Director, Business Development

Director, Business Development

Posted on March 2, 2026

The Director, Business Development is responsible for driving company revenue, partnership and impact growth to help enable CRF’s mission and vision. This position will collaboratively partner with both internal and external stakeholders to enable efficient and timely execution to support impact at the national level.

This position requires proven experience developing new partnerships, identifying market opportunities, delivering on pipeline execution and driving business strategy. It also requires a working knowledge of community development finance, small business financing needs, capital markets and structure. The incumbent must be impact‑driven, able to advance opportunities with multiple partners and stakeholders, a creative thinker that has the ability to concept independently, and who possesses experience selling programs that increase the flow of capital and resources.

The position will have exceptional verbal and writing skills, the ability to work with a broad range of people, and the aptitude to organize and implement a complex program. The position demands an individual who is execution oriented, brings a strong commitment to developing and managing business development opportunities, partnerships and collaboration, and is skilled at creating impactful capital solutions. The successful candidate must have extensive experience working in a fast‑paced, changing environment and facilitating discussions between a diverse group of stakeholders including investors, community and economic development professionals, grant‑makers, small businesses and being held accountable for delivering results.

The role will require some travel to headquarters in Minneapolis, MN, etc.

Business Development: self‑generate new business opportunities, cultivate and deepen relationships with existing partners and clients. Manage delivery of pipeline and sales progress, including lead generation, new customer contacts, conversion of customers, etc. Expand current and develop new business development strategies to increase revenue and impact. Maintain deep working knowledge of CRF programs and services. Maintain a consistent and reliable business development pipeline that produces results in support of organizational targets.

Attend and participate in conferences and meetings to build brand awareness and expand reach. Lead funder and potential partner research and reviews, identify potential growth opportunities and determine most effective use of time and resources.

Develop, update, and maintain form documentation for funders and relationships, including reporting requirements and presentations to showcase products and services.

Monitor market trends to identify opportunities for growth, along with supporting urgent response to programmatic needs.

Define current requirements and future state from a program and an external stakeholder viewpoint as operational processes are developed, enhanced and scaled to improve business development strategies.

This position will be responsible for working within the guidelines of the compliance requirements that pertain to CRF USA.

• Economic development and capital markets experience.
• A minimum of undergraduate degree with 8+ years of fundraising, grant‑writing or related business‑to‑business sales and business development experience.
• Consistent track record of success in delivering on a comprehensive growth strategy, sourcing new funding relationships as well as expanding current, grant writing and contract management.
• Demonstrated ability to research, access information, and engage with new funders and foundations.
• A successful candidate must have excellent verbal and written communication skills, be a high energy, self‑starter able to establish and maintain relationships with a minimum level of supervision.
• Knowledge of community development finance or related program development, and diverse community reinvestment strategies is required.
• Solid understanding and comfort using technology and software geared towards financial…