the Network's senior management and the Boards of the enterprises to develop policies and procedures for dividends, product pricing, and terms.
• Spearhead the development and implementation of new products and enterprises.
• Represent the Network with members, investors and business partners.
• Oversee the administrative functions of the enterprises.
• Support strong governance by the board of directors
• Collaborate with the Network's senior management team to ensure these enterprises contribute to the success of the broader Networked organization.

The successful candidate will have the following personal attributes and characteristics:

• Ability to work under pressure and in a fast-paced environment; ability to manage multiple projects and negotiate competing priorities.
• Possesses a high sense of urgency and commitment to "get the job done".
• This person's management style will be that of a "driver" of the (internal and external) team rather than an administrator.
• Strong management and leadership skills. Ability to work well in a team environment.
• Demonstrated history of delivering financial results based on a business plan.
• Success in this position will be the person's ability to work well with and motivate others - up, down and across the organization and with Network members.
• A strong internal and external customer orientation. Will be able to work successfully with members of the Network and provide a substantive role in peer-to-peer best practices communications among Network members.
• Entrepreneurial and comfortable managing an organization in high growth.
• Comfortable working in a "networked" environment with team members in disparate locations, internal and external resources, services provided directly by the organization and through partnerships, etc.
• Must be committed to, and find passion in, the Network's mission. Must be comfortable in a nonprofit organization. Must bring an intensity and best-of-breed business approach to the organization that might be more typical in a for profit organization.

Compensation
Competitive salary plus excellent benefits. Start: June/July 2008.

Application
Send résumé and cover letter to our Human Resources Department via email. No telephone calls please.

Equal Opportunity Employer