Now more than ever, you can help build a strong and inclusive economy by helping to grow small businesses and strengthen communities in Maine.

The Justice Fellowship at Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) introduces early-career professionals from communities that have traditionally faced challenges and lack of resources or opportunities to the work of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) and small businesses and entrepreneurship development in rural regions and small gateway cities.

The Fellowship program will welcome a cohort of three Fellows to work at CEI, with a start date of September 30, 2024, through September 26, 2025. This is a one-year, full-time, benefit-eligible position with a salary of $56,000 a year and substantive opportunities for growth and networking in the CDFI industry.

You will work with a sponsoring team to develop and carry out a project that support CEI’s work growing good jobs, livelihoods, and diverse small business ownership to advance a just transition to a low-carbon future. You will also experience valuable opportunities for professional development, mentorship, and networking, including attendance to the Opportunity Finance Network Conference from October 21-24 in Los Angeles along with members of the CEI team.

Who we are:

Headquartered in Maine, CEI is a community development finance institution that is a national leader in rural economic and business development. CEI's mission is to build a just, vibrant, and climate-resilient future for people and communities in Maine and rural communities across the country. We do this by integrating finance, business expertise, and policy solutions in ways that make the economy work more equitably.

Over 70 percent of our financing and advice go to businesses that are expanding opportunities for low-income communities, communities of color, and others who have been left behind by our economy. Learn more about working at CEI here.

What we believe:

Stewardship: As careful, responsible managers of the resources entrusted to us, we recognize that our decisions and actions have near – and long-term impacts on people and the planet

Equity: We work to ensure that all people, especially those facing individual or systems barriers to opportunity, can secure a livelihood that enables them to build assets and share prosperity.

Diversity: We engage diverse staff, board members, and partners who bring lived experience, community connections, and know-how to the problems we aim to solve.

Innovation: We foster creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit at CEI, through our networks, and in the communities we serve.

Collaboration: We share knowledge, practices, and resources, and partner with people and organizations to deepen our mission impact.

Who we are seeking:

You are an early career professional, interested in the intersection of entrepreneurship and community development.

You are curious about how to apply business and technical skills in creative ways that have a real impact on people’s lives, and you are eager to boost small businesses, build good jobs, and promote environmental sustainability as part of an equitable Maine economy.

You are an agent of change who brings perspectives as well as networks and lived experiences from traditionally underserved communities.

You bring valuable professional experience and great organizational skills.

You work independently and as part of a team. You take the initiative and hold yourself accountable.

You bring diverse perspectives and approaches to the team, enjoy the opportunity to work with people from a wide range of backgrounds, sectors, and identities, and foster strong relationships with clients and colleagues.

You have lived experience as a part of authentic and accountable relationships with people with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Positions for the Justice Fellowship 2024-2025 are:

Grant Research Fellow: Are you interested in how entrepreneurship can cultivate and support expanding economic opportunity and equity? We would love your skills and competencies to help us analyze a specific grant program we have now run for four years. You will help develop a survey and process for connecting with and learning from past grant recipients, all of whom are microentrepreneurs in Maine. We are hoping this newly developed process can be either automated or have more ways of being sustainable for future use. This Fellowship will be a great introduction to entrepreneurs, their opportunities, and challenges as well as how our existing grant program operates and supports their success and can be built upon in the future.

For this Grant Research Fellowship, we are looking for some of the following skills:

• Interest in and appreciation for small business development and funding.
• Amazing organizational skills and detail orientation.
• Creativity and collaboration skills. Interest in research and writing.
• Excellent listening and interview skills. Passion for research and figuring out efficiencies in a process.

Policy Advocacy Fellow: You will work with our SVP, Public Policy and Resource Development, and State Policy Director to help implement CEI’s policy objectives in accordance/alignment with CEI’s mission. This position may focus on a variety of issue areas and policy initiatives, from bill interests and legislation at the state and federal level, to federal appropriations that support the CDFI field and enable CEI to invest in diverse businesses and signature industries in rural and underserved communities. From clean energy, climate equity, and environmental sustainability; to economic justice, entrepreneurship, workforce development, sustainable food systems, fisheries and childcare, this position will contribute to our policy department by conducting research, including data collection and analysis, in support of a seminal project, and providing added capacity to our team.

