Kiva U.S. Program Associate, Entrepreneurial Ecosystems & Operations

About the role

The Program Associate, Entrepreneurial Ecosystems & Operations plays a critical role across the full lifecycle of the Kiva U.S. borrower and partner experience, from ecosystem engagement and borrower acquisition through underwriting, fundraising, repayment, and portfolio management. This role combines relationship management, program operations, underwriting, and data-driven strategy.

Responsibilities

• Support a portfolio of 40+ Kiva Hub partners and their Capital Access Managers (CAMs).
• Onboard, train, coach, and support partners as they launch, grow, and sustain community-based lending programs.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for partner questions, troubleshooting, and technical assistance.
• Monitor partner performance and portfolio health, providing proactive recommendations and interventions when needed.
• Support Hub contract renewals, invoicing, and partner record management.
• Develop tools, resources, and training materials to strengthen partner success and operational efficiency.
• Cook up with Marketing & Communications to promote partners, borrowers, and ecosystem initiatives.
• Coordinate with Marketing & Communications to promote partners, borrowers, and ecosystem initiatives.
• Support trustee, referral, and loan-matching partner operations and engagement.
• Produce partner communications, including newsletters, updates, and resource bulletins.
• Review and underwrite loan applications using Kiva's social underwriting methodology.
• Conduct fraud checks and pre-disbursement reviews.
• Support entrepreneurs throughout the application, fundraising, and repayment processes.
• Respond to borrower and partner inquiries via phone, email, text, and other channels.
• Monitor repayment performance and implement strategies to improve portfolio quality and repayment rates.
• Develop borrower-facing resources and technical assistance materials that improve access and outcomes.
• Aid in delinquency management and borrower outreach efforts.
• Identify opportunities to improve underwriting, repayment, partner management, and operational workflows.
• Design and implement process improvements that increase efficiency, reduce risk, and improve user experiences.
• Collaborate with Product, Engineering, Impact, Community Support, and Strategic Partnerships teams on operational enhancements.
• Onboard processes for new Hub partners and ecosystem initiatives.
• Contribute to special projects that advance Kiva U.S. strategic priorities.
• Track and analyze key metrics related to loan supply, repayment, risk, impact, fundraising, and partner performance.
• Build, maintain, and share reports using Salesforce, Looker, and other reporting tools.
• Utilize quantitative and qualitative data to inform operational and strategic decision-making.
• Support grant reporting and ensure timely completion of program deliverables.
• Develop dashboards, analyses, and recommendations that help improve program outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience.
• 2–4 years of relevant experience in program management, operations, community development, customer success, lending, underwriting, economic development, or related fields.
• Strong analytical, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Exceptional attention to detail and process management.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects, priorities, and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Experience working independently in a remote or distributed team environment.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Commitment to financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, and social impact.
• Ability to build trusted relationships with external partners and internal stakeholders.