EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF RESPONSIBLITIES The Director of Programs for The Center by Lendistry will be responsible for developing, designing, implementing, evaluating, and refining various programs that support the growth and development of small business owners and their companies.
The Director will oversee a team of Business Advisors who will deliver the content of the programs.
Additionally, the Director will work across The Center and Lendistry to ensure the successful development, launch, Go-To-Market strategy and implementation of The Center’s business advising programs.
ABOUT LENDISTRY Lendistry is the country’s largest minority-led and technology-enabled small business and commercial real estate lender with Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and Community Development Entity (CDE) certification.
We are a national employer whose mission is to provide economic opportunities and progressive growth for small business owners and their underserved communities as a source of financing and financial education.
GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES Program Development & Management Play a leadership role in helping the Center to develop new client programs, including implementation, management, evaluation, and repositioning programs as necessary.
Design the strategy and implementation aspects of The Center’s general and specialty programs, including but not limited to program curriculum, application, implementation, and evaluation.
Manage the day-to-day operational and tactical aspects of The Center’s general and specialty business advising programs targeting small business owners.
Work with The Center’s business partners and funders to design specialty branded programs.
Operations Management Create and document operational and programmatic policies and procedures.
Work across The Center to build consensus of the programs’ needs and operations.
Work with colleagues to drive operational efficiencies.
At times, this may mean to develop and implement operational policies and procedures but at other times this may mean to work with colleagues to support them as they develop operational policies and procedures.
Raise issues to leadership team which impact day-to-day operations (i.e.
application process, target clients, budget/resource management) with improvements and recommendations.
Capture actions raised and decisions agreed from formal meetings and track completion.
Evaluation and Reporting Work with stakeholders to define requirements for new programs to ensure tracking of outcomes and to achieve favorable results.
Monitor progress of programs and implement options for improvement and growth.
Perform quality audits of operational workflows (database entries, invoices, etc.) in a systematic fashion and clearly summarize findings that are meaningful and actionable.
Develop and maintain reports of programmatic outcomes (quantitative and qualitative) for funders and other stakeholders.
Provide structured program updates to leadership and stakeholders, highlighting program progress, performance, and risk/opportunity.
Leadership & Team Management Oversee, manage, and evaluate The Center’s Business Advisors.
Ensure that Business Advisors are serving the needs of The Center and positioned for the Center’s growth in terms of target markets/geography and current/future clients.
Manage directly or indirectly Center’s staff to achieve programmatic goals.
Serve as a thought partner to The Center’s leadership team on positioning The Center’s programs for funding from third parties.
Serve as a partner to the Center’s marketing efforts to develop strategy to outreach to targeted audiences for specialized programs.
Drive consensus by communicating with other team members efficiently, anticipating technical and program problems, and leveraging team knowledge to find solutions.
Serve as member of Center’s Leadership team and assist with driving the strategic goals of The Center overall.
Database/Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Train and onboard Business Advisors to utilizing CRM product for client tracking and time keeping.
Verify that Business Advisors are using CRM correctly.
Provide coaching as needed.
Manage Business Advisors effective use of Salesforce or other customer relationship management system as appropriate.
Interface with technology teams to ensure that Salesforce issues are being addressed and that the CRM is being optimized.
Ensure Business Advisor client sessions are updated in Salesforce within the required timeframe for data entry.
Customer Experience Work towards maintaining high client satisfaction and establishing the steps needed to review any areas of client satisfaction that can be addressed within the confines of the budget.
Support our client’s goals and overall experience with The Center and satisfaction with their Business Advisors.
Listen to customers to deeply understand their pain points and needs.
Develop customer feedback mechanism Support customer escalations, work within The Center and other Lendistry departments to resolve issues.
Maintain a strong customer service perspective with clients, leadership, and other stakeholders.
Work to ensure that clients and other stakeholders of The Center maintain a positive image of the organization.
Additional duties and special projects as assigned by EVP Operations.
PROFICIENCIES Advanced technical skills in MS Suite.
Intermediate to advanced mastery of Excel.
CRM experience is required.
Salesforce experience is preferred.
Proven track record of taking ownership and successfully delivering results in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and willingness to roll up one’s sleeves to get the job done.
Strong analytical and critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Ability to demonstrate effective leadership in ambiguous and frequently changing situations.
Combines entrepreneurial mindset with a drive to build and scale.
Excellent writing and communication skills.
Track record of strong customer service focus.
Familiarity with entrepreneurship and the barriers small business owners face to achieve success.
Nice to have: Familiarity with any or all of the following: procurement, restaurant/food service industry, credit building/loan packaging/financial empowerment programs, women’s entrepreneurship, and veterans’ programs.
Track record for being detail-oriented with a demonstrated ability to self-motivate and follow-through on programs.
Understanding of diverse communities and empathy towards helping underserved communities.
Be generally comfortable in a startup-like environment but also work towards pushing the Center towards a high growth phase.
Think and communicate clearly – formulate a clear point of view on complicated issues and create a concise and well-written narrative to express it.
Negotiate and bring closure problems.
Operate with limited guidance from leadership and drive issues to resolution.
High attention to detail including proven ability to manage multiple, competing priorities simultaneously.
Adapt to changing needs in a dynamic organization.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE Bachelor’s Degree 10+ years of experience in project or program management, strong analytical skills and strong stakeholder management and relationship building skills.
Entrepreneurial experience required in or more of the following areas: direct entrepreneurship, teaching entrepreneurship, advising entrepreneurs, etc.