For this Policy Advocacy Fellowship, the successful candidate will demonstrate the following skills, abilities, and characteristics, including a strong desire to apply them in support of CEI’s mission to build an equitable economy:

• Background/experience or strong interest in policy relevant research and advocacy.
• Understanding of public policy process at the state and federal levels.
• Excellent writing, quantitative/qualitative research, and analytical skills.
• Desire and ability to make an impact with any of the areas of CEI’s mission and the community development finance space such as small business and entrepreneurship, workforce education, climate action, renewable energy, broadband investment, food systems, and sustainable economic development in Maine.
• Strong organizational and communication skills.
• Flexibility and ability to manage multiple projects and pivot between tasks and topics that contain technical content.

Data Fellow: This is a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with our Data Analyst and Compliance Specialist and explore ways to use data to move from counting outputs to informing program evolution and design. During this fellowship you will be able to gain valuable data analysis and visualization skills, using technologies like SQL, Power BI, Salesforce, etc. Potential projects include – depending on interests and timing – refining CEI’s enterprise dashboard, migrating data from legacy data sources into our Salesforce CRM, creating various Power BI reports, or implementing a data pipeline from Salesforce to SQL Server.

Required Skills

• Strong Excel skills
• Plus at least one of the following:
  • Statistics background
  • or beginner-level SQL skills (or higher level)
  • or some experience writing code for data analysis (R or Python)
  • or some experience with data visualization tools like Tableau/Power BI
  • or some experience with reporting in Salesforce

Preference will be given to candidates who demonstrate a combination of these skills.

Open Project Option: We want to hear your idea about how CEI can boost community development or reduce barriers facing entrepreneurs based on gender, race, and/or place in Maine or rural regions nationally. Our entrepreneurial spirit goes beyond providing financing and business advice to our clients and community members, we believe in innovation, and most importantly, we believe in the power of your perspective. If none of the fellowship positions above is a match for you and you have an alternative proposal for how, as a one-year Justice Fellow, you could work with our team to make a lasting impact advancing equity in the communities CEI serves, we would welcome hearing your idea for a project that you could carry out during your one-year fellowship at CEI. Our decision to accept an “open option” Justice Fellow will be based on the potential of your proposal; please describe your project idea in one page or less, its alignment with CEI’s mission, and having a willing sponsor for the project from the CEI team.

Preferred candidates will have:

Associate degree or a bachelor’s degree with 1-5 years of professional level experience.

A passion for mission-driven work in the entrepreneurship and community development fields.

Lived experience and authentic association with communities that have traditionally faced challenges and lack of resources or opportunities.

Effective communication skills, you are a great writer and have strong presentation skills to convey messages to a diverse audience.

Strong problem-solving, research and analytical skills, and critical thinking ability.

Compensation and other details:

This is a full-time 40-hour-per-week position with excellent benefits and generous time off including vacation, personal and sick time, and paid holidays. We work in a hybrid model, two days in the office, and three days at home. This is a one-year, full-time, benefit-eligible position at CEI with a salary of $56,000 a year and wonderful opportunities for growth and networking in the CDFI industry. Relocation assistance may be available for non-Maine based fellows. This position is based out of our headquarters in Brunswick, Maine. This is a 12-month position from September 23, 2024, through September 26, 2025.

CEI’s compensation philosophy is to attract, motivate, and retain high-performing employees who are committed to the mission, values, and business success of CEI. While maintaining fiscal responsibility, we pay our employees fairly and consistently relative to the market, reward the achievement of individual, team, and organizational goals; and provide an environment for people to engage in impactful, mission-driven work. The salary posted for this role indicates our best and final competitive offer for a qualified candidate, dependent on experience level, skillset, and qualifications.

Coastal Enterprises, Inc. is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.