About us:
Kiva (kiva.org) is an international nonprofit with a mission to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive. We run a global marketplace platform to crowdfund microloans for financially excluded entrepreneurs, farmers and students around the world. Through Kiva Capital, we serve as a bridge between large scale impact first investors and underserved populations. Our digital identity platform enables borrowers who don’t have a track record with traditional financial institutions to record and verify their financial history and gain access to less costly mainstream financial markets.
Our organization combines the culture and technological passion of an internet start-up with the compassion and empathy of a non-profit to create impact and opportunity at global scale. Since 2005, we have raised more than $1.66 billion in loan capital for 4.1 million borrowers in 77 countries. Our lenders fund over $10 million in loans every month. With offices in San Francisco, Portland, New York, Nairobi, and Bangkok, Kiva's team includes 100+ employees and 400+ volunteers worldwide. Our team is growing as we pursue exciting new opportunities to create a financially inclusive world.
Kiva's values:
Impact first - This is why we exist. This is the drumbeat we march to. Every day.
Extreme ownership - Own it; you, your relationships, your impact. Insist that others support you and hold you accountable.
Be curious and bold - Never stop learning. Question assumptions. Take Risks and dream big.
Inclusion. Equity. Diversity. - Without reservation and without caveat. In our hiring, in our workplace and in our impact in the world.
Honor and integrity - Do the most right thing in the most right way. Cherish diversity and respect each other.
Love and kindness always - Say what you mean. Mean what you say. And don't say it mean. Clarity. Courage. Kindness.
About Kiva US
The Kiva U.S. team provides 0%, no-fee loans of up to $15,000 to entrepreneurs and small businesses in the United States that are typically excluded from formal financing products. With no minimum credit score and an inclusive approach to underwriting, Kiva U.S. extends access to capital to small businesses across the country.
In communities and cities where there is an expressed gap in affordable financing options, Kiva offers a plug-in microlending partnership model for small business support centers, city governments, and community development financial institutions called the Kiva Hubs program. In more than 38 cities like Oakland, New York, Detroit, and Pittsburgh, partners are developing small business ecosystems and deepening their impact by making Kiva loans accessible to the entrepreneurs they serve.
Role overview:
Kiva works with community and corporate partners to grow and deepen the impact generated through our US lending model. As an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Manager at Kiva US, you’ll work as part of a geographically distributed team to own day-to-day management and operations of our existing US lending partners (called “Hubs”) and develop long term strategies to deepen the impact of our Hub partners in their respective communities across the US. This role’s success lies in enabling partners to grow the number of marginalized entrepreneurs they support year over year while managing risk. You will report to the Director of Kiva US and work with the Kiva US Operations team, Business Development team, and inter-departmental collaborators.
With 38 existing Hubs and more joining every year, this role is for someone who is an ecosystem builder, who is incredibly organized and able to provide differentiated support for a wide variety of entrepreneurial ecosystems. The ideal candidate is curious and feels comfortable working closely with partners to build thoughtful relationships and is interested in microfinance and social impact. A typical day might include answering partner questions about how to support an individual applicant or how to source more applicants; monitoring partner performance through key metrics and developing strategies to reduce portfolio risk; identifying and building operational efficiencies to deliver faster, higher quality experiences for borrowers and partners alike; improving training materials and creating marketing assets or content; and ensuring our US partners have the best experience possible all while scaling their impact. This role is for a detail-oriented analytical thinker and people-person, who has a passion for relationship building, facilitating quality client experiences, and working across teams to tackle and resolve cross-functional problems.
At this time, we can only consider applicants with authorization to work in the United States on a permanent, full-time basis; unfortunately we cannot provide visa sponsorship.
Key responsibilities include:
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- Manage and support a growing portfolio of 45+ ‘Capital Access Managers’ (CAM) who are employed by a local community organization (called a Kiva US Hub). CAMs are responsible for managing their portfolio of Kiva loans and acting as a local Kiva ambassador within their entrepreneurial ecosystem.
