Deputy Director

About SF New Deal:

SF New Deal (SFND) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that provides supportive services and financial opportunities for small businesses in San Francisco. Our mission is to strengthen neighborhoods by making it easier for under-resourced small business owners to succeed. We envision and are building towards a vibrant San Francisco with diverse and thriving small businesses.

Our team is growing rapidly to build and deliver innovative and responsive community-centered solutions to some of San Francisco’s most persistent challenges. Since our launch in March 2020, we’ve had significant impact and disbursed over $60 million dollars to over 2000 small businesses citywide through a host of diverse programs. Our work is funded through private donations and government contracts.

We’re a team of collaborative optimists and would love to have you join and build with us.

About the role:

SF New Deal seeks a strategic, collaborative, and execution-oriented Deputy Director of Small Business Systems & Navigation to lead the coordination of the small-business support ecosystem in San Francisco.

San Francisco has a substantial network of public agencies, nonprofit organizations, lenders, funders, technical-assistance providers, and neighborhood-based initiatives serving small businesses. Yet entrepreneurs are often required to navigate multiple applications, overlapping eligibility requirements, and informal referral processes to find the support that meets their needs.

The Deputy Director will lead SF New Deal’s No Wrong Door initiative, a multi-year effort to create a clearer and more coordinated entry point for small-business assistance. The initiative will establish shared referral infrastructure, strengthen coordination among providers, and develop technology that helps businesses identify and access appropriate capital, technical assistance, and other resources.

This is a senior leadership role for someone who can work across strategy, partnerships, program operations, technology, and data. The Deputy Director will serve as the principal architect and accountable driver for the initiative, moving it from stakeholder alignment and prototyping through public launch, adoption, and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategy, Systems Design, and Implementation

• Define and manage the strategy, operating model, implementation plan, budget, and performance measures for the No Wrong Door initiative.
• Design a coordinated intake, assessment, referral, and follow-up system that makes it easier for small businesses to access appropriate capital, technical assistance, and other resources.
• Lead the initiative from provider mapping and prototyping through launch, adoption, and continuous improvement.
• Oversee the development of accessible, secure, and practical technology supporting intake, eligibility assessment, referrals, and provider coordination.
• Manage staff, consultants, vendors, and cross-functional workstreams to deliver the initiative on time and within budget.

Partnerships, Provider Coordination, and Adoption

• Build and manage a network of government agencies, community organizations, lenders, funders, technical-assistance providers, and neighborhood partners.
• Establish shared referral protocols, service expectations, eligibility information, data-sharing practices, and mechanisms for resolving unsuccessful referrals.
• Convene partners to identify service gaps, reduce duplication, and improve coordination across the small-business support ecosystem.
• Lead provider onboarding, training, communications, and adoption of the intake and referral system.
• Represent SF New Deal with senior external stakeholders, funders, public agencies, and community partners.

Operations, Data, and Continuous Improvement

• Oversee the day-to-day operation and quality of the navigation and referral system, including referral integrity, responsiveness, and user experience.
• Establish measures for access, referral completion, response time, service utilization, capital connection, equity, and business-owner satisfaction.
• Use quantitative data and stakeholder feedback to identify gaps, improve workflows, and inform recommendations to providers, funders, and public agencies.
• Produce regular reports for organizational leadership, funders, and participating partners.
• Ensure the initiative remains responsive to changing business needs, provider capacity, eligibility requirements, and funding conditions.

Key Proficiencies:

• Visionary strategic thinking with a proven ability to design and lead programs that anticipate future needs and opportunities for small businesses.
• Strong partnership skills, with the ability to collaborate closely with peers, direct reports and senior leadership, to bring program ideas to life and refine them as needed.
• Ability to synthesize complex data and feedback from multiple sources into actionable program strategies that drive impact.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to inspire and motivate both internal teams and external stakeholders around a shared vision for the future.
• Experience with program evaluation and a data-driven approach to assessing program effectiveness and impact.
• Creative problem-solving abilities, with a focus on continuous improvement and innovation in program design.
• Strong understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing small businesses, particularly in under-resourced communities.

Qualifications

• At least five years of experience in economic development, small-business support, public-sector innovation, nonprofit leadership, community development, financial inclusion, program design, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives from strategy through implementation.
• Strong knowledge of the needs and operating realities of small businesses, particularly businesses owned by historically underserved entrepreneurs.
• Track record of building alignment among government agencies, nonprofit organizations, financial institutions, funders, and community partners.
• Experience designing or improving intake, referral, navigation, case-management, or service-delivery systems.
• Experience managing technology-enabled projects, digital products, databases, customer-relationship-management systems, or similar platforms.
• Strong project and people management skills, including experience managing staff, consultants, vendors, budgets, and multiple concurrent workstreams.
• Ability to define performance measures, interpret quantitative and qualitative data, and use findings to improve programs and influence strategy.
• Excellent facilitation, negotiation, writing, presentation, and relationship-management skills.
• Ability to move comfortably between high-level strategy and detailed execution in a fast-changing environment.
• Sound judgment, strong follow-through, and a collaborative leadership style.
• Commitment to equitable access, user-centered design, and reducing administrative burdens for small-business owners.
• Bachelor’s degree in public policy, public administration, business administration, economics, urban planning, information systems, data analytics, community development, or a closely related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Experience working in the San Francisco small-business, economic-development, or community-development ecosystem.
• Familiarity with small-business lending, grants, technical assistance, commercial leasing, permitting, procurement, or neighborhood economic development.
• Experience launching a new program, collaborative network, or technology-enabled service.
• Familiarity with data-sharing agreements, privacy considerations, and responsible uses of AI.

Across all platforms, the Deputy Director is expected to always act professionally, use good judgment, and bring a hospitality mindset to programs. In all interactions, they should thoughtfully and empathetically manage expectations with clients, partners, and team members with clarity and consistency.

Employment Classification: Full-time, salaried, exempt

Weekly Hours: 40 hrs/week

Preferred Work Days: Monday - Friday

Salary Range: $110,000-$130,000

Benefits: Medical, dental and vision insurance; paid time off; 401(k); annual work-from-home stipend and monthly internet/phone and wellness stipends; and professional development.

Reports to: Chief Programs Officer

Location: This role is primarily remote/work from home and requires significant time on the computer and phone. You’ll need to live in or near San Francisco and spend time regularly in neighborhoods citywide, including at least 2 days per week on-site in Downtown San Francisco and consistent visits to pop-up locations. You’ll also attend 8 in-person team events per year: annual kickoff, midyear, and 6 culture and team-building events.

Research has shown that women and people from marginalized communities apply to roles when they meet 100% of the job requirements, versus men who apply if they meet an average of 60% of the requirements. We encourage EVERYONE to apply if you have transferable skills and can add value to this role, regardless of whether you have 100% of the skills and experience requested.

We strongly encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply, especially people from communities of color, the LGBTQ+ community, veterans, and people with disabilities. No matter your background, our new Marketing Manager must advocate for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. We look forward to receiving your application. SF New Deal is an equal opportunity employer; people of color and individuals from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic background, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, or disability. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Medical, dental and vision insurance; paid time off; 401(k); annual work-from-home stipend and monthly internet/phone and wellness stipends; and professional development.