Director of Business Lending

Salary Grade: 22

Summary:

The Director of Business Lending is responsible for the strategic leadership, growth, management, and overall performance of Cape Cod 5’s (the “Bank”) small business lending and Small Business Administration program across its subsidiary banks.

The Director serves as the organization’s internal champion and external representative for business lending, including conventional small business loans and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) lending programs. The position is responsible for developing and executing strategies that expand small business relationships, achieve loan production objectives, maintain strong credit quality, deliver effective customer experience, and support the Bank’s broader strategic objectives.

The Director has responsibility for all aspects of the Business Lending function, including business development, customer engagement, credit and risk management, SBA program administration, loan origination, operations, quality control, servicing oversight, compliance, process improvement, employee development, and performance management.

The Director works extensively across organizational and subsidiary-bank boundaries and partners with Commercial Lending, Retail Banking, Treasury Management, Marketing, Digital Banking, Credit Administration, Operations, Risk Management, Compliance, Finance, Technology, and other business lines to ensure that small business lending is effectively integrated into the organization’s overall banking strategy.

The position leads a small team of lending professionals and requires a proactive, collaborative leader who is comfortable engaging directly with customers, employees, senior leadership, community organizations, referral sources, and other external constituencies.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Leadership and Program Management

1. Develop, recommend, and execute enterprise-wide strategy for Business Lending across Cape Cod 5.
2. Serve as the organization’s primary advocate and subject matter expert for small business and SBA lending.
3. Identify opportunities to expand the organization’s small business lending capabilities, market presence, products, delivery channels, and customer relationships.
4. Establish annual business plans, production objectives, priorities, and performance expectations for the Business Lending function.
5. Monitor industry developments, competitive trends, customer needs, SBA program changes, and emerging technologies affecting small business lending.
6. Recommend enhancements to products, processes, policies, technology, staffing, and delivery models.
7. Ensure Business Lending activities support the strategic priorities, risk appetite, and financial objectives of the Bank.
   

Business Development and Customer Engagement

1. Serve as the external face of Business Lending, actively representing Cape Cod 5 within the communities and markets served.
2. Develop and maintain relationships with small business owners, prospective borrowers, accountants, attorneys, business brokers, commercial real estate professionals, economic development organizations, SBA resources, Certified Development Companies, government agencies, and other centers of influence.
3. Proactively identify and develop new lending and banking relationships.
4. Meet directly with applicants and customers to understand their business, financing needs, financial condition, and strategic objectives.
5. Develop referral networks and partnerships that generate qualified small business lending opportunities.
6. Represent the organization at appropriate industry, business, community, and economic development events.
7. Promote broader banking relationships by identifying opportunities for deposits, treasury management, merchant services, digital banking, and other financial services.

Loan Production and Financial Performance

1. Establish and achieve annual small business loan production and portfolio growth objectives.
2. Monitor loan pipelines, approval rates, closing rates, portfolio growth, pricing, profitability, and other key performance measures.
3. Develop strategies to improve pipeline generation and conversion.
4. Balance growth objectives with appropriate credit quality, risk management, operational capacity, and profitability.
5. Regularly report Business Lending performance, trends, opportunities, risks, and initiatives to senior management and appropriate committees.
   

Credit and Risk Management

1. Maintain a strong working knowledge of commercial credit principles, including business cash flow analysis, debt service coverage, balance sheet analysis, profitability, liquidity, leverage, global cash flow, guarantor analysis, collateral evaluation, and industry and business risk.
2. Evaluate loan opportunities within established credit policies and lending authorities.
3. Ensure appropriate identification, assessment, documentation, and mitigation of credit risk.
4. Partner closely with Credit Administration and lending personnel to support sound underwriting and consistent credit decision-making.
5. Monitor portfolio performance, delinquencies, exceptions, criticized assets, concentrations, and emerging risks.
6. Ensure adherence to applicable lending policies, risk parameters, regulatory requirements, and internal controls.
7. Promote a strong culture of credit discipline and risk management while maintaining an appropriate customer and business-development orientation.
8. SBA Program Leadership.
9. Provide enterprise-wide leadership and subject matter expertise for SBA lending programs.
10. Maintain current knowledge of applicable SBA regulations, Standard Operating Procedures, notices, program requirements, and industry practices.
11. Maintain expertise in SBA eligibility requirements, loan structure, underwriting, packaging, approval, authorization, closing, disbursement, servicing, liquidation considerations, and guaranty requirements.
12. Ensure SBA loans are originated, documented, closed, serviced, and administered in accordance with applicable SBA requirements and internal policies.
13. Maintain appropriate controls designed to preserve and protect the SBA guaranty.
14. Oversee SBA quality-control processes and the timely remediation of identified exceptions.
15. Coordinate with appropriate internal and external resources regarding SBA servicing, secondary-market activity, audits, reviews, and regulatory requirements.
16. Maintain relationships with SBA representatives, Certified Development Companies, government agencies, industry associations, and other organizations supporting government-guaranteed lending.

