Market Lead

About Lift Fund

Lift Fund is a national nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that expands access to capital for small businesses and strengthens local economies. Lift Fund is recognized as a leading CDFI and a trusted partner to funders, public agencies, and community institutions advancing small business resilience and economic mobility.

Position purpose:
The Market Lead is a high-output relationship builder and execution driver responsible for expanding Lift Fund’s local presence, strengthening partnership networks, and generating a consistent pipeline of fundable small business borrowers in an assigned region. This role reports to the Market President and operates as the day‑to‑day “doer” who ensures critical outreach, follow‑up, and partner execution happens with speed, discipline, and measurable results.

This role is ideal for a professional who can represent Lift Fund credibly in the community, move opportunities forward without excessive supervision, and translate relationship‑building into tangible outcomes: meetings secured, referrals generated, partners activated, and borrower pipelines advanced.

• A clearly mapped and consistently expanding partner ecosystem across funders, public‑sector stakeholders, and referral channels.
• A steady flow of qualified borrower referrals from trusted sources (not just broad marketing volume).
• Reliable weekly progress movement across outreach, meetings, follow‑ups, and partner deliverables.
• Strong internal coordination that improves borrower readiness, reduces friction, and increases conversions from intake to closing.
• Clean, accurate CRM data that enables forecasting, reporting, and leadership visibility.

Partner outreach and relationship development

• Build and maintain a targeted partner portfolio including chambers, business associations, anchor institutions, technical assistance providers, workforce and entrepreneurship networks, local nonprofits, and trusted community intermediaries.
• Execute a weekly outreach plan that generates meetings, introductions, and actionable next steps aligned to Lift Fund priorities.
• Represent Lift Fund professionally in partner meetings, community convenings, workshops, and ecosystem gatherings.
• Identify “high‑leverage connectors” who can drive both borrower referrals and reputational credibility.

Borrower pipeline and referral network growth

• Generate qualified borrower pipeline through referral partners and targeted ecosystem outreach.
• Educate partners on Lift Fund’s products, fit criteria, documentation expectations, and “what happens next” borrower journey.
• Create repeatable referral pathways (not one‑time referrals) by developing clear partner handoffs, readiness checklists, and recurring touchpoints.
• Track pipeline quality and readiness indicators; work with internal teams to reduce application friction and improve conversion.

Philanthropy and public‑sector support

• Support the Market President’s philanthropic and public‑sector strategy through prospect research, meeting preparation, follow‑up execution, and partner coordination.
• Help develop high‑quality partner materials such as one‑pagers, meeting briefs, impact snapshots, and draft concept outlines.
• Coordinate scheduling and logistics for external meetings with funders, public officials, and coalition partners, ensuring excellent follow‑through and documentation.

Market presence and community visibility

• Support Lift Fund’s presence in the region by attending and contributing to ecosystem forums, small business events, and stakeholder gatherings.
• Capture market intelligence in real time (emerging needs, partner dynamics, competitor activity, and opportunity signals) and translate it into recommendations for the Market President.

Operating cadence, CRM rigor, and reporting

• Maintain accurate, timely CRM and partner pipeline documentation, including meeting notes, next steps, referral activity, and key contacts.
• Provide weekly progress updates to the Market President across: outreach activity, meetings held, pipeline generated, partner movement, and issues requiring…