Join our team!

About Windmill Microlending

Windmill Microlending enables immigrants and refugees to build careers in Canada while reducing poverty and labour shortages. We do this by offering affordable loans along with career assessment coaching, financial literacy training, and mentorship for newcomers who lack access to mainstream credit.

Since 2005, Windmill has provided over 13,500 loans to clients in healthcare, IT, financial services, law, engineering, and many other fields to triple their incomes as a result of our affordable loans and support. Windmill is a registered Canadian charity supported by donations and community bonds from the private sector and grants from the public sector.

At Windmill, you can make a meaningful impact on the lives of thousands of newcomers. Join a diverse, dynamic team at a leading Canadian not-for-profit where empowering our clients starts with creating an enjoyable workplace for our staff. Our commitment to a fulfilling environment is evident in our 85+% average employee engagement scores on our annual survey.

The role

Windmill Microlending is seeking a collaborative and dynamic self-starter to serve as our Associate Director, Client Success, a key leadership position responsible for driving operational effectiveness, and team performance within Windmill’s Client Success (CS) function. Acting as a strategic partner to the National Director, this role enables best-in-class service delivery through data-informed decision-making, team empowerment, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

The Associate Director will ensure the CS team is equipped to deliver exceptional client experience by refining workflows, aligning cross-functional efforts, and overseeing performance management. They will champion innovations that accelerate client success and uphold Windmill’s values of equity, accountability, and impact.

In this role, the Associate Director will make meaningful contributions to the attainment of Windmill’s mission and exemplify the values of passion, empowerment, simplicity, and results in all aspects of their work.

Responsibilities

Program optimization (40%)

• Lead initiatives to enhance the client journey by redesigning workflows, streamlining processes, and improving conversion across key professions and language groups.
• Use data-driven insights, A/B testing, and performance trends to inform targeting strategies and improve service delivery.
• Oversee the integration of coaching and client success support, ensuring consistent, client-centered programming aligned with Windmill’s mission.
• Act as a strategic thought partner to the National Director, identifying opportunities for policy or process changes and supporting executive priorities.
• Identify emerging operational inefficiencies, process gaps, or policy bottlenecks that require executive attention or organizational change.
• Proactively develop and recommend policy and procedural changes, backed by data and front-line insight, to inform senior-level decision-making.

Team leadership & performance management (40%)

• Lead and support a high-performing Client Success team through strategic staffing, clear role definition, and professional development.
• Foster a culture of accountability and data fluency by equipping the team to monitor, interpret, and act on key performance metrics.
• Guide the assessment of client readiness, learning plans, and coaching frameworks to ensure alignment with professional and financial outcomes.
• Ensure consistent, compliant, and mission-aligned delivery of services across the team.

Cross-functional collaboration & organizational alignment (20%)

• Collaborate across Risk, Finance, Marketing, and Partnerships to align client strategies with organizational priorities and risk appetite.
• Surface profession-specific and client-level trends to inform broader program and policy evolution.
• Ensure data accuracy and reporting integrity through quality assurance practices and system governance.
• Represent the National Director in cross-functional meetings and initiatives as needed, ensuring continuity of strategic direction.

Ideal candidate

You are a strategic people leader who blends empathy with execution. You understand how to improve performance without losing sight of quality or mission. You’re energized by cross-functional collaboration, and you bring a lens of system thinking and operational design to client service environments. You're fluent in using data to tell stories, guide decisions, and drive innovation — and you excel at translating strategy into actionable outcomes.

You bring:

• Experience leading high-performing, client-facing teams in a service delivery or nonprofit setting
• Strong understanding of risk, compliance, or credit policy in client or lending environments
• Proven ability to manage operations and cross-functional initiatives with clarity and influence
• A collaborative leadership style with an emphasis on coaching and empowerment
• High comfort with metrics, dashboards, and translating insights into process or policy evolution

Qualifications and knowledge

• Minimum eight to ten years' experience leading client-facing teams in a service delivery, or lending environment.
• Post-secondary education in a related field (e.g., business, public administration, or nonprofit management) is considered an asset.
• Strong understanding of credit, risk, or compliance policies and how they intersect with client service processes.
• Demonstrated success managing operations, team performance, and cross-functional initiatives from design to execution.
• High level of comfort with performance metrics, dashboards, and using data to guide continuous improvement.
• Experience designing or improving workflows and end-to-end client journeys, including application-to-loan processes.
• Background in quality assurance, and process optimization; A/B testing experience is an asset.
• Familiarity with governance practices related to data accuracy, reporting, and compliance.
• Bilingualism in French and English, or experience serving Francophone clients, is a strong asset.

Competencies and characteristics

• Empowering people leader, skilled at coaching high-performing teams, fostering accountability, and building cultures of learning and performance.
• Data-driven decision-maker, confident using dashboards, A/B testing, and performance trends to guide program improvements and cross-functional initiatives.
• Collaborative and influential, with a strong ability to align efforts across departments like Risk, Finance, Marketing, and Partnerships.
• Detail-oriented and compliance-aware, with a sharp eye for data integrity, reporting accuracy, and operational quality.
• Mission-aligned and client-centered, deeply committed to equity, inclusion, and continuous innovation in support of immigrant success.

Compensation and benefits

• Starting salary range $95,000-$110,000 annually, based on skills and experience required for the role
• Hybrid work solution with 2 or 3 days in the office, with the balance working from home in Calgary or Toronto.
• Three weeks’ vacation, plus a company-wide winter break
• Benefits plan – medical, dental, short & long-term disability, and life insurance
• Annual Wellness Budget to support personal well-being
• Access to Group RRSP with matching employer contributions
• Evolving DEI initiatives – our staff is representative of our client base
• Opportunities for advancement in a supportive and inclusive environment

How to apply:

If you meet the criteria above and are interested in applying for the position, please submit, in confidence, a résumé along with a cover letter that sets out your interest in the role and highlights your relevant experience. Please include your salary expectations in your cover letter. The preferred method of application is via email to hr@teamwindmill.org (reference: Associate Director, Client Success).

We are actively recruiting for this position, so to ensure you are given due consideration for this opportunity, interested candidates should send their documents, as soon as possible. The successful candidate will be required to provide a Police Clearance Certificate. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those considered for an interview will be contacted.

Windmill Microlending is an equal employment opportunity employer. Adhering to Canada’s Human Rights Code, Windmill grants equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons without regard to race, creed, colour, gender identity or expression, disability, sexual orientation, family status, marital status, citizenship, ancestry, ethnic origin, age or place of origin. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.