Director of Lending

Position Profile

Communities Unlimited (CU) seeks an entrepreneurial lending professional to serve as Director of Lending. The ideal candidate will have a passion for serving rural communities and entrepreneurs of color, often overlooked by traditional financial institutions. CU works with people to combine their ingenuity with technology, expertise and capital to unwind generations of inequity and ensure healthy water, healthy food, healthy businesses, healthy communities and healthy lives.

Summary

Since 1975, Communities Unlimited (CU) has built a strong history of delivering technical assistance to rural communities in seven southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. Our service area is home to 41% of the nation’s persistent poverty counties.

CU is a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and provides three main

types of financial products: 1) loans for rural water and wastewater systems,
loans to support small businesses, and
consumer loans for home improvement, private wells and septic systems.

CU is the only CDFI in the country with a primary focus (80%) of providing loans to rural water and wastewater systems and development services to economically distressed, rural communities. In the last three years, CU has loaned $9M and leveraged $344M to provide rural low-income areas access to healthy water and safe wastewater systems. CU’s current loan portfolio is approximately 450 loans with an outstanding balance of 14 million. CU maintains a strong net asset ratio of approximately 65% and is typically approximately 80% deployed. The loan fund has more than 30 revenue sources including 7 federal grants.

CU is the Southern regional partner of the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP). CU receives significant organizational pass through funding from RCAP to support our water and wastewater work in rural communities. CU is approved as a lender under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Microloan Program. CU is also a member of the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN).

In 2018, CU joined five other CDFIs to form Partners for Rural Transformation, a national collaborative dedicated to advancing economic mobility in areas with persistent poverty. The group has published a policy paper about persistent poverty and raised more than $12 million in philanthropic dollars to deploy. CU is a founding member of the Memphis CDFI Coalition, a collaborative of six CDFIs serving the greater Memphis area and an active member of the new Arkansas CDFI Coalition.

Headquartered in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Communities Unlimited has a staff of 102, located in offices throughout a seven-state region. The Director of Lending is a member of the Senior Leadership Team. Other members include: the CEO, CFO and 4 other Program Directors.

The Director of Lending reports to the CEO and works closely with the directors of Environmental Services team and the Entrepreneurship team. The Senior Leadership Team meets weekly and is actively involved in working with the CEO and the Board to set CU’s strategic direction. CU’s financial position is strong with Total Assets of $25M and only $8.6M in liabilities at FY21. CU maintains a 3-month operating reserve to ensure the ability to provide critical services during times of crisis or in the event of funding gaps or delays.

The Position

Reporting to the CEO, the Director of Lending manages all aspects of CU’s lending activities, including the management of four distinct loan portfolios; training and supervision of seven staff; management of loan policies; closing and servicing of loans; and monitoring loan performance and risk. The Director of Lending is also responsible for managing investor relationships, identifying and securing new lending capital, and ensuring compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements.

The lending team is currently comprised of a loan operations manager, a water and waste water loan officer, a home improvement loan program manager, and a small business loan manager. Four team members report to the small business lending manager. CU currently has one Spanish speaking employee, who assists the entire lending program. CU Environmental staff support the rural community lending activities in areas such as origination, assistance with data collection related to underwriting, loan closing and servicing.

The Director of Lending must be committed to the communities CU services, be responsive to partners, customers and work with other members of the CU staff to identify unmet needs in the service area and pilot and implement new loan products that meet those needs.

Skills and Experience

• Commitment to CU’s mission and an ability to relate to people living in Southern rural communities,especially people of color

• Strong financial management and analysis skills

to prepare and monitor an annual program budget and provide insights into the finances of our customers

• Highly organized person, who is able to use technology to develop or improve systems to enhance compliance, manage investors, monitor loan portfolio and track lending metrics

• An entrepreneurial spirit

that seeks new mission-aligned opportunities and understands the steps needed to develop

new products and serve new communities, while ensuring that current CU financial products are deployed efficiently and effectively

• Strong relationship building skills and ability to identify, cultivate and nurture partnerships

• Experience writing successful private and/or federal grant applications may be given preference,

• A track record of meeting regulatory requirements such as customer confidentiality and other government regulations

• A collegial and empowering work style

• Ability to travel and build relationships throughout CU’s seven state service area.

• Location in CU’s service area required. Candidates who are located in Fayetteville or are

willing to relocate to Fayetteville at some mutually agreed upon time may be given preference.

Minimum Requirements

Education/experience: Applicant must meet one of the following options.

OPTION A: Bachelor degree and a minimum of five years of experience in lending or community development finance, with a demonstrated ability to underwrite small business loans.

OPTION B: Associate degree and a minimum of 7 years of experience in lending or community development finance, with a demonstrated ability to underwrite small business loans.

OPTION C: A high school diploma or equivalent and a minimum of 10 years of experience in lending or community development finance, with a demonstrated ability to underwrite small business loans.

Lending

A minimum of five years of management experience in a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), community loan fund, commercial or business lending function, or community development organization.

A minimum of 4 years managing a loan portfolio of more than $5 million.

A minimum of 4 years of financial analysis experience and underwriting small business loans including microloans.

Management

A minimum of 3 years supervising and managing the performance of at least 2 people.

Communication

Strong capacity to communicate effectively (both verbal and written) with diverse constituencies, including low-income individuals/communities and financial institutions Strong computer literacy; familiarity with Office 365 or Microsoft Office software.

Strong interpersonal skills in managing people and working effectively with staff, customers and a variety of internal and external audiences;

Experience with non-profits, governmental entities, and/or community development enterprises is desired

Employee must work well under pressure, meeting multiple and often competing deadlines. Position requires a passion for and experience in addressing challenges faced by rural communities.

Valid driver’s license required or ability to secure valid driver’s license.

Must be eligible to work in the United States of America.

Communities Unlimited, Inc. is an EOE M/F/Disability/Veteran employer, provider and lender.

We will begin accepting applications 11 Sept 2023 Please visit the Communities Unlimited website (https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/default/mdf/recruitment/recruitment.html?cid=2113d08e-a2c4-409b-ab85-330a91f60058&ccId=2818577595_2&type=JS&lang=en_US) for additional information and to apply.

Communities Unlimited

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Director of Lending