Cooperative Business Developer - English/Spanish Bilingual Required

Description

Center for Family Life (CFL) is a neighborhood-based family and social services organization with deep roots in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The mission of CFL is to promote positive outcomes for children and adults through the provision of a comprehensive range of social services.

CFL’s Cooperative Development Program (CDP) is a nationally recognized leader in the development of cooperative businesses in immigrant, low-income communities. Worker cooperatives are wholly worker-owned and democratically-run. Since 2006, we have incubated and provided tailored technical assistance and training to 21 cooperatives representing 540 worker-owners, and trained 50+ community-based organizations on cooperative development.

We invite you to be part of creating a new economy that puts workers at the center of the socioeconomic system.

Requirements

The Position: This is a full-time position that requires you to speak Spanish fluently. You will join a group of bilingual, experienced, and energetic business developers to help us strengthen worker cooperatives and expand our scaling initiatives.

Core Responsibilities: Business Development (30%)

• Organize the community by shaping a group around a common goal
• Support the incubation of new cooperative businesses using CFL’s cooperative development methodology
• Support groups of domestic workers to build strong governance and management systems for their business
• Engage organizational partners in our cooperative business development efforts
• Offer individual support to participating workers to stay engaged in the cooperative development process; make referrals to social services when appropriate
• Help the team reflect on/improve our cooperative development guides and tools

Technical Assistance (30%)

• Provide ongoing business management technical assistance to cooperative businesses based on their stages of development & needs
• Provide coaching to worker-owners to develop their business management and social leadership skills
• Conduct research for worker cooperatives, as needed, and/or in coordination with technical partners (market research, local programs or resources, legal and tax issues, etc.); make referrals when appropriate
• Develop & facilitate workshops to support worker-owners effectively manage & govern their businesses
• Support worker-owners engage with and move through conflicts that might arise in the group

Project Management (30%)

• Experience using project management tools to organize the activities of your projects
• Have good communication skills to manage the relationship of all stakeholders involved in the project
• Capacity to adapt the execution of the project as needed to accomplish project goals
• Feel comfortable keeping track of all deliverables and activities of your project
• Feel comfortable working through stages of ambiguity, and have the tools and skills to transform these stages into a more defined process.

Program Admin (10%)

• Participate in weekly team meetings
• Track data and support the team’s reporting efforts
• Support training outreach efforts and other projects as needed

Experience and Qualifications:

• Strong written and oral English and Spanish skills required.
• Strong group facilitation skills, including workshop & meeting facilitation.
• Project management skills to keep track of all activities needed, communicate with stakeholders, and achieve goals.
• Understanding of popular education approach to teaching marginalized communities
• Demonstrated commitment to social justice, especially with immigrant women.
• Ability to thrive in a highly collaborative work environment.
• Interest in technology as a tool to improve operational processes is a plus.
• B.A. in Business Administration, Finance, Marketing, Public Administration, Social Work, Community Development; Project Management; and Adult Education; M.A. a plus.
• Minimum of 3 years of relevant professional experience.

You may be a strong candidate, even if you don’t have all the skills and characteristics described above. If you are excited about this position, we want to read your application!

Location Our office is located in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, in New York City. A hybrid work schedule is required.

How to Apply

Please submit your resume, cover letter and 3 professional references to j.cuautle@centerforfamilylife.org subject line should include: “Your Name, Cooperative Developer.” Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, however, applicants are strongly encouraged to apply before December 1, 2024.

Center for Family Life in Sunset Park is an equal-opportunity employer. We strive to build a Cooperative Development Team that reflects and shares community with the cooperatives we work with. Women, people of color, LGBTQ-identified people, immigrants, and people with disabilities are strongly urged to apply.