Program Coordinator

Location: Boston, Massachusetts – serving eastern Massachusetts

The Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE) is an economic empowerment nonprofit founded in Boston in 1995 to lift up the women who lift up the world. CWE is home to the largest cluster of Women’s Business Centers in the country, covering Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) are funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration. At CWE, we believe that when women thrive economically, families and communities also thrive, creating a more equitable and inclusive economy. To that end, CWE offers business services - training, individual business counseling, and community connections - that help women start and grow their businesses.

In addition to the Women’s Business Centers, CWE operates the Veterans Business Outreach Center of New England (VBOC of NE) and is a Regional Partner Organization of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

Over 50% of CWE’s service footprint is focused on low-income communities in urban and rural areas whose access to such services have historically been extremely limited. While our focus is on serving the needs of those who identify as women, we serve all genders. CWE is also home to the Veterans Business Outreach Center of New England and is a regional certifier for the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.

In 2021 alone, we trained and counseled 11,796 people across all our centers. We helped entrepreneurs create and/or nurture over 2,330 jobs, and helped entrepreneurs generate over $107 million in wages.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

In our next chapter, CWE is committed to being New England’s most trusted and impactful resource for women entrepreneurs. As the Client Experience Coordinator, you will be the first and most frequent point of contact for our clients, conducting intake and referring them to the CWE programs and resources that fit their needs. This position supports all operations of the Eastern Massachusetts WBC and is critical to its success.

As the coordinator, you will be focused on client relationships and ensuring a meaningful experience for the women we serve, throughout their journey. You will work with the Director in the areas of client management and administration, successful program development and delivery, and data entry. You will manage the office functions and ensures that programs and services are provided with excellence and consistency.

You will lead CWE Eastern Massachusetts outreach via such tools as social media and e-newsletters to engage new and existing clients. No day is the same, but they are all important to making sure aspiring and established entrepreneurs in Eastern Massachusetts have what they need to make informed decisions about their own definition of success.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Client Service

·      Listen to the needs of clients; triage and recommend appropriate supports

·      Maintain client relationships by following up with clients about their needs and progress, and informing them of upcoming programs

·      Help to schedule client consultations with staff and consultants

·      Ensure that client needs are met consistently and in a timely manner

Data Management & Reporting

·      Gather data on how clients are progressing and how we can continue to serve them. You will use this information to create testimonials to meaningfully report our work to our funders and the community.

·      Ensures quality reporting of client activity, including working with consultants to ensure documentation is submitted properly and in a timely manner

·      Manage Neoserra and EDMIS (Entrepreneurial Development Management Information System), our client data tools, to track and analyze activities and outcomes of programs

Plan & Support Programming

·      Provide program support – acting as the point person for the administration of classes

·      Work with your team to plan programs

Outreach and Marketing

·      Manage our outreach, through promotions and social media

Work with WBC Team & Partner Organizations

·      Regularly communicate with your WBC team and the broader program team within CWE regarding your findings from client conversations and programmatic strategy

·      Support the center’s relationship with U.S. Small Business Administration and assist with necessary reporting

Systems & Support

·      Recommend new systems to operate the CWE program more efficiently

·      Related duties as assigned

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

There are innumerable ways to learn, grow, and excel professionally. We know people gain skills through a variety of professional, personal, educational, and volunteer experiences. We respect this when we review applications and take a broad look at the experience of each applicant. This said, we are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you can demonstrate most of the qualifications and experiences listed below.

●       Previous experience working with a small business

●       Commitment to excellent customer service, ideally experience working in an office environment

●       Ability to balance multiple priorities and deliver on expectations

●       Familiarity with social media marketing and Constant Contact

●       Proficiency with software such as the Microsoft Office Suite and Zoom

●       Experience working with Customer Relationship Management tools (CRMs)

●       Passionate about maintaining and using data to tell effective stories and track impact

●       Committed to the success of all women and passionate about entrepreneurship

●       Excellent organizational, communication, writing, and decision-making skills         

●       Experienced in and committed to serving the needs of CWE’s diverse client base

●       Diplomatic, professional, and patient

●       Undergraduate degree, or at least two years of professional experience in a program support role

●       Commitment to success and high-quality service delivery

●       Independent and reliable

We strive to meet our clients where they are, which involves some evening and weekend hours. We prioritize self-care and encourage staff to work with their manager to set a schedule that works for the organization, for our clients and for the employees, within a 40-hour work week.

Each WBC serves a particular geographic region. Between you and your team, you will ensure that the region is served, which will include some travel within the region, when the health situation permits. Virtual engagements can take the place of in-person events where appropriate.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

The salary range for this position is $45,000 to $54,999, plus benefits. Benefits include mileage reimbursement, bereavement leave, health and dental insurance (CWE contributes a percentage to health and dental cost), family leave, life insurance (CWE pays 100% of the cost), paid holidays, jury duty leave, and vacation benefits. At CWE, we are proud to offer employees the ability to work with their managers to create a flexible schedule that suits clients, staff, and our organization. Additionally, we have implemented a flex time policy of 4 hours/week to provide employees with the additional support needed during this complicated time. This position is classified as full-time, and exempt.

COVID-19 POLICIES: 

We are currently allowing employees to work remotely, in response to the pandemic. Our office space is available to employees if they choose to use it, provided they follow all CDC-recommended safety procedures. We offer each employee a laptop to facilitate working from home. We will resume in-person operations when it is safe to do so and will communicate with our employees as we learn more about the timeline for resumption of in-person work. Our decisions will be informed based on the latest guidance from health officials, and from the Small Business Administration.

CWE continues to adapt to safety protocols related to COVID-19 as we understand them and as required by all state and federal agencies. For the safety of the community and our staff, we require all employees to be fully vaccinated (including booster) against COVID-19. Proof of vaccination or exemption for medical/religious reasons will be collected during the onboarding process. 

HOW TO APPLY:

To apply to this position, please submit your resume and cover letter to Samilys Rodriguez, srodriguez@cweonline.org.

TIMELINE AND HIRING PROCESS:

We will review and respond to all applications received. While subject to change, candidates elected to advance throughout the process can expect to interview with the Director of CWE Eastern MA, and for finalists, an interview day with the Eastern MA team and VP of Program Operations. Expected start date is spring 2022.

The Center for Women & Enterprise celebrates diversity and equal opportunity. We are committed to intentional actions and relationships that sustainably advance the IDEAS framework: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access, and Social Justice. These principles inform our hiring practices and our company culture. More information is available on our website.