Business Advisor

Babson College; Wellesley (MA); On-site; USD 68,000 - 97,000; Part time

Job summary

Babson College seeks a part-time Business Advisor to support 5-7 business owners through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. You will guide growth plans, connect to local resources, and help owners analyze metrics to drive revenue and job creation.

The role requires a bachelor's degree in business/entrepreneurship and at least three years of advisory experience, plus strong communication and flexibility to work 20 hours weekly.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business, entrepreneurship, sales, or related field.
• Minimum of three years in business advising for small businesses.
• Strong understanding of financial forecasting and small business financial statements.
• Ability to recruit, train, and develop faculty and advisors.
• Excellent written and spoken communication; flexible schedule.

Responsibilities

• Meet with each business owner 8-10 times to guide growth and complete Growth Plan.
• Connect owners to local entrepreneurship ecosystem for specialized services.
• Help owners apply course content and analyze business metrics for growth.
• Coordinate classroom activities, support faculty, and facilitate workshops.
• Coach owners in constructing and presenting growth pitches.

Skills

Strong communication

Financial forecasting

Team collaboration

MS Office proficiency

Adaptability to tools

Education

Bachelor's degree in business/entrepreneurship

Minimum 3 years business advising experience

Tools

Basecamp

Canvas

Salesforce

Zoom

Microsoft Office

Job description

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Business Advisor supports designated groups of 5-7 business owners as they complete the main 10KSB deliverables: a written growth plan and growth pitch. A Business Advisor typically oversees 2 groups of business owners.

The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program is part of a national investment by the Goldman Sachs Foundation to unlock the growth and job creation potential of small businesses and is based on the broadly held view of leading experts that a combination of education, business support services, and access to capital best addresses the barriers to growth for small businesses. The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program is comprised of three main components: business education, business support services (technical assistance and customized, one-on-one business advising) and the opportunity to access capital. The ultimate goal of the initiative is for the participating business owners to increase their revenues and create jobs in their community and surrounding areas.

Babson College is the national education partner for 10,000 Small Businesses. Babson College created the program curriculum and oversees training and program delivery at community college partner sites across the country.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Advising and Curriculum Support:

• Meets with each business owner on an individual basis approximately 8-10 times to guide business growth and completion of the Growth Plan.
• Connects business owners to external Business Support Services (local entrepreneurship ecosystem) as needed for specialty services.
• Works with business owners to collect, understand, and apply business metrics to support growth.
• Assists within the classroom (in-person and on-line) to coordinate group activities and support faculty.
• Helps business owners apply course content to their businesses.
• Participates in bi-weekly team meetings that focus on the business owner support system to identify business owners needs and brainstorm how to meet those needs using the broader delivery team network.
• Attends all modules, clinics and program events to support business owner learning.
• Facilitates workshops for business owners around financial forecasting, growth plan completion, etc.
• Utilizes course technologies: Liveplan, Canvas, Basecamp, and Salesforce;
• Ensures business owners complete Baseline and Graduation diagnostics with 100% validation.
• Participates in assessment of curriculum sessions through post session debriefings.
• Ability to coach business owners in the construction and presentation of their growth pitch.
• Assists with recruiting and interviewing program applicants on an as needed basis.
• Communicates with alumni on an as needed basis to facilitate completion of post-program surveys.
• Participates in regular national BA calls to get updates, exchange best practices, discuss new challenges, etc.
• Networks with local and regional business support services to enhance local entrepreneurship ecosystem, be able to direct business owners their way, and to advance program recruitment.
• Engages in business owner alumni program events as needed.
• Assume additional responsibilities as required.

WHAT EDUCATION AND SKILLS YOU WILL NEED

• Bachelor's degree, preferably in business, entrepreneurship, sales, or related field.
• A minimum of three years successful experience in business advising for a small business clientele.
• Strong understanding of financial forecasting and construction of small business financial statements.
• Proven ability to work in a diverse team environment and manage multiple tasks efficiently and effectively.
• Ability to recruit, select, train, oversee, and develop Faculty and Business Advisors.
• Strong spoken and written communication skills.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule.
• High personal and professional ethical standards.
• Ability to engage business owners in small group interactions.
• Proficiency with MS Office tools (WORD, PowerPoint, Excel, e.g.) and a willingness to learn new tools (e.g., Basecamp, Canvas, LivePlan, Salesforce, Zoom, etc.).
• Ability to give feedback in a positive and constructive manner.
• Envisions and proposes new methods to perform tasks that support ET&A; takes thoughtful risks; and accepts new and ongoing initiatives, objectives, and solutions to gain sought-after results.
• Anticipates and embraces change; demonstrates willingness to achieve, acquire, and utilize new skills and challenging tasks; and is flexible in changing conditions.

HOW AND WHERE YOU WILL WORK

• This is a part-time temporary position working 20 hours.

ADDITIONAL SKILLS YOU MAY HAVE

• Advanced degree preferred.

This is a non-exempt position with an hourly rate of $60.00. This position includes paid sick leave where required by law. Eligibility, accrual, and usage will follow applicable state and local regulations.

All questions or concerns about this posting should be directed to the Office of Human Resources at [e-mail].

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