The Democracy at Work Institute seeks an experienced, self-directed, and collaborative person to join our dynamic national organization supporting the field of worker cooperative development. Starting from a strong foundation in business development, the Business Strategist will develop a deep technical expertise in the transition of traditional businesses to democratic employee ownership, providing high-quality technical assistance to companies and business support organizations. The Business Strategist will also engage in strategic outreach to educate and develop an ecosystem of support for business transitions.
Essential Duties
Training and Consulting
• Training and consulting to service providers, cooperative developers, small business support organizations, and prospective cooperative developers.
• Training and consulting to businesses at all stages of a conversion to worker ownership.
• To a lesser degree, deliver training and technical assistance to startup worker cooperatives.
Presentations and Outreach
• Build a pipeline for possible business conversions through strategic outreach to cooperative developers, economic development officials, small business support centers, business associations, and other stakeholder groups.
• Develop and deliver presentations to conferences and target partner organizations
Tools and Curriculum
• Work with cooperative development staff to support the creation of high-quality tools and training curricula for business conversions.
• Consult with staff on the development of tools to measure and communicate impact.
• Identify ongoing needs for additional tools and curricula and work with Institute staff to develop.
Ecosystem Development and Collaboration
• Build and maintain relationships with other organizations in the support ecosystem for worker cooperatives: business advisors, capital providers, government agencies, and technical assistance providers, etc.
• Participate in meetings, work groups, and projects of national and local collaboratives.
• Ensure the on-time completion of collaborative projects with partners.
• Help collect and maintain deliverables for reporting to funders and partners.
Qualifications
• Business development: Experience in business development, including feasibility studies, project
staging, capital planning and financial projecting is required.
• Client cultivation and management: Experience as a consultant or within a start-up building its clientele base and corporate persona is preferred, including pipeline development, client relationship building and roster management/referral.
• Worker cooperatives: Interest in worker cooperatives and other democratic employee ownership structures is required; experience with these business models is strongly preferred.
• Quick learner: Ability to learn difficult and complex concepts quickly, and be able to communicate those concepts clearly to a range of audiences.
• Communication and training: Excellent written and verbal communication skills are required, including presentation and training skills, and familiarity with popular education. Strong phone skills and ability to build relationships remotely are key to success in this position.
• Equity lens and cultural competency: You must be able to communicate with a broad range of people and institutions confidently and effectively, with a critical analysis of power, race, class and gender. You need to be able to see possibility and ask hard questions with respect and discretion.
• Bilingual: Candidates who speak both English and Spanish proficiently are strongly preferred.
• Self-management: Our staff is highly autonomous. You should be a self-starter, comfortable taking initiative, scoping projects, managing priorities and time, and holding yourself accountable to realistic goals, with the support of co-workers committed to your success.
Commitment: This is a full-time job, based in either our Oakland, CA or New York City offices. Monthly to quarterly travel is expected.
Compensation: Compensation depends on experience and will be commensurate with other positions in the field. The Democracy at Work Institute offers competitive compensation, full health benefits coverage, a generous time-off policy, and a highly participatory, mutually supportive workplace. We are committed to the personal and professional growth of all staff.
How to Apply:
• Applications are due August 11, 2015. The position is open until filled.
• Email a cover letter, indicating why you are interested in this specific position and what skills,
qualities and relationships you will bring to the organization, along with a resume to hiring@institute.usworker.coop. Include the subject line “Application for _____________ position.”
• If you are applying for multiple positions, send multiple emails.
• No phone or email inquiries.
About Democracy at Work Institute
The Democracy at Work Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit movement-based think-and-do tank that expands the promise of cooperative business ownership to communities most directly affected by social and economic inequality. We do research and advocacy; we develop tools and strategy; and we build cooperative development capacity to ensure that further growth in the worker cooperative movement is rooted in worker cooperatives themselves and reaches out to new communities of worker-owners, particularly low-income people, people of color and recent immigrants.
We come out of and retain close ties to the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives, the national grassroots membership organization. All Institute programs integrate USFWC member input and foreground the experience of worker cooperatives. Although our formal entity is new, we have long institutional history and relationships and a strong reputation for effectiveness. We are building a strategy for scaled, sustainable worker cooperative development that brings together a wide array of field actors around a shared purpose. We are currently a staff of seven people. Our annual budget is ~ $850,000 and growing.
About Being on Staff
• The Institute is a startup organization. All staffers are expected to help build organizational capacity, including strategizing around program development, developing documentation, supporting communications and fundraising, and taking professional development opportunities.
• We have the capacity and commitment to support remote staffing, with staff around the country. A certain amount of travel for all staffers will be expected and supported. Ability and willingness to learn the technological tools for remote working is also expected.
• We aim to build a multiracial and class-diverse staff that reflects the future of worker cooperatives. Women, people of color and others who may be underrepresented at senior levels of the nonprofit workforce are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Full-time staff are eligible for membership in the organization after 6 months of employment. Members are eligible to serve on the Board of Directors, and elect two Director seats.
• We offer competitive compensation, full health benefits coverage and a generous time-off policy.
• We strive for a highly participatory, mutually supportive workplace that creates excellent work and allows us to have fun doing it. We are committed to the personal and professional growth of all staff.