- Onboard, train and provide coaching and on-going support to CAMs (who have varying professional backgrounds) to launch, grow, and sustain community-based lending programs so their community and entrepreneurs are informed on Kiva microloans
- Triage and support CAMs’ questions and requests as they utilize our systems; advocate for and/or implement required or requested improvements
- Establish cross-functional relationships with internal teams at Kiva to steward relationships and improve infrastructural components to the Hubs experience (not limited to Product, Strategic Partnerships, Marketing & Comms, Community Support).
- Track and monitor key indicators of performance of the Hubs program but also individual Hub partners, and react to data by providing interventions, resources, and solutions when needed; establish proactive and reactive strategies for CAMs to implement to reduce risk, and/or refer them to existing resources already available to leverage for their needs.
- Design processes and resources to support a streamlined process for onboarding new Hub partners with the Business Development team
- Conduct all aspects of Hub contract renewals with existing partners, including contract negotiations, legal review, and invoicing; collaborate with Legal and Finance, as needed
- Host regular meetings and incorporate professional development and peer learning for our Capital Access Managers on topics ranging from technical assistance, community organizing, marketing, small business support, and general entrepreneurial ecosystem building.
- Manage the assets in Kiva US Canva Team, US Media Toolkit, and Kiva websites; collaborate with Marketing & Comms on a US marketing campaign to promote our existing or new partners and borrowers to a US audience
- Regularly work with the Kiva US Operations staff to communicate policy and programmatic changes to Hubs partners; improve existing systems.
- Build, maintain and share reports in Looker and Salesforce CRM systems.
- Maintain and utilize Salesforce CRM systems when tracking and recording partner contracts, invoicing, and notes; produce timely invoices
- Track key metrics against loan supply, risk of the portfolio of loans, and impact targets alongside the entire Kiva US team
- Assist in conducting due diligence concerning potential new partner hubs, including collecting and providing any relevant market data for an evaluation
Qualifications:
- 5+ years of relevant experience (program management, business development, customer success, community development)
- Experience building a market or managing an ecosystem (can be broadly interpreted but should include management of some community or group with measurable improvements over time)
- Highly independent and able to collect feedback, develop recommendations to improve our ecosystems, and implement those recommendations while measuring results
- Growth mind-set - Strive to onboard more successful partners, grow their efficiencies in sourcing and supporting more borrowers
- Bring a network of connections in the economic development space
- Deep comfort with learning, troubleshooting, and improving systems while delicately balancing partner needs/wants with internal limitations/prioritization
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to capture detailed processes and communicate in an accessible manner to a range of audiences
- Ability to successfully juggle multiple projects, priorities and relationships
- Process-oriented, Data driven, Penchant for documenting key decisions
- Comfort both working autonomously and seeking help from supervisor and peers while working remotely as part of a geographically distributed team
- Flexible, comfortable with change and ambiguity
- Familiarity with the US economic development at the macro or community level, experience with entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship ecosystems preferred
- Must have excellent project and time management skills, ability to multi-task, and work in collaboration with Kiva US team and external partners.
What we offer:
- An opportunity to improve real lives, solve hard problems, and change the world
- Friendly, supportive, and adventurous environment with a team of engaged colleagues
- A comprehensive, industry-leading benefits package including health, dental and vision insurance, parental leave, professional development, 401k matching, generous PTO, and more.
- Opportunities to connect with and learn from colleagues and partners around the world
- Salary range: $63K - $76K; a final offer will be dependent upon a candidate’s location, skills and experience.
A diverse and inclusive workplace where we learn from each other is an integral part of Kiva's culture. We actively welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives. We are an equal opportunity employer and a great place to work. Join us and help us achieve our mission!
We will only accept applications directly from candidates. Kiva will not be responsible for any recruiting agency fees, absent a formal agreement.