Lead Relationship Manager - Broadband Infrastructure

Farmer Mac is looking to hire an experience, driven, analytical, knowledgeable and personable individual with 10 years of relevant corporate lending or related experience for the position of Lead Relationship Manager - Broadband Infrastructure (“Relationship Manager”).

Position Summary

The Relationship Manager will lead the deal process from sourcing opportunities through closing by partnering closely with the Broadband Infrastructure team, Credit Underwriting, Credit Approvals, Transaction Management and external consultants and advisors; and be part of a high performing team driving new asset growth.

The Relationship Manager will be expected to assess the eligibility and creditworthiness of potential transactions and take ownership of qualified transactions through the transaction life cycle from sourcing, screening, analysis, approval, closing, and ultimately ongoing deal management.

The Relationship Manager will be responsible for managing Farmer Mac’s existing deal sources as well as developing new deal sources, by developing and executing a calling plan on new counterparties, across the Broadband Infrastructure market. That market includes lending institutions such as commercial banks and institutional investors, and other capital providers.

The Relationship Manager will be the day-to-day contact point for a portfolio of existing relationships, and work with existing relationships to facilitate new capital deployment strategies. The Relationship Manager will have and further develop a deep understanding of the broadband infrastructure and data center industry, acting as a subject matter expert/leader for Farmer Mac.

The role is specifically designed to act as a deal leader and foster relationships in the subsectors of fiber transport, data centers, wireless, towers, broadband, cable, and ancillary broadband areas. The suitable candidate must be able to broadly evaluate the validity of a potential borrower’s business plans and creditworthiness based on an assessment of market structures, industry outlook, competition, technology, management, and overall capital structure. The Relationship Manager will be expected to collaborate with the Credit Underwriters and Managing Director of Broadband Infrastructure to attend Lender Meetings and interact with Lead Lenders regarding structuring, credit analysis, negotiation, documentation review, and execution of financings.

This role is expected to contribute immediately towards accelerating growth within Farmer Mac’s Broadband Infrastructure business line and significantly contribute to Farmer Mac’s strategic objectives and initiatives.

Suitable candidate must be a proactive self-starter, be able to work and complete various deals at multiple stages of development, work with minimal supervision, and be an active and efficient communicator.

Who You Will Work With

The Relationship Manager will be an integral part of the broader Infrastructure Finance team, reporting directly to the Managing Director of Broadband Infrastructure and will have regular ongoing interactions with the Credit Underwriters, Senior Managing Director of Infrastructure Finance, Capital Markets, Transaction Management, and internal and external advisors and legal counsel. The position will also have a high degree of interaction with Farmer Mac Credit Committee, including the SVP-Chief Credit Officer. The Relationship Manager will support the development and serve as mentor to early-career employees.

Where and When You Will Work

Farmer Mac embraces a Presence with Purpose work environment, which allows for flexibility of work location while providing the opportunity for teams to come together in the office with purpose. Work outside of core hours may be required for planned and unplanned activities to complete time sensitive projects or to attend off-site meetings or events. The position is remote with preference for candidates in Washington, D.C., Denver, CO, and Los Angeles, CA metro areas.

Primary Responsibilities And Duties

• Develop and maintain in-depth knowledge of the broadband infrastructure industry and subsegments, financial markets, economy, market conditions, rates, and competition.
• Screen loan opportunities based on Farmer Mac eligibility criteria and conduct preliminary credit analysis, culminating in preliminary deal presentations.
• Team with Credit Underwriting to support loan acquisitions in alignment with Farmer Mac policy and standards.
• Assist in underwriting analysis and credit approval memos when necessary.
• Manage an existing portfolio of Broadband Infrastructure borrowers.
• Leverage existing and newly developed relationships to source new loan opportunities.
• Develop and maintain a business development strategy for a broad group of existing and potential Broadband Infrastructure deal sources.
• Represent Farm Mac at industry conferences, lender visits, and other external marketing events.
• Work closely with Managing Director in the development of management reports that include quarterly monitoring of portfolio deals as well as portfolio trends and statistics.
• Assist and support the ongoing development of the Broadband Infrastructure team as well as the loan administration, operations and closing functions.
• Support organization-wide initiatives and processes to improve efficiency, productivity, sourcing and credit quality.
  
  

Desired Skills And Qualifications

• Strong deal leadership, business development, interpersonal, organizational, credit, presentation, marketing, negotiation and decision-making skills.
• Ideal candidate will be thoughtful, analytical, inquisitive and curious in nature with heightened attention to detail appropriate for transactions of significant size and risk.
• Deep knowledge and experience of leveraged lending, commercial banking, and/or other capital alternatives in a leveraged lending environment.
• Very strong credit/analytical experience in cash flow/leverage lending.
• Industry experience and knowledge of Broadband Infrastructure and/or Data Center financing.
• Thorough understanding of accounting and financial statements and cash flow lending preferably within the Broadband Infrastructure sector.
  
  

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Economics or related field.
• At least 10 years of directly relevant professional experience in cash flow/leveraged lending, including credit underwriting experience in corporate lending.
• Prior experience leading loan transactions:
• Proactively developing and engaging existing and new deal sources
• Efficiently assessing transaction viability
• Partnering with credit underwriters to conduct transaction analysis culminating in deal recommendation memos
• Understanding credit agreements, term sheets and legal documentation
• Presentations to senior leaders and credit committee
• Working closely with cross-functional and closing teams to complete all requirements for successful closing
• Experience working in cross-functional and team environments.
• Aptitude in remote working environment with distributed workforce teams.
  
  

Our compensation philosophy is targeted pay positioning relative to peers, our industry, and external markets. Farmer Mac is committed to a compensation program that will enable the organization to attract, motivate, reward, and retain highly skilled and creative talent to maintain sustained long-term performance and achieve the organization’s strategic business objectives. The typical starting salary range for this position is between $175,000–250,000, although wages can vary based on directly relevant experience and geography.