West Coast Community Engagement Manager (Bilingual)

About the role:

In this role, you will build and manage a large portfolio of local, regional, and national partnerships with community organizations and key partners as well as collaborate with the Community Engagement team and other internal teams to develop creative outreach strategies to reach our target communities You will be both an ambassador for Start Small Think Big as well as a guide to support driving new clients into our organization. Additionally, you will serve as an internal champion for your partners by centering the needs of the communities you engage with inside Start Small Think Big, collaborating closely with both our Client Relationship and Programs Teams.

The successful candidate needs strong interpersonal skills, a commitment to inclusive community development, and an understanding of how community trust works. The Community Engagement Manager is the first contact that communities will have with the organization and this is a great opportunity for those who have previously worked in community organizing.

What you'll do:

1. Build and grow community partnerships to improve and expand access to Start Small Think Big services for marginalized small businesses. You will identify and nurture relationships with community partners that provide referrals for our three tiers of services, collaborate with us on programmatic initiatives, and help expand our reach and accessibility, with an added focus on accessibility for Spanish-speaking communities. In collaboration with the rest of the Community Engagement team, you will develop online and offline strategies and initiatives that help initiate and deepen our presence in target communities. It will be imperative that you can build trust in communities to ensure that we are attracting and supporting clients and align our goals with potential partners. You will manage a portfolio of community partners, identifying opportunities for collaboration and growth, be asked to plan, host, and represent Start Small Think Big as an ambassador at community partner events (both digital and in-person when safe to do so) to market our services and connect with other organizations. Organizations include community partners, government agencies and policymakers, chambers of commerce, business organizations, and others. 

2. Collaborate with internal teams to enhance our marketing & communications efforts and translate community needs into compelling programming. You will serve as a direct link between our community partners and our Business Development, Marketing, and Communications teams to share insights from partners, clients, and communities to help inform our strategies and initiatives across these areas. In conjunction with partners, you will connect with our Program teams to inform content, structure, and formats that increase our ability to connect with diverse communities of entrepreneurs and drive meaningful outcomes for our clients, our partners, and the organization. This role will be at the forefront of improving our accessibility to diverse communities, and you will translate this into actionable insights and strategies for programs, communication, and client services. 

3. Improve client experience and engagement with our services. You will serve as the internal champion for your partners and their clients, helping to ensure that your partner’s clients are successfully onboarded into Start Small Think Big’s services, manage workshops, and other partnership-related events, including providing interpretation and other language-related support as needed. This will also include collaborating with the Client Relationship team and Programs teams to support efforts to improve our client journey, our service offerings, and our programming, with an eye to deepening our accessibility and impact for the communities we serve. This work is even more critical as we navigate both virtual (online) and in-person (offline) services and continue towards increasing accessibility for our clients. 

4. Support Start Small Think Big expansion into new cities and regions. Our Community Engagement team will be asked to support expansion efforts as Start Small Think Big continues to support small business owners nationwide. As we look to deepen our ties in new cities or regions, the Community Engagement Manager will be asked to help open opportunities in these new markets by prospecting new potential partnerships and clients and participating in community events to market the organization. You will be asked to research new institutions, organizations, and their goals and determine how these align with our goals, and prioritize key relationships. 

About you:

• College degree and/or 3-5 years of demonstrated experience in community organizing, community development, and/or program service roles with a focus on communities of color, immigrants, and underrepresented communities. 
• The ability to communicate clearly and confidently in Spanish is required.
• The ideal candidate has demonstrated experience working in multi-racial, multi-generational, and multi-class settings. 
• You have excellent interpersonal skills, and can comfortably communicate with diverse stakeholders, maintaining a client-centered approach. You have demonstrated experience managing relationships and systems/coalition building. 
• You are a deft communicator, both written and verbal. You can guide, educate, question, write, and edit with grace and curiosity. 
• A demonstrated understanding of the role of structural racism and other biases in our society and a strong commitment to address these impacts within the context of this role.
• Entrepreneurial acumen and drive, ability to see and respond to opportunities to strengthen and/or course correct against program plans, and improve outcomes and impact. 
• Demonstrated ability to research institutional goals and interests and determine how these align with our goals. 
• Comfortable speaking and presenting in front of large and small groups. 
• You have a demonstrated commitment to inclusive community/economic development, social and economic justice work, and/or anti-racist work. 
• Willingness to innovate, adapt, solve problems creatively, and drive new approaches to work is strongly encouraged. 
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team and manage a large workload. 
• You are highly organized and possess excellent time management skills; you are able to meet deadlines and juggle multiple tasks at once in a fast-paced environment.
• You are highly computer proficient. Experience with Salesforce and/or other CRM platforms is strongly preferred. Comfortable with project management software, communication software, and demonstrated ability to adapt to new technology tools and processes.
• Experience communicating complex concepts (technical, financial, legal, etc) to non-technical/expert audiences.