CANNABIS LOANS & GRANTS ANALYST

State of Illinois•Chicago, IL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Join a mission-driven team dedicated to advancing equitable economic opportunity across Illinois. The Office of Economic Equity & Empowerment (OE3) Cannabis Loans and Grants Program is seeking a detail-oriented, solutions-focused professional to support the administration of innovative funding programs that help build a more inclusive and thriving cannabis industry. In this role, you will manage key components of the lifecycle of state-funded cannabis loans and grants — from intake and enrollment through funding, monitoring, and compliance. You will work closely with applicants, approved recipients, internal partners, and state financial offices to ensure accurate processing, timely disbursement, and long-term sustainability of the program’s portfolio. As a subject matter expert, you will guide potential recipients and partners through the program’s requirements, support audits and internal reviews, and help ensure that projects and borrowers remain in compliance with state statutes, contract terms, and reporting expectations. Your analytical work will contribute to program evaluation, portfolio monitoring, and economic impact analysis at both the project and program-wide levels. This role offers the opportunity to make a tangible impact on communities and entrepreneurs who have historically been excluded from economic opportunity due to the war on drugs. Ideal candidates bring strong analytical skills, excellent attention to detail, comfort working with financial documentation, and a commitment to equitable economic development. If you’re passionate about public service, community empowerment, and operational excellence — and are ready to support a first-of-its-kind statewide initiative — we encourage you to apply.

Requirements

Requires knowledge, skills and mental development equivalent to completion of four years of college, preferably within courses in business or public administration.
Requires two years of responsible administrative experience in a public or business organization.
Requires two (2) years of experience performing loan and grant management in Cannabis programming with an understanding of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (CRTA) for Adult Use Cannabis Social Equity programming.
Requires two (2) years of experience meeting with community leaders and stakeholders and making presentations and/or delivering training/technical assistance.
Requires two (2) years of experience working with data reporting/tracking systems such as Excel, Smartsheets, or other related systems.

Nice To Haves

Prefers two (2) years of experience performing loan and grant management in Cannabis programming with an understanding of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (CRTA) for Adult Use Cannabis Social Equity programming.
Prefers two (2) years of experience meeting with community leaders and stakeholders and making presentations and/or delivering training/technical assistance.
Prefers two (2) years of experience working with data reporting/tracking systems such as Excel, Smartsheets, or other related systems.
Prefers two (2) years of experience with management of grants and programs.
Prefers two (2) years of experience with state programs and resources available to industries and communities for economic development purposes.

Responsibilities

Prepares and administers loan enrollments, loan payments/funding, and grant administration following the policy and procedures under the Cannabis Social Equity Program in the Office of Economic Equity & Empowerment (OE3).
Serves as a subject matter expert on Cannabis Direct Forgivable Loans, Technical Assistance Cannabis Grants, and other program deliverables to potential recipients and program partners.
Performs evaluations and analysis of projects, loans, grants, program operations, and the program's loans and grants portfolio.
Assists OE3 Loans and Grants manager on program deliverables, compliance, stakeholder engagement, partnerships, and outreach.
Performs other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of the duties enumerated above.