Loan Officer (Director), Clean Energy and Sustainable Finance
Company: Reinvestment Fund
Location: , Remote
Job Function: Lending/Loan Operations
Background
At Reinvestment Fund, we are dedicated to making a tangible difference in the lives of underserved individuals and communities. Our mission is to create opportunity for underserved people and places through partnerships. We marshal the capital, analytics, and expertise necessary to build strong, healthy, and more equitable communities.
As a federally certified community development financial institution (CDFI), our job is to make finance an agent of positive change and equitable growth. We provide loans, grants and technical assistance to businesses and nonprofits. Our borrowers and grantees educate students, support local economies, and create jobs. They build affordable housing and provide community goods and services that include access to nutritious food, hunger relief, physical and mental health care, and other social services.
Summary
The Director, Clean Energy and Sustainable Finance will be an energetic and integral part of the Originations team, serving as primary contact for all aspects of Reinvestment Fund’s business of clean energy lending from transaction sourcing, structuring, underwriting and credit approval, to closing. The Director will collaborate with Reinvestment Fund lenders to structure and underwrite real estate and business loans that create energy savings and efficiencies applying clean energy capital sources- current and future.
In addition, the Director will have a demonstrated commitment to the breadth of Reinvestment Fund’s mission – which includes creation of opportunities for individuals in low-income communities and a commitment to advancing racial equity. This individual will be responsible for a target volume of annual originations on energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. This role will report to the Managing Director, National Lending, and will be part of a team of lenders that lead specific lending programs with a national outlook.
Responsibilities
The Director, Clean Energy and Sustainable Finance, will lead the growth of Reinvestment Fund’s clean energy lending portfolio to align with Reinvestment Fund’s mission and strategic plan priorities. This work will include:
- Business Origination: Work with other members of Originations team to foster new relationships with project sponsors, typically for-profit clean energy companies, non-profit developers and owners of community facilities in disadvantaged communities, and to meet annual origination and impact targets. Director will stay on top of industry trends in innovative financing structures and solutions in support of environmental justice. Work with President, Lending & Investments and Managing Director, National Lending to develop and scale a sustainable, impactful climate lending strategy, (in connection with new funds under GGRF) and develop standardized loan products. Transaction Underwriting and Structuring: Perform credit analysis and work with Managing Director, National Lending and Managing Director, Structured Finance to develop transaction structures that appropriately mitigate risk. The position will be focused on assessing mission-alignment, financial credit risk, and understanding the technical aspects of projects (with support from existing staff at Reinvestment Fund and external consultants for detailed assessment of a project’ energy savings, etc.) The position will also lead the documentation and closing of transactions, working with outside counsel. The Director will stay updated on regulatory changes, and best practices related to energy lending in real estate and business transactions.
- Capital Source Management: Working with colleagues across Reinvestment Fund, Director will oversee outreach, eligibility requirements, regulatory compliance, periodic reporting, and deployment strategies with regard to multiple sources of dedicated energy financing capital, in Pennsylvania and beyond. The candidate will be lead operational contact for grantors, investors, and other stakeholders.
- Visibility: Build Reinvestment Fund’s visibility in the clean energy space, participating in conferences, finance and policy working groups, and other public-facing endeavors.
Requirements
Education and Experience
REQUIRED
- Undergraduate degree in finance, economics, city planning, or other related fields preferred but not required. Equivalent non-academic experience may also be considered if that experience is in the industries to which we lend.
- 6+ years of experience in finance with a demonstrated ability to underwrite real estate, business operations and contract-backed loans, model project cash flows, negotiate loan documents, and execute transactions.
- An understanding of corporate financial analysis and project cash flow analysis.
- Demonstrated experience structuring loans, facilities, new products or programs with other financial organizations or loan participants.
- Excellent quantitative and qualitative analytical skills
- Excellent written communication skills.
PREFERRED
- Background (education and/or experience) in clean energy project development preferred.
- Knowledge of common clean energy-related financing concepts, terminology, and revenue contract structures like Energy Savings Agreements and Power Purchase Agreements as well as regulatory and incentive programs like RECs and Solar Investment Tax Credits is a plus.
- Experience with real estate lending (community facilities, mixed-use buildings, or multifamily housing) as well as business lending, with emphasis on energy efficiency, or to organizations that build electrification and renewables within disadvantaged communities, a plus.
- Experience in green financing and lending in the climate-mitigation sector, including financing decarbonization retrofits of existing buildings and electrified new construction, preferred but not required.
- Prior experience with grant-making for clean energy or energy-efficiency projects is a plus.
- Familiarity with the Inflation Reduction Act, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Fund, Infrastructure Bill, and other federal, state, and utility energy incentive programs is a significant plus.
Compensation and Benefits
Reinvestment Fund offers a competitive salary based on experience and skills, as well as an excellent benefits package including employer-paid health, disability, and life insurance, 401(k) retirement savings plan with employer match, flexible spending accounts (medical, dependent care), commuter benefits, tuition reimbursement, paid time off, and EAP program.