Operations and Process Management

1. Maintain overall responsibility for the effectiveness and efficiency of Business Lending operations.
2. Establish clear, scalable processes for application intake, underwriting, approval, documentation, closing, booking, servicing, monitoring, and customer communication.
3. Establish service-level expectations and monitor performance against those standards.
4. Identify and implement opportunities to simplify processes, reduce turnaround times, improve customer experience, and enhance employee productivity.
5. Evaluate and leverage technology, automation, data, digital capabilities, and third-party solutions to improve the lending process.
6. Coordinate with Lending Operations and other support functions to ensure accurate and timely loan processing.
7. Develop and maintain appropriate policies, procedures, controls, and documentation for Business Lending.

Cross-Functional Leadership

1. Develop strong working relationships across the Bank, including Commercial Lending, Retail Banking, Treasury Management, Marketing, Digital Banking, Credit Administration, Lending Operations, Deposit Operations, Risk Management, Compliance, Finance, and Technology.
2. Create effective referral processes between Business Lending and other customer-facing areas.
3. Provide internal visibility into lending capabilities, target customers, eligibility criteria, products, and referral opportunities.
4. Work collaboratively across subsidiary-bank boundaries while promoting consistent enterprise-wide standards and execution.
5. People Leadership and Development
6. Lead, coach, develop, and manage Business Lending employees.
7. Establish clear individual and team goals and hold employees accountable for results.
8. Effectively delegate responsibilities while maintaining appropriate oversight.
9. Provide regular coaching, feedback, performance management, and professional development.
10. Develop team expertise in commercial credit, SBA lending, customer relationship management, operations, and risk management.
11. Identify staffing and resource requirements necessary to support program growth.
12. Build organizational depth and succession capability within the function.
13. Foster a culture characterized by initiative, collaboration, responsiveness, accountability, continuous improvement, and customer focus.
    

Training and Organizational Education

1. Develop and deliver Business Lending and SBA training for employees within the department.
2. Provide training and education to employees throughout the organization, including lenders, branch personnel, relationship managers, treasury management officers, and other referral partners.
3. Ensure employees understand the organization’s small business lending capabilities, target customers, referral process, and available financing programs.
4. Communicate significant changes in SBA requirements, lending programs, policies, processes, and market conditions.
5. Develop tools and resources that make it easy for employees to identify and refer qualified opportunities.

Key Performance Indicators:

Performance should be evaluated across a balanced set of financial, risk, customer, operational, and organizational measures, including:

1. Annual small business loan production and portfolio growth.
2. SBA loan production.
3. Loan pipeline, approval, and closing conversion rates.
4. Credit quality, delinquency, and criticized-asset performance.
5. SBA guaranty integrity and quality-control results.
6. Pricing, profitability, fee income, and broader relationship generation.
7. Customer experience and lending turnaround times.
8. Referral activity across business lines.
9. Employee productivity, development, and progress against strategic initiatives.
   

QUALIFICATIONS:

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, accounting, economics, or a related field preferred.
• Minimum five years experience in commercial, small business, and/or SBA lending.
• Demonstrated experience leading or managing a small business or SBA lending function strongly preferred.
• Minimum one year experience managing and developing employees.
• Proven record of business development and relationship management.
  

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

• Working knowledge of commercial credit and financial analysis.
• Ability to analyze business financial statements, tax returns, cash flow, debt-service capacity, liquidity, leverage, collateral, etc.
• Demonstrated knowledge of SBA eligibility, underwriting, loan origination, documentation, closing, quality control, servicing, and guaranty requirements.
• Understanding of applicable banking regulations, lending practices, risk management principles, and internal controls.
• Familiarity with lending technologies, loan origination systems, workflow tools, and digital lending capabilities.
  

COMPETENCIES:

• Proactive Leadership: Identifies opportunities and issues and acts without waiting for direction.
• Business Ownership: Approaches Business Lending as a business line with responsibility for growth, risk, profitability, customers, operations, and people.
• Customer Orientation: Is comfortable interacting directly with business owners and prospective borrowers.
• External Presence: Credibly represents Cape Cod 5 with customers, community organizations, referral sources, government agencies, and industry organizations.
• Collaboration: Builds productive relationships across organizational and subsidiary-bank boundaries.
• Communication: Communicates clearly, concisely, and effectively with customers, employees, peers, and senior leadership.
• Sound Judgment: Balances customer needs, growth opportunities, credit risk, regulatory requirements, and organizational objectives.
• Execution: Translates strategy into measurable actions and results.
• Adaptability: Responds effectively to changing markets, technology, customer expectations, and SBA requirements.