Business Counselor

IRC Seattle’s Economic Empowerment Department supports refugees and immigrants in securing entry-level employment, developing career pathways, learning basic financial management skills, and starting small businesses. Under the supervision of the Economic Empowerment Senior Program Coordinator, the Microenterprise Business Counselor will support the development of IRC Seattle’s new Microenterprise Program, modeled after the success of a proven microenterprise model used by other IRC field offices and supported by IRC’s headquarters-based Technical Advisors. The Microenterprise Business Counselor will support refugee and immigrant entrepreneurs with individualized one-on-one technical assistance, access to financing, and linguistically and culturally accessible trainings and workshops that target their specific needs.

Major Responsibilities:

•Assist in outreach to and recruitment of program participants; screen and assess interested King County residents for program eligibility and participation

•Provide one-on-one business counseling and management assistance to new and existing King County resident-owned-businesses in all areas of business start-up and expansion

•Assist entrepreneurs to become ready for business financing through preparation of loan applications, business plans, and financial statements

•Underwrite and package loan applications, and present for review to the IRC’s Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), the Center for Economic Opportunity

•Conduct individual case management and provide loan repayment support, including technical assistance visits to the businesses of program participants

•Proactively facilitate referrals to outside service providers as necessary to meet the diverse needs of the program participants

•Ensure that information required for program eligibility and reporting purposes is collected and that accurate records are maintained, including case files and client data entry across multiple data bases

•Ensure necessary steps are taken to obtain relevant data in a timely fashion; follow-up with all clients regularly and record all contacts with case notes

•Attend regularly scheduled meetings with other IRC staff and volunteers as part of the review, evaluation and program maintenance process

•Assist in the planning and coordination of training activities and special events

•Other duties as assigned

Job Requirements:

•Undergraduate degree or equivalent experience in a related field

•2 years’ experience in microenterprise development or operation of a small business

•Knowledge of and experience with a broad array of business topics and processes, including but not limited to marketing, management, financing, licensing, and overall operations

•Experience supporting entrepreneurs and new businesses from inception

•The ability to troubleshoot and resolve business issues to promote opportunities

•Able to help clients integrate U.S. business requirements and customs into their business culture

•Experience with immigrant entrepreneurs preferred

•Familiarity with business software and technologies, especially low-cost online marketing strategies

•Excellent organizational skills

•Strong written and verbal communication skills, including ability to make presentations

•Ability to work independently, be a self-starter and maintain responsibility for multiple tasks

•Ability to work as part of a team

•Fluency in English and an additional language relevant to current populations served preferred (particularly Swahili, Farsi, Dari, Urdu, French, Ukrainian, Tigrinya, Somali, Burmese, or Arabic)

Working Environment:

•Standard, professional office environment (currently remote)

•Regular travel to off-site locations like client businesses required

•Offices hours are scheduled as Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm (some flexibility possible); occasional work after hours

•Access to reliable transportation to travel regularly throughout the service delivery area