Finance Education Finance Lead
Job Description
Maycomb Capital
Maycomb Capital is a pioneering impact investing platform. We provide financing across asset classes to fund strategies and enterprises that transform communities. At Maycomb, we know that the world’s problems demand patience, creativity, and an appreciation for complexity. We drive capital toward effective solutions for underserved communities, using data and rigorous analysis to guide our decisions. We identify scalable and sustainable paths to positive change, tackling entrenched social and economic challenges. By harnessing the scale, expertise and risk tolerance of the private sector in service of the public good, we’re demonstrating what’s possible with mission-focused, flexible capital.
We’re named for Maycomb County, the setting of Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee used Maycomb, a fictional district in Depression-era Alabama, as a backdrop for her universal story of the pursuit of justice. Her story sparked conversations about equity that still resonate today. Maycomb seeks to continue this dialogue, bringing innovative ideas to light through action.
Educational Resources Impact Fund
The Educational Resources Impact Fund (ERIF) is one of Maycomb’s Custom Strategies, a $15 million demonstration fund that aims to support nonprofit developers and providers of high quality instructional materials, particularly those offered as open educational resources (OER). The fund’s investment strategy is to provide flexible debt financing to these organizations to diversify their capital sources and enable future growth.
The fund’s mission is to a) support the growth and sustainability of these nonprofit organizations so that more students, particularly those who are Black, Latino, English learners, or affected by poverty, gain access to these high quality instructional materials; and b) test this investment strategy in the market to determine if these organizations can successfully repay debt financing and if this strategy can crowd in additional investment capital in the future.
The fund received anchor commitments from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Position
The Education Finance Lead will have the responsibility for supporting multiple aspects of ERIF. This individual will assist the team with business development efforts, underwriting loans that balance financial return and impact, and managing investor relations to ensure that updates, feedback and lessons learned are successfully communicated back to the funder group and other advisors. The ideal candidate will have foundational experience in educational resources and finance/investments with a curiosity to grow his or her career across new skill sets.
Note that this position is for a two-year initial engagement only. The position may be extended if the ERIF raises a second fund.
Responsibilities include:
- Lead business development and sourcing efforts to identify quality investment opportunities for the fund that align with business selection criteria and the funders’ charitable purpose.
- Work with the team to underwrite, approve and close loans to eligible borrowers.
- Manage the overall portfolio, including monitoring individual loan/organization performance, providing technical assistance to borrowers, analyzing ongoing financial and impact reporting received from borrowers, and modifying/restructuring loans as needed.
- Manage relationships with the funder group, the advisory committee and other governance bodies, including creating the agenda, preparing collateral materials, and follow-up as needed.
- Develop impact collateral, including tracking impact metrics across the portfolio, drafting qualitative case studies, and sharing lessons learned from this pilot fund to be shared both with the funder group and publicly.
Qualifications
The ideal candidate will possess the following:
- Strong domain expertise in the educational resources market, including market dynamics around the creation and sales cycle of instructional materials and best practices around quality standards and cultural responsiveness.
- Familiarity with or experience in finance or investments, with a preference for direct lending experience to nonprofit organizations.
- Some prior knowledge of fund structures, investment processes, and operations.
- 5-10 years of relevant work experience across the above areas.
- Strong interpersonal skills and a team player with the ability to represent Maycomb and the ERIF to multiple stakeholder groups.
Location
- Flexible
Benefits
- Competitive benefits
- Salary will be competitive and commensurate with experience
