Chief Lending and Impact Officer

Background

Appalachian Community Capital (ACC) is seeking an energetic, entrepreneurial, goal-oriented self-starter to serve as Chief Lending and Impact Officer to support the organization at a time of unprecedented growth. As a member of the executive team, this person should also be able to prioritize multiple demands, lead a high performing team of contractors, and have overall responsibility for ACC’s lending program and impact across Appalachia. Familiarity with credit analysis, community, and economic development, public- and private-sector investment initiatives, and a working knowledge of the region’s community economic development stakeholders are required for success in this position.

ACC’s service area is the Appalachian region, which consists of 423 counties in West Virginia and portions of 12 other states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

The position will be remote and preferably based in the Appalachian Region.

The Organization

ACC has undergone a rigorous strategic planning process that includes a goal of obtaining between $35M – $40M in low-cost, long-term capital over the next 5 years. To address the challenges and to leverage the opportunities, ACC Vision 2026 plan was designed as a roadmap that promotes economic development strategies over the next few years. The four pillars of this roadmap are as follows:

• Pillar 1 – Blended Finance Facility: ACC will use a combination of grants, tailored loan terms, and de-risking strategies to incentivize CDFI borrowers to invest in targeted small business sectors, geographies, and populations.
• Pillar 2 – Knowledge & Learning: ACC will create a virtual on-line community for Appalachia serving CDFIs to facilitate networking, shared learning, and peer-to-peer mentoring. The Appalachian region encompasses 13 states with a diversity of populations and business sectors. The Knowledge and Learning Platform will enable the sharing of resources and information (such as new products); the convening of members for training, professional courses, and certifications; and provide a forum for problem solving and new ideas. We also envision a virtual marketplace and a searchable database of members, best practices, standardized loan documents, and partnership opportunities.
• Pillar 3 – Technology Transformation: ACC will provide data analytic support and advisory services to members on a cost-recovery basis. Members have identified this need and requested this assistance. ACC will aggregate financial and best-in-class technical resources to help with technology needs assessment, minority small business profiles, business process re/engineering, technology integration, change management, risk management, vendor and tech partner selection, and other areas.
• Pillar 4 – Structured Finance: ACC will introduce new loan products that larger asset-sized members have identified as needed, but that are unavailable or hard to secure from conventional lenders. These include bridge loans, commitment loans, lines of credit, and New Markets Tax Credit leverage loans. ACC will explore the aggregation and sale of loans from member portfolios as a means of helping member-CDFIs to revolve their capital.

For additional information about the unprecedented growth at ACC, please visit the website.

ABOUT APPALACHIAN COMMUNITY CAPITAL

The mission of Appalachian Community Capital (ACC) is to increase small business lending in chronically underserved communities across Appalachia. ACC is a nonprofit, a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), and a wholesale development finance intermediary; additionally, it is a membership network of 30 high performing CDFIs. ACC’s service area is made up of the Appalachian Region as defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission, which includes 423 counties across 13 states.  ACC’s members span this region, providing on-the-ground support for small businesses from Nelsonville, Ohio, to Elkins, West Virginia, to Paintsville, Kentucky, to Cleveland, Georgia. While they represent a range of organizational sizes and services offered, the members all provide financing and training for small business startup and expansion and are committed to the common mission of serving communities of persistent poverty in Appalachia. They operate primarily as nonprofit non-depository lending institutions and have approximately $1 billion in combined assets.

ACC was formed in 2013 to address the well-documented lack of financial and technical support for business startup and expansion in Appalachia, a major hurdle to diversifying and revitalizing local economies, creating high-quality jobs, and moving people out of poverty. The Appalachian Regional Commission and its partners established ACC to significantly increase business lending in the region by pooling capital needs, attracting investors at a larger scale, and providing a simplified vehicle for impact investors that reduces transaction costs. ACC does not lend directly to projects or business owners; instead, it raises capital and lends the money to its member organizations, which in turn make affordable loans to small business owners and entrepreneurs in their communities. Not only does this strategy support critical economic infrastructure with immediate benefits on the ground, but it also builds the capacity of locally rooted organizations that will continue to serve their communities.

OPERATIONS

ACC’s annual operating budget totals $2.4M most of which comes from interest income, grant revenue and fees. Currently total capital and liabilities is at $27M. ACC is governed by an 8-member Board of Directors. ACC’s President and CEO is the organization’s only full-time employee. The CEO is supported by several contractors: a Senior Vice President of Finance, a Business Development Officer, a Chief Strategy Officer, three underwriters, two grant writers, and a Research and Communications Assistant. Virginia Community Capital, a CDFI bank, provides back-office support (approximately 7-10 staff), such as accounting, loan servicing, and IT support.

Summary

The Position

The Chief Lending and Impact Officer (CLIO) is a member of the executive team and has overall responsibility for ACC’’s lending program and continued innovation and scale in addition to managing the day-to-day affairs of the operations. The CLIO’s responsibilities will include: loan production goals, design, and implementation of new and updated financial products and services that are responsive to the needs of clients, and loan policies and systems. The primary responsibility of the CLIO is to meet annual lending goals while developing a loan portfolio and strategy for the deployment of funds that are both healthy and responsive to the needs of ACC’s members. The CLIO reports to the President and Chief Executive Officer.

