Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI)

About the Opportunity

Our client, a U.S. Treasury certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with offices in Charleston, Columbia, and Spartanburg South Carolina, seeks a CEO to lead an already financially strong organization to the next level in serving historically underinvested communities. Our client is committed to advancing racially equitable access to capital by providing loans, technical assistance, and advocacy for the development of affordable housing, healthy food retail, community facilities, and community businesses throughout the state. With assets exceeding $36M and net assets approaching $8M, our client is a dynamic non-profit organization with an enviable track record of raising program and operating support through a combination of donations, grants, and impact investments. Despite COVID, in 2020 our client set new records for both capital raising and racially equitable lending to impoverished communities and underserved markets. In 2020 alone, our client drove over $80M in project development, including over $10M in financing, with 53% of loans going to female borrowers and 65% of loans extended to people of color. For each of the last five years, our client has exceeded the previous years’ records for capital acquisition and lending.

Responsibilities

The successful candidate for CEO will have a proven track record of performance as a general manager, including experience…

• Lending: ensure lending goals 1) align with overall mission 2) meet funder expectations, and 3) are sufficient capitalized.
• Technical Assistance: ensure organization is providing technical assistance services to the target  market including identifying opportunities and partners to help provide these services.
• Knowledge Sharing: be the lead spokesperson, educating community groups, elected officials, business leaders and others, in community development best practices and trends.
• Advocacy and Policy Change: align policy with relevant statewide, regional and national efforts by maintaining and leveraging cooperative working relationships with government officials, community groups, and complementary service organizations.
• Capitalization: spearhead fundraising planning and implementation, working with senior staff to identify needs, develop strategies to approach funders, donors and investors. Be viewed as the “go to” leader, keeping investors, funders and donors informed on trends and market conditions.
• Communications: serve as the lead spokesperson internally and externally, with accountability for core messaging and communication effectiveness across all media platforms.
• Finance: partner with CFO to develop and recommend yearly budget for Board approval. Manage the organization’s resources within agreed budget guidelines and in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations. Approve all agreements involving significant financial obligations or resource commitments.
• Operations: regularly assess the organization’s policies and processes, including operations, information systems, HR and lending. Work with senior staff to develop short and long-range plans, including the people, operations, programs and finances required to achieve these.
• People: model servant leadership and ensure people management best practices are in place, including performance planning, management, development and compensation. Ensure staff compensation, development and advancement is consistent and equitable in terms of 1) the market 2) the organization, and 3) individual employee qualifications and experience.
• Governance: Recruit and retain board members which reflect the geographic and racial composition of the organization and those it serves. Ensure the board can fulfill its governance function by orienting new board members, facilitating committee assignments and being clear about expectations for time, talent and treasure.

Responsibilities

In addition to a proven track record performing all or most of the responsibilities above, the successful candidate must meet the following qualifications and experience requirements.

• 10-15 years of progressively more responsible executive level positions in fund development / capital raising, lending, or finance, including previous experience with affordable housing finance, real estate development, and/or community development finance. CDFI experience preferred
• Proven track record working with board and staff to create/update, refine and realize the organization’s overall strategic plan, including vision, mission and objectives
• Evident commitment to mission driven lending: focus on qualitative outcomes and quantified results
• Experience balancing sound financial practices with making informed decisions to take risk in order to fulfill mission to meet the needs of the underserved, especially people of color
• Demonstrated leadership ability in strategizing and coalition building; motivating and uniting staff around a shared vision
• Strong people management, performance management and professional development experience, experience “managing managers” preferred.
• Strong conflict resolution and decision making skills; decisive: makes and implements decisions quickly and soundly
• Creative problem solver who thrives in a fast paced environment; adaptable: demonstrated ability to pivot as needed
• Effective interpersonal effectiveness, including excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration, Management, Finance, Business Administration or a related field, Master’s degree preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications e.g. Word, Excel and PowerPoint; hands-on experience with fundraising, lending or CRM software preferred
• Willingness and ability to travel throughout the state year round

To learn more or to apply