Small Business Loan Officer

Who We Are

The Northside Economic Opportunity Network's (NEON) mission is to build wealth for low-to-moderate-income entrepreneurs in North Minneapolis and surrounding communities. Our vision is to transform North Minneapolis and the surrounding area into a prosperous, visible, sustainable, and highly diverse multi-cultural community of entrepreneurs. We work with individuals at various stages of entrepreneurship - from "information seekers" to existing business entities, providing a roadmap to start, grow and thrive as scalable businesses.

Why You'll Love Working Here

NEON promotes economic equity by identifying business ownership as a path toward income generation and long-term asset building. NEON will increase work to start, support, sustain, and expand the number of culturally diverse businesses owned and operated in North Minneapolis. We strive for the best customer service in the world, relentless pursuit of excellence, and respect for the individual. Working with our team provides an opportunity to utilize our collective power to improve and expand programs for the benefit of the North Minneapolis community where entrepreneurs can start, grow and thrive.

Wages & Benefits

$65,000 - $70,000 annual salary; NEON is proud to offer an incredibly robust benefits package to employees. Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) starting at 18 days per year, plus ten paid holidays, two floating holidays and a seasonal paid office closure for a week at the end of the year; 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for employees and their families; Health Savings Account (HSA) fully-funded by NEON for individual or family coverage. There is employer paid basic life insurance with the option for additional coverage paid by the employee. The employer pays for Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) and short- and long-term disability insurance. NEON sponsors a retirement plan with 6% employer match after one year of service and immediate vesting.

A Typical Day in the Life...

A typical day as NEON's Small Business Loan Officer offers an opportunity to provide technical assistance and serve as the primary underwriter for small business loan applications, and will include the following:

• Providing technical assistance to borrowers on project planning, developing models, and exploring financing options.
• Screening, structuring, and underwriting financing requests, including analyzing operating performance, historical and projected financial performance, management capacity, organizational structure, and project feasibility for small business and commercial projects.
• Presenting loan recommendations to NEON's Credit Committee and the Board of Directors, as necessary.
• Managing the closing process for approved loans in consultation with NEON counsel.
• Collaborating with internal and external parties (banks, co-lenders, attorneys, etc.) to structure financings, including managing inter-creditor negotiations; reviewing real estate contracts, leases, and due diligence; and identifying and negotiating key risk mitigants, including reserves, guarantees, and other forms of credit enhancement.
• Coordinating internal and external relationships critical to the economic development lending portfolio's growth, including relationships with NEON Business Development staff and other national and local lending and program partners.
• Working with NEON management to develop strategic collaborations with public and private sector agencies at the local, state, and federal levels that leverage NEON's capabilities.

Who You Are

• You hold a bachelor's degree in business, finance, real estate, or a related field, with a master's degree preferred.
• You have a minimum of 5 years of demonstrated experience in small business, commercial, and/or multifamily real estate development, including project financing, market analysis, deal structuring, and financial analysis.
• You have completed any mandatory state loan officer training or certification required.
• You can manage multiple, complex transactions at various stages while coordinating with internal and external parties to meet approval and closing deadlines.
• You possess in-depth knowledge of financing products such as predevelopment, acquisition, construction, bridge, permanent loans, and lines of credit.
• You have a strong understanding of and experience with community development financial models, including Small Business Administration (SBA) programs and federal, state, and city subsidy programs.
• You demonstrate excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• You are highly detail-oriented and precise in your work.
• You show a strong interest in NEON's mission for community economic development.
• You have experience lending to BIPOC-owned businesses.
• You hold a valid driver's license, access to reliable transportation, and the ability to meet NEON's driving record requirements. Please note that if the license was not issued in the state of Minnesota, you have 60 days after becoming a Minnesota resident in which to apply for your Minnesota driver's license or permit (not applicable for new hires living out of state).

Diversity and open expression are fundamental to the work of NEON. We are passionate about building and sustaining an inclusive and equitable working environment where everyone can belong. Every member of our team enriches our work by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design, and deliver solutions. We welcome everyone to apply, especially those individuals who are underrepresented in our sector: individuals who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQI+ and gender fluid or gender nonconforming, individuals with disabilities (both seen and unseen), veterans, people of any age or family status. We encourage you to apply even if you feel like you don't fit 100% of the technical requirements. Equal Opportunity Employer: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, disability, marital status, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, familial status, genetic information or a protected veteran's status.

Our organization has a partnership with Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities (MACC) to provide administrative services including management of the hiring process. If you apply for this position, you may see references to MACC in some online materials.

NEON participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. See E-Verify's official poster at https://e-verify.uscis.gov/web/media/resourcesContents/E-Verify_Participation_Poster_ES.pdf. See E-Verify's Right to Work poster at https://www.e-verify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/IER_RightToWorkPoster%20Eng_Es.pdf.