The CLIO leads all efforts related to strategy and lending including: supporting business development activities, technical assistance and outreach, originations, structuring, and if necessary, workouts. Such responsibilities are to be carried out in a manner that aligns with organizational mission, meets loan production goals, satisfies lending and portfolio management policies and loan committee requirements, maximizes leverage, and minimizes legal/financial risks to the organization. The person in this position will develop/refine environmental, social, and governance metrics for ACC and work with the CEO to enhance, track and report on the impact of ACC’s work, particularly with borrowers and end borrowers.

This is a remote position serving the Appalachian Region, which includes the entire state of West Virginia and portions of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Responsibilities

KEY RESPONSIBLITIES

• Lending: Responsible for meeting ACC’s annual lending goals by overseeing due diligence of complete loan applications. Oversees process of preparing and presenting credit memos to executive staff, loan committees, and executive committee for Works closely with underwriter or designee to properly structure deals and prepare loans for committee. Collaborates with President and CEO in designing/upgrading loan products, marketing strategies, participation partnerships and administrative systems. Pursues new and maintains existing relationships with other CDFIs and lending partners. Identifies opportunities to collaborate with other lenders to take advantage of loan participations. Designs and implements new products to respond to market changes, customer needs and increased organizational capacity.
• Technical Assistance: Ensures that the technical assistance strategy supports lending goals. As needed, presents ACC’s loan product information in borrower workshops throughout Represents ACC on panels and at workshops regarding lending, loan products, community development finance, and underwriting. Assists and advises loan applicants by educating them on the loan process, responding to questions and requests and following up regarding incomplete documentation.
• Assessment and Knowledge Sharing: Works with CEO and Chief Strategy Officer to define organizational outcomes and impact. Responsible for reporting loan impacts and progress towards lending Works with the SVP-Finance to provide loan and impact data for various compliance reports and for various funders. Ensures that Loan Servicing contractors are accurately entering data into systems that generate ACC loan and financial reports.
• Advocacy and Policy Change: May represent ACC on local, regional, and state planning and advocacy
• Communications and Marketing: Works closely with contracting team (Research and Communications Assistant, Business Development Officer, Web Designer) to communicate technical assistance and lending Identifies new and untapped markets for ACC loan products. Builds alliances and a referral base among community partners. Participates in community events as needed. Provides loan information to contractors for inclusion in newsletters, social media, and other marketing platforms.
• Finance: Sets annual lending goals based on historical data, pipeline information, and other fact-based analysis. Participates in organizational budget process.
• Impact: Identifies key local issues and challenges, including those affecting communities that have been historically marginalized, and ensures that ACC’s lending activities and technical assistance goals and activities align with strategies to meet the needs of these communities.

Requirements

KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• 10+ years of nonprofit or for-profit management experience that are transferable or relevant to community/economic development.
• Demonstrated relevant experience in relevant community and economic development finance and nonprofit lending.
• Experience in community and economic development and financial services for low-income communities preferred.
• Superior financial analysis and credit evaluation skills for both real estate projects and organizations. Deep knowledge of community and economic development lending and related credit issues.
• Evidence of significant external client contact and business development skills.Strongly motivated and able to follow through in completing high-quality, detailed work with minimal supervision.
• Strong problem-solving and organizational skills including ability and willingness to balance strategic, lending, and organizational
• Ability to effectively manage a remote
• Capacity to prioritize multiple responsibilities to meet internal and customer deadlines while ensuring credit
• Ability to provide creative and flexible solutions to loan applicants by identifying relevant risks and mitigation
• Commitment to mission driven lending in low- and moderate-income
• Willingness and ability to travel occasionally in the region.
• Embraces the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion and ensures they are reflected in the impact portfolio of work.

Compensation and Benefits

ACC is planning to offer a base salary of $100K to $150K. ACC will be developing a benefits package that will include health, life, and disability insurance as well as unlimited PTO, 14 paid holidays per year and a flex schedule. In addition, the position will be remote and preferably based in the Appalachian Region.

How to Apply

APPLICATION PROCESS

To apply, upload resume and cover letter by clicking here. For inquiries, contact Olive Idehen olive.idehen@marcumllp.com or Adrienne O’Rourke adrienne.orourke@marcumllp.com

No other application materials will be reviewed at this time. Resume review begins immediately.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

It is ACC’s commitment to treat all its employees and candidates for employment with dignity and respect and to provide a workplace that is free from discrimination, whether that discrimination is based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, political affiliation, marital status, ages, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, or other non-merit factors. ACC is committed to diversity and inclusion, and our goal is to have a workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. representative of the communities we serve.

ABOUT MARCUM’S NONPROFIT & SOCIAL SECTOR GROUP
On behalf of ACC, Marcum’s Nonprofit & Social Sector Group is working with ACC to advance the search. Learn more about our work at http://marcumllp.com/industries/nonprofit-social-sector .