Bilingual Small Business Counselor (Spanish required)
Escala, NVFS’ small business development program, assists aspiring and existing business owners with establishing, building and growing successful business enterprises. The Small Business Counselor oversees the development and delivery of all technical assistance and services that assist clients with establishing and growing their businesses including one-on-one consultations and coordinating and/or facilitating specialized training. The Small Business Counselor will coordinate and oversee a mentor program for the entrepreneurs. All NVFS employees are expected to demonstrate the organizational values and sensitivity to the diversity of the organization’s client base.
Essential Job Duties:
- Oversee work plan and implementation; ensure program goals, objectives and outcomes are met.
- Conduct client needs assessment and provide one-on-one counseling sessions to assist clients to provide in-depth and targeted assistance launching and growing their businesses.
- Deliver specialized workshops that teach basic business concepts and help clients assess and improve their readiness to be entrepreneurs and improve the viability of their businesses; recruit presenters and topic experts and program partners to improve program capacity and impact.
- Create resources to assist entrepreneurs to identify and pursue necessary steps to register a small business.
- Conduct outreach and presentations; participate in networking activities to learn about available resources; collaborate with other agencies to complement the agency’s services and increase program impact.
- Identify and develop partnerships that help entrepreneurs take their products to market.
- Recruit and train professional volunteers to act as mentors and facilitate workshops. Oversee mentor program to ensure entrepreneurs have positive and dedicated support.
- Research, design, and implement processes to continuously enhance program.
- Maintain client files in accordance with program requirements and NVFS guidelines.
Qualification and Additional Requirements: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Must have one of the following:
- Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or related field; OR
- Four (4) years of experience as a business owner or in a related training and development role with no relevant degree.
- At least two (2) years’ experience in small business development, microenterprise, or other relevant field preferred.
- Oral and written fluency in English and Spanish required.
- Knowledge of local small businesses, counseling resources, and small business service providers a plus
- Excellent planning, management and leadership skills required, especially in program design and implementation
- Experience building relationships and inter-agency collaborations required
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite required
- May be called upon to work beyond normal working hours
- Successful completion of background checks required upon hire
This description is intended to describe the essential job functions and requirements for the performance of this job. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and requirements of a person so classified.
Northern Virginia Family Service is an Equal Opportunity Employer and E-Verify participant.