Head of Marketplace

At Darwin Homes, we fundamentally believe that the rental experience is broken. Too often, property management-serving as the middleman between investors and residents-often means shoddy service, hidden fees, and inefficient processes that shortchange everybody involved. Darwin was built to make residents' and owners' lives easier through an innovative ecosystem of technologies. We have created the best product in the market for residents to discover, tour, and lease their future home; and for owners to have complete peace of mind from our modern management and leasing services built around our core values of transparency and professionalism. Darwin Homes is the destination for single-family rental services for property owners and residents. 

The Darwin Homes team is composed of a diverse set of alumni from DoorDash, Square, Facebook, Apple, LinkedIn, and other top technology companies. The founders and executive team have over 30+ years of combined experience in scaling disruptive technology and operations-focused businesses. Darwin Homes was backed by top Silicon Valley venture capital (Khosla, Fifth Wall) and was acquired by Pagaya Technologies, a publicly traded company, in early 2023.  Pagaya is an AI/ML data technology company with offices in Tel Aviv, New York, and Austin.

https://blog.darwinhomes.com/posts/pagaya's-acquisition-of-darwin-homes-powers-premier-tech-enabled-single-family-rental-platform

Darwin Homes is growing fast and we're looking for a highly motivated, intelligent, and passionate Head of Marketplace to join our team. We're growing fast, and growth means the challenges we'll work on together will change as we lead Darwin through new and different phases. This role is fully remote, with the opportunity to work out of Pagaya Technologies' New York City office, or at our headquarters in Austin, Texas.

The Head of Marketplace is a strategic leadership role within Darwin Investment Management, the real estate investment management arm of Darwin Homes. In this key leadership role, the successful candidate will be responsible for leading and executing the trading strategy, driving growth, maximizing investment returns, overseeing the development of a cutting-edge software platform for managing and tracking the deal pipeline, developing a broad-based sourcing strategy, and collaborating with various teams to refine underwriting criteria. This includes working alongside the Director of Transaction Management to ensure a seamless process from bid submission through due diligence, CapEx review, and individual home purchases to bulk portfolio closings.

Additionally, the Head of Marketplace will play a pivotal role in leading business development efforts with new clients and joint venture partners, in collaboration with the Capital Markets team. The role also involves maintaining connectivity with the debt marketplace to keep a finger on the pulse of the debt capital markets and financing opportunities for owners. Moreover, the Head of Marketplace will be responsible for working closely with the Product and Data teams to accelerate the development of the firm's proprietary underwriting and acquisitions software. Above all, the individual filing this role is charged with being the point person to develop a first-of-its-kind "marketplace," where the entirety of the real estate harvest can unfold on a single platform (including full connectivity with the execution of the business plan through asset management value-preserving and enhancing initiatives).  Envisioned, this person will enable sellers to exit their holdings to other buyers who are clients on Darwin's property management platform, repeated in perpetuity.  This role will require an individual with a pure growth mindset, exceptional financial analytical acumen, willing to aggressively push efforts to install rigor and reliability to fledgling capability sets through marriage to and reliance on technology solutions, at scale.  They must build - quickly - and build without concern for mistakes along the way/do not allow themselves to be bound by "the way things work" or industry norms.

What You'll Do

• Develop and Implement Trading Strategy: Formulate and execute the overall trading strategy, encompassing both buying and selling of assets on the platform. Identify, acquire, and trade potential investment opportunities in single-family rental (SFR) homes, build-to-rent (BTR) communities, and small-balance multifamily assets.
• Software Platform Development: Lead the development and implementation of a state-of-the-art software platform for managing and tracking the deal pipeline, with a specific focus on single-family home bulk portfolios. Collaborate with IT and development teams to ensure the platform meets the needs of the trading team and enhances efficiency in deal management. Work with the product and data teams to accelerate the development of proprietary underwriting and acquisitions software.
• Sourcing Strategy Development: Develop a broad-based sourcing strategy for fully-marketed opportunities from brokerages. Implement data-driven screening of mortgage data, including Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) maturities to identify refinance risks for property owners. Develop targeted landlord outreach programs to identify potential sellers, fostering relationships with individual property owners. Conduct lender outreach to explore potential off-market opportunities and understand distressed situations. Implement database screening of common ownership entities to conduct "cold" outreach, differentiating between small owners and institutional landlords.
• Distressed Opportunity Identification: Maintain an understanding of which property management clients of the firm may have an interest in selling, including Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and special servicers. Identify distress in the market, including situations where debt positions may be at risk of converting to equity.
• Collaboration for Underwriting Criteria: Coordinate with property management, portfolio management, and asset management personnel to refine underwriting criteria for both acquisitions and dispositions. Work collaboratively to enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of financial models and analysis.
• Hold-Sale Model Development: Assist in the development of a robust hold-sale model that serves as the basis for the firm's effort to establish a marketplace for transactions on the platform. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure the model aligns with clients' strategic goals and the company's interest in generating trading revenue
• Deal Flow Coordination: Work alongside the Director of Transaction Management to coordinate deal flow from initial underwriting to bid submission, refinement during due diligence/CapEx review, and closing on individual home purchases and bulk portfolio closings. Ensure a streamlined and efficient process that meets deadlines and objectives.
• Business Development and Partnering: Lead business development efforts with new clients and joint venture partners. Collaborate closely with the Capital Markets team to identify and execute strategic partnerships.
• Debt Marketplace Connectivity: Maintain connectivity with the debt marketplace to stay informed about financing opportunities and trends in the debt capital markets. Keep a "hand on the pulse" of debt financing (or recapitalization for existing portfolios/clients) opportunities for property owners on the platform and new buyers.
• Product and Data Team Collaboration: Work closely with the product and data teams to accelerate the development of the firm's proprietary underwriting and acquisitions software, as well as the transaction management platform
• Due Diligence and Financial Analysis: Lead comprehensive due diligence processes for potential acquisitions and dispositions, including financial analysis, market research, and risk assessment. Utilize the software platform (or develop new toolsets) to streamline and enhance due diligence procedures.
• Negotiation and Deal Structuring: Negotiate and structure deals to maximize returns while minimizing risks. Leverage the software platform for efficient deal structuring and contract management.
• Market Research and Trend Analysis: Stay informed about market trends, competitive landscapes, and emerging opportunities in the real estate investment sector. Provide insights and recommendations based on market research to inform strategic decision-making. Represent Darwin Homes at appropriate industry events alongside the Capital Markets team
• Collaboration and Team Leadership: Work closely with the executive team, Investment Management leadership, asset/portfolio managers, and other stakeholders to ensure alignment with the overall investment and trading strategy. Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing marketplace team.

What You'll Have

• Bachelor's degree in real estate, finance, business, or a related field (master's degree preferred)
• Extensive experience in real estate transactions (acquisitions and dispositions) transaction management, financing, and asset management
• Direct prior experience in SFR + BTR transactions preferred
• A deep network of industry (landlord, lender, and brokerage community) contacts preferred
• Proven experience in developing and implementing proprietary software solutions
• Familiarity with CRM and document management programs
• Strong leadership and project management skills.Proficiency in real estate software and tools

$225,000 - $300,000 a year