CRL VP of Community Engagement

WHO We Are: 

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) is a non-partisan, nonprofit research and policy advocacy organization that promotes financial fairness and economic opportunity for all, including families of color, rural residents, women, military personnel, low-income borrowers, low-wealth individuals, and early-career workers.  

CRL provides a strong voice on both the state and national levels for these families to expand family wealth and financial stability through sustainable homeownership, affordable higher education, and support for small businesses, and protect their financial stability by preventing abusive products that trap families in debt and strip away their income, by ending payday lending and other predatory high-cost lending, exorbitant bank fees, and abusive debt collection practices. CRL’s staff, allies, and funders reflect a collective commitment to eliminating systemic injustice in America’s financial services. 

CRL is an affiliate of Self-Help, a community development lender founded in 1980 that has provided more than $9 billion dollars in financing to help over 185,000 low-wealth borrowers buy homes, build businesses, and strengthen community resources. 

We are seeking a Vice President of Community Engagement to join our team! 

 The Vice President of Community Engagement leads a team that is deeply connected to a wide range of community-focused organizations and charged with exploring collaborative opportunities for strategic alignment with the CRL Julian Bond Institute for Financial Equity Research’s (JBI) organizational goals in thought leadership and research, as well as CRL’s broader objectives in policy and advocacy. This Team Leader will champion efforts to gather community feedback throughout JBI’s policy and research development process in addition to conducting outreach and relationship building with national and grassroots organizations to further CRL’s broader goals, such as engaging partners in actions to increase and defend financial consumer protections at the state and federal levels and reduce the racial wealth gap. 

This role will also convene and guide CRL’s internal Community Engagement Workgroup, a cross-functional team that serves as a sounding board for engagement strategic planning, surfaces the need for engagement tools and resources, assists in strengthening community engagement initiatives across the organization, and organizes and reports on the community engagement activities of both JBI and CRL. 

The VP of Community Engagement, who will report to the President of CRL’s Julian Bond Institute and also serve as a member of CRL’s Leadership Team, will work collaboratively across JBI, CRL, and Self-Help to advance meaningful community engagement in all of our organizations’ research, policy, and advocacy approaches. The VP of Community Engagement will also work directly with the Executive Director of JBI to assist in supporting and coordinating the community engagement procedures and activities of JBI’s research advisory council and the community-based aspects of the qualitative research data collection program.  

WHAT You'll DO:

• Lead and supervise a team of community engagement professionals responsible for organizing and executing community engagement strategies focused on leveraging CRL’s expertise, networks, resources, and influence to support research, policy, and advocacy efforts. 
• Help facilitate the selection and engagement of community members on JBI’s research advisory council and assist with content development and capture of council’s input and feedback. 
• Create and implement the annual strategic and budget plan for community engagement and outreach at JBI and help develop and support the community engagement efforts outlined in CRL’s federal and state policy teams’ annual strategic plans. 
• Develop and lead an organization-wide strategy and best practices for community collaborations and convenings.  
• Develop and lead a strategy for informing both CRL and JBI about community members’ experiences with consumer financial products and practices and create and maintain deep, credible connections to communities within the Self-Help footprint.  
• Identify research, collaboration, and partnership opportunities using consistent engagement and proactive relationship building with mission-aligned organizations. 
• Develop stakeholder groups that can leverage civic engagement, service, and influence in reaching elected officials and policymakers on programming and services. 
• Build and refine existing tools in support of organization-wide community initiatives.   
• Understand and promote opportunities to strengthen brand and reputation management through authentic relationship building and community engagement for both JBI and CRL.    
• Perform other duties as may be deemed necessary. 

WHAT You'll NEED:

• Bachelor’s degree in related field OR equivalent related experience; Master’s degree preferred. 
• At least 10 years’ of hands-on experience building and implementing community engagement, policy analysis, and/or outreach initiatives.  
• Experience in federal and state financial services policy and/or economic development. 
• Able to navigate complex organizations, identifying the key connections to drive work forward  
• Demonstrated commitment to our mission – creating economic opportunity for traditionally underserved communities. 
• Preference for working in organizations that prioritize teamwork and collaboration; humble and able to share credit with a wide range of contributors.  
• Ability to balance deep relationship building with achieving concrete results that advance our mission.  
• Organized, data driven decision-maker with a keen attention to detail and organization 
• Keen listening skills; ability to communicate clearly and concisely with the entire spectrum of CRL, JBI, and Self-help staff and partners.  
• Ability and willingness to be engaged in and with community, including outside of standard business hours.  
• Role requires up to 30% travel.  
• Ability to demonstrate Self-Help's Core Values: 
  • Mission Before Self 
  • Service With Excellence 
  • Embracing & Promoting Change 
  • Results Not Credit 
  • Diversity as a Strength 
  • Financial Sustainability for Mission Impact 

If you are interested in who we are and what we do; have a strong desire to work in an organization that places a high priority on teamwork and collaboration; and are interested in working to help create economic opportunity for all – THIS is the place for you! "Click the “apply now” button to apply!" 

Compensation:   

Competitive nonprofit compensation, based on experience, plus a generous benefits package.  

CRL is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all persons, regardless of race, religion, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression (including transgender status), age, sexual orientation, military and veteran status, class or family status.