Director Startup Consulting Jobs (NOW HIRING)

This is a hybrid role, with the expectation that time working will regularly take place inside and outside of our Austin office.

Together, Silicon Valley Bank and First Citizens offer you the strength and stability of a diversified financial institution with a 125-year tradition of service and the personalized approach of a nimble financial partner.

First Citizens Bank helps personal, business, commercial and wealth clients build financial strength that lasts. Headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., First Citizens has built a unique legacy of strength, stability and long‑term thinking that has spanned generations. First Citizens offers an array of general banking services including a network of more than 550 branches in 23 states and commercial finance expertise delivering best‑in‑class lending, leasing and other financial services coast to coast. Other specialty groups include syndications, TMT, Commercial Real Estate, Energy, Healthcare, Equipment Finance, and Sponsor Finance. Parent company First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCNCA) is a top 20 U.S. financial institution with more than $200 billion in assets.

SVB Startup Banking is focused on engaging and building deep and authentic relationships with pre‑Series A founders, investors (emerging managers), clients, prospects, and partners including accelerators/incubators, law firms, universities, industry groups, and more.

We are currently seeking a relationship management professional with experience in the early‑stage technology startup industry to join our team.

The primary responsibilities of the Director of Relationship Management are to build, maintain, and engage strategic relationships within the technology investor community to help scale and grow SVB’s businesses; be an SVB ambassador; cross‑sell the SVB platform by winning and retaining the best opportunities; and provide strategic insight and advice to critical investor relationships and internal bank stakeholders.

The Director of Relationship Management will have responsibilities across the following key areas:

Client Relationship Management:

• Own a portfolio of Pre‑Seed and Seed stage clients and drive portfolio’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for acquisition, retention, growth, and quality referrals.
• Own the P&L, overseeing budget responsibilities and possess a business‑development mindset, delivering SVB’s value proposition to the market.
• Oversee risk assessments, emerging risk identification and mitigation, ensuring effective controls are in place for the portfolio and risk issues are resolved on time.
• Demonstrate expert knowledge of the VC ecosystem and maintain strong relationships with relevant seed investors and channels.
• Leverage deep expertise to cross‑sell and refer relevant banking products and services.
• Manage and resolve escalated client issues efficiently and effectively.

Team Leadership and Development – People Leader:

• Lead a team of Relationship Managers, responsible for coaching, mentorship, and people leadership.
• Build out a bench of internal/external talent to support long‑term growth objectives.
• Mentor and develop a team of banking professionals, enhancing their skills in consultative selling, relationship management, and industry knowledge.
• Make decisions regarding team performance management, goal setting, and professional development.
• Lead by example in client interactions and internal collaborations, setting a high standard for professionalism and customer‑centricity.

Market Strategy & Business Development:

• Engage in market‑facing opportunities to build mass‑market influence, driving business growth; participate as a thought partner in meaningful industry events and conferences as a speaker, participant, and sponsor, while embodying the role of a brand ambassador.
• Manage and develop key channel partnerships while being a highly visible ambassador for SVB Startup Banking in the Austin market.
• Partner with our Accelerator Growth (Series A+) teams in Austin, coordinating go‑to‑market strategy, key relationships, and market intelligence.
• Cultivate and expand relationships with strategic channel partners, including accelerators, incubators, seed‑stage investors, and universities.

Bachelor’s degree and 6 years of Relationship Management / Business Development experience in the startup technology ecosystem OR High School or GED and 10 years of experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

Expertise: Active in the Austin VC and tech startup community. Experience building long‑term, sales‑oriented relationships, and managing partnerships. Build and maintain investor relationships, devise strategies for developing new business, and collaborate well across internal teams.

People Leadership: Experience managing a high‑performing team, including coaching and talent development.

Goal Oriented: Able to meet targets and measure return on investment. Data‑driven. Capable of using both data and intuition to deliver results. Likes to optimize.

Financial Services Experience: Strong understanding of commercial banking products. Ability to position products and uncover client needs.

Execution: Can develop authentic relationships with the most influential and impactful venture firms and ecosystem partners in the startup ecosystem. Actively shares viewpoints and information with colleagues and peers to form recommendations. Ensures cohesion across SVB’s broad businesses and delivers timely business reviews to show progress to goals.

Collaborative: Influences. Has gravitas and charisma. Partners extremely well with internal colleagues and can skillfully engage in difficult external discussions with critical relationships when needed.

New Business: Persistent and resourceful. Able to ideate and devise new ways to engage clients and prospects. Comfortable with pipeline development and execution accountability. Can learn to cross‑sell SVB platform. Able to deal with difficult client conversations. Motivated to solve issues and thinks about solutions – not problems.

Brand Builder: Can represent SVB with confidence in the marketplace with a unique and informed point of view. Able to connect with, advise serial entrepreneurs, first‑time founders, early‑stage investors, late‑stage investors, and stakeholders as needed.

Benefits are an integral part of total rewards and First Citizens Bank is committed to providing a competitive, thoughtfully designed, and quality benefits program to meet the needs of our associates. More information can be found at https://jobs.firstcitizens.com/benefits.

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