Washington Area Community Investment Fund, Inc. (WACIF) · 22 hours ago
Program Director, Small Business Ecosystem & Financial Wellness Collaborative
Washington, DC
Full-time
Hybrid
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$100K/yr - $125K/yr
8+ years expThe Washington Area Community Investment Fund (WACIF) seeks an experienced, mission-driven Program Director to design, launch, and lead the Small Business Growth & Entrepreneurs’ Financial Wellness Collaborative. This role will oversee a three-year initiative that addresses ecosystem fragmentation, strengthens partner alignment, and improves financial wellness outcomes for underinvested entrepreneurs.
ConsultingFinancial Services
Responsibilities
Lead a comprehensive landscape analysis of the Washington DC business ecosystem to identify service gaps, duplication, and coordination opportunities, and guide partners in aligning supports across the entrepreneurial journey to improve access, timing, and outcomes for underinvested entrepreneurs
Formalize five core partners via MOUs, shared priorities, and operating cadence; facilitate alignment of definitions, data, and delivery
Coordinate capacity-building for ecosystem partners on financial distrust-informed practices (acknowledging historical harms, building trust, transparent products, plain-language financial education)
Stand up an interoperable intake and warm-handoff process among eight ecosystem stakeholders, including pathways to capital and TA across the business lifecycle
Plan and deliver convenings and networking events for government, financial institutions, corporations, nonprofits/ESOs, universities, chambers, and community organizations; manage a diverse steering committee for guidance and accountability
In close collaboration with the Social Impact Consultant, Program Direction will lead strategy, alignment and external coordination related to implementation of common metrics for financial wellness, data taxonomy, intake forms, and consent protocols; synchronize data collection across ESOs
In close collaboration with the Social Impact Analyst, collaborate to aggregate partner data, analyze outcomes, and report progress regionally and nationally; iterate approaches based on insights
In close collaboration with consultants, define outcomes beyond financial metrics (e.g., confidence, agency, resilience, trust in institutions); integrate into program design and reporting
In collaboration with WACIF’s Development and Finance teams, set annual work plans, timelines, risk mitigation strategies, and QA processes
In partnership with programmatic teams, finance and operations, support administration of partner stipends/subgrants, track spending against milestones and ensure compliant documentation
Provide monthly updates to CPO and other executive team members; quarterly dashboards to leadership/board; annual ecosystem impact report
Maintain high-trust relationships with ESOs, Funding Partners, chambers, universities, the DC Mayor’s Office, and advocacy organizations
Design & refine TA delivery in partnership with ESOs/BSOs based on landscape analysis and working group input; integrate financial wellness-informed approaches across services
Provide feedback on findings from collaborative efforts to programmatic and other relevant teams regarding access to readiness, business planning, financial systems setup, credit-building, tax and compliance guidance
Ensure equitable access by reducing barriers for underinvested entrepreneurs through responsive engagement, flexible scheduling, and easily accessible on-ramps
Qualification
Required
Education: Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution or equivalent years of relevant professional experience, in public policy, community development, economics, business, social impact, nonprofit management, or a related field
8–10+ years in program leadership for entrepreneurship, small business support, CDFI/ESO, or community development; 3–5+ years managing multi-organization collaboratives
Demonstrated expertise in financial wellness and inclusive technical assistance; fluency in trust-building with communities experiencing financial distrust
Proven experience in ecosystem mapping, data alignment, and establishing common measurements across partners
Strong stakeholder management (government, banks, universities, chambers, nonprofits) and facilitation skills for diverse, cross-sector groups
Data competence: exposure to leveraging CRMs (e.g., HubSpot), dashboarding (Power BI/Tableau), and privacy-compliant data sharing
Excellent project management; able to deliver complex, multi-quarter roadmaps on time and on budget
Experience managing restricted funding and grants
Preferred
Background with referral networks, intake standardization, and API/interoperability concepts (no coding required)
Evaluation or impact measurement credentials; familiarity with social impact frameworks
Lived experience in Washington DC and DC-Maryland-Virginia communities; Preferred experience with Wards 5, 7, and 8. Multilingual capabilities
Benefits
401(k)
401(k) matching
Dental insurance
Flexible schedule
Health insurance
Health savings account
Life insurance
Paid time off
Professional development assistance
Referral program
Tuition reimbursement
Vision insurance
Company
Washington Area Community Investment Fund, Inc. (WACIF)
Since 1987, the Washington Area Community Investment Fund (Wacif) has driven equity and economic opportunity in underinvested communities throughout the Greater Washington D.C.
11-50 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageTotal Funding
$0.73MKey Investors
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
2023-04-10Grant· $0.73M
Leadership Team
Jessica G Randolph
Associate Creative Director, Anacostia Arts Center | Chair, Wacif Innovation Task Force
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