VP of Community Development

Description

Job Summary Overview

The Vice President of Community Development sets the vision and drives enterprise execution to deepen the institution’s community impact across Arizona. This executive leads a statewide strategy spanning financial inclusion, education, partnerships, sponsor ships, volunteerism, philanthropy/foundation governance, and reputation stewardship.

• Build a community development strategy aligned to strategic growth plan, Arizona demographics, and local market needs; translate strategy into ongoing tactics with results captured on scorecards.
• Develop and prioritize initiatives (inclusive of, and in addition to the Azpire brand) that expand access to banking, increase financial capability, and strengthen local economies—with equitable reach into rural, Hispanic, and un/underbanked communities.
• Source, vet, and manage high leverage partnerships (nonprofits, chambers, schools, workforce boards, municipalities, small business ecosystems, tribal nations).
• Manage, develop and grow advisory boards that create ongoing sources of feedback from communities in need of financial solutions, and that become champions for our business and outreach strategies.
• Establish criteria and ROI frameworks for sponsor ships (brand lift + community impact + business outcomes).
• Negotiate partner agreements; manage agencies and vendors; enforce performance clauses.
• Represent the institution on relevant boards/coalitions; lead internal community initiatives.
• Scale financial education (youth, adult, small business) through in person events, digital content, and trusted local partners.
• Lead inclusion initiatives (e.g., multilingual outreach, fair access product design, community micro grants, small business capacity building), in concert with Product, Retail, Marketing, and Risk.
• Coach leaders throughout the organization on the intersection of community outcomes and business health (deposits, loans, households, attrition, referrals).
• Provide executive oversight to the Arizona Financial Foundation: governance, grantmaking, impact reporting, donor relations, and employee giving/volunteering.
• Define a balanced scorecard: impact (lives reached, learning outcomes), reach (events/partners/markets), equity metrics, and commercial results (new members/customers, small business relationships, digital engagement).
• Publish monthly dashboards (progress reports) and an annual impact report; align disclosures with regulatory and stakeholder expectations.
• Partner with marketing team on storytelling that elevates authentic local impact; ensure alignment with Employee Engagement Groups and public affairs narratives.
• Serve as executive spokesperson at community events, public forums, and media engagements as required.
• Build and develop a high performing team (community managers, educators, coordinators); establish a culture of inclusion, accountability, and local empowerment.
• Champion employee volunteerism and leadership pathways tied to community impact.

Minimum Education and Experience

10 years progressive experience in community development, public affairs, philanthropy/foundation leadership, or CRA/community compliance; 5+ years at director/VP level. Bachelor’s degree required, master’s degree in public administration, Business, or related field preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Deep partnership acumen across nonprofits, education, small business, municipal/tribal stakeholders.
• Current involvement in multiple boards, fundraising or other committees, business networking groups, or professional associations.
• Strong data literacy: program evaluation, impact measurement, and dashboarding; familiarity with HMDA/fair lending topics (for banks).
• Executive presence: public speaking, board engagement, media interaction.
• Collaborative leader skilled at cross functional execution (Retail, Marketing, Product, Risk, Compliance, Legal).

Licenses, Training, and Certifications Required

None.

Preferred Qualifications

Spanish preferred

Hybrid Phoenix HQ with field leadership statewide; frequent on site partner and event presence. Evening/weekend…