Director of Lender Relations

Digna Recruitment ltd; United States; Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Digna Recruitment ltd is seeking a Director of Lender Relations for a leading, institutionally-backed C-PACE lender in the United States. This role owns the single most critical friction point: lender consent, forming a greenfield, internal authority on consent.

You will grow and convert the lender database into a reliable consent network, educate senior lenders on PACE, and backstop live originations. The position is remote within the US or hybrid from offices, with a base around $200k plus

Qualifications

• 7–10 years in commercial real estate finance or lender relations.
• Existing network of CRE lenders across banks, debt funds, bridge, CMBS, life companies is strongly preferred.
• Deep grasp of CRE capital stacks, lien structures and intercreditor dynamics.
• Experience in lender education, consent negotiation or structured finance is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Own, grow and convert the firm’s lender database into a reliable consent network, tracking lenders and terms.
• Cultivate senior lenders, educate them on PACE, address objections, and secure standing consent frameworks and letter agreements.
• Backstop originations in real time with lender consent guidance so the sales team stays on the front line.
• Spot recapitalisation opportunities where PACE can pay down or payoff a lender in a secondary deal.
• Own the lender database, consent history, education materials and templates to accelerate processes.
• Monitor the CRE debt market for new entrants, shifts in appetite and emerging PACE‑friendly capital.
• Represent the firm in lender-facing meetings and at industry events.

Skills

Lender relations

CRE finance

Debt advisory

Non-bank lending

Intercreditor dynamics

Job description

A leading, institutionally-backed C-PACE lender is creating a brand-new Director of Lender Relations role to own the single most consequential friction point in PACE execution: senior-lender consent. This is a greenfield build, not a maintenance seat.

The opportunity

C-PACE financing sits in the capital stack alongside senior debt, so a deal only closes when the senior lender consents to it. Keeping a deep, trusted network of lenders who understand PACE and will consent is therefore mission‑critical, and right now no one owns it end to end. The firm already has an established lender database (roughly 1k banks and non‑banks); this hire will own it, cultivate and convert those relationships into a reliable consent network, and become the internal authority on lender consent.

How success is measured: lender‑consent conversion on live deals, active engagement with target lenders, and new consenting lenders (especially non‑banks) added to the network.

This is a purely internal, relationship‑focused mandate. You will not source deals or work with borrowers. Your customers are the lenders themselves.

What you will do

• Own, grow and convert the firm's established lender database into a reliable consent network, tracking which banks, debt funds, bridge lenders, life companies and CMBS shops will consent to PACE, and on what terms
• Cultivate senior lenders directly, with a particular focus on non‑banks, educating them on PACE, addressing objections, and securing standing consent frameworks and letter agreements
• Serve as the internal subject‑matter expert, backstopping originations in real time on which lenders are likely to consent and how to approach them, so the sales team stays on the front line
• Spot recapitalisation opportunities where PACE can pay down or pay off a lender that has taken back and improved an asset (a secondary deal‑sourcing angle)
• Own the lender database, consent history, education materials and templates that accelerate the process
• Monitor the CRE debt market for new entrants, shifts in appetite and emerging PACE‑friendly capital
• Represent the firm in lender‑facing meetings and at industry events

What they are looking for

• 7–10 years in commercial real estate finance, debt advisory or lender relations, most likely from a mortgage banking or non‑bank lending background with a live lender rolodex (rather than a pure commercial‑banking career)
• An existing network of CRE lenders across capital types (banks, debt funds, bridge, CMBS, life companies) is strongly preferred
• Deep grasp of CRE capital stacks, lien structures and intercreditor dynamics — you understand why a lender objects to PACE and how to resolve it
• Experience in lender education, consent negotiation or structured finance a significant advantage
• Familiarity with PACE or specialty property finance a plus; willingness to become the internal expert is essential

Remote within the US, or hybrid from one of the firm's offices. Circa $200k base salary plus performance bonus, both personal & corporate, with full benefits (health, dental, vision, 401k).