Organizational Summary
Mni Sota Fund is a Native Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) dedicated to building wealth and economic opportunity for Urban Indians and Native American families across Minnesota. By providing access to capital, financial education, homeownership support, and entrepreneurial training, we empower our community to achieve long-term financial stability and prosperity. We serve as a bridge to financial resources, rooted in cultural values and a commitment to Indigenous economic sovereignty.
Position Summary
The Business Program Director leads the development, scaling and execution of business assistance programs within Mni Sota Fund, taking full ownership of client intake, education, and technical assistance. This role ensures streamlined workflows, responsive support, and faster capital access for Native entrepreneurs. Operating within a culturally grounded framework, the Director drives community wealth building, tracks vital grant outcomes, and fosters seamless cross-departmental wraparound services.
The Business Program Director works closely with the Loans, Programs and Operations teams to support organizational effectiveness, strengthen infrastructure, and advance the organization’s impact while maintaining alignment with organizational values, community-centered approaches and cultural values.
Key Responsibilities
Program Development and Launch
- Design and oversee a streamlined client intake workflow
- Ensure rapid response times and a welcoming, culturally relevant experience
- Implement robust tracking systems to monitor client progress, loan conversion rates, retention, and business milestones over time, ensuring accurate data collection aligned with grant deliverables and institutional impact goals
- Develop and utilize structured client surveys, focus groups, and informal feedback channels to assess client satisfaction and financial confidence, continuously refining program delivery for maximum community relevance and agency
Client Support and Program Management
- Serve as the primary point of contact for Native entrepreneurs entering the business assistance pipeline
- Provide targeted, one-on-one business technical assistance to help entrepreneurs refine business models, develop operational strategies, and overcome barriers across the idea, startup, and growth stages
- Coordinate, schedule, and facilitate group business education workshops and training cohorts tailored to the unique needs of Native entrepreneurs
- Streamline the transition of business clients from technical assistance into the lending pipeline, preparing comprehensive pre-loan packages that improve clearance rates and accelerate the timeline from initial intake to capital disbursement
- Collaborate across departments to seamlessly connect business clients with internal wraparound services, integrating credit repair, consumer loans, homeownership pathways, and financial wellness coaching into a cohesive client journey
- Partner with leadership to track and report on grant-specific performance metrics- including loan volumes, intake-to-approval times, and technical assistance hours - ensuring full compliance with funder expectations and grant requirements
Continuous Client and Community Support
- Maintain active engagement with entrepreneurs post-loan disbursement, providing ongoing advisory support, monitoring business sustainability, and securing continuous feedback to reduce barriers and foster long-term success
- Act as a liaison for external economic development partnerships, connecting urban and regional Native clients with capital opportunities
- Engage with entrepreneurs utilizing the organization’s upcoming retail concept, coworking space and event venue, integrating physical infrastructure with business programming to elevate Indigenous makers and enterprises
- Contribute to Mni Sota Fund's broader systems change initiatives by translating on-the-ground client needs into practical program designs, research insights, and policy advocacy that shape a responsive statewide economic ecosystem for Native people
Other Duties as Assigned
Qualifications
- 3-5 years of proven experience in small business consulting, entrepreneurship advising, commercial lending support, or economic development
- 3-5 years proven success in managing client-facing programs, developing efficient internal workflows, scaling operations, and tracking deliverables or milestones tied to external grants
- Demonstrated proficiency in managing client data systems (such as CRMs), tracking programmatic outcomes over time, and compiling accurate compliance or grant performance reports
- Familiarity with foundational small business concepts, business plan analysis, credit-building principles, and pre-loan underwriting pipelines
- Exceptional communication abilities, with experience designing and facilitating workshops, cultivating trust with diverse entrepreneurs, and coordinating across cross-functional teams
- Demonstrated proficiency with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 products
- Proven ability to learn new software and technologies quickly
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience working in a mission-driven organization or CDFI
- Demonstrated commitment to Indigenous community wealth building, economic sovereignty
- Understanding of the historical, economic, and social contexts of Native communities
- Lived experience or demonstrated cultural humility working with Native communities
Physical Requirements
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to handle or feel, and reach with hands and arms. The employee is required daily to stand, walk, sit, stoop, kneel or crouch. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust visual focus. Specific hearing abilities required by this job include the ability to hear and understand spoken conversations in close and far range.
Compensation
$88,000-95,000 per year, full-time
Medical, dental and vision group plans
401K with employer match
PTO, Sick and Bereavement Leave
Office hours: Mon-Thu 9:00am-5:00pm
10 paid holidays per year, plus one week paid break in summer and winter
To apply, please submit a cover letter and resume to [email protected] with "Business Program Director" in the subject line. We look forward to learning more about you.
Pay: $88,000.00 - $95,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
