DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Within the larger scope of formal and informal learning of the Programs & Services Department’s (PSD) Adult Learning division, the Entrepreneurship Counselor provides entrepreneurship programming and services for customers of Queens Public Library’s Job & Business Academy. The Entrepreneurship Counselor also supports grant-funded projects. The selected candidate will guide entrepreneurs and small business owners in setting and meeting measurable goals and milestones. The candidate will also provide workshop instruction, individual counseling and consulting on financial management, business planning, capital formation, marketing, human resources, and essential elements to growing a successful business including, but not limited to, food service establishments. The Entrepreneurship Counselor is expected to work evenings and weekends as required to serve entrepreneurs and business owners.

  • Provides training and individual consultations to participants to build their businesses.
  • Builds participants’ knowledge, skills and abilities to become successful entrepreneurs.
  • Conducts one-on-one business coaching sessions with each participant to identify individual needs and offer tailored support.  
  • Manages multiple external business relationships to make sure all participants are receiving the most up to date industry information.
  • Conducts group meetings to ensure each participant is learning via a peer-to-peer network to assist each other and hold each other accountable with support and a framework for achieving goals.
  • Helps participants to think and act more creatively to achieve success.
  • Willing to challenge participants and help honor commitments necessary to succeed.
  • Plans and implements classroom training, electronic learning and hands on labs.
  • Implements small business workshops including, start up, finance, marketing, budget management and soft skills.
  • Develops and implements exercises/tests to evaluate participants’ knowledge of the material presented.
  • Creates or assists in the creation of a methodology to ensure priorities and achievements are met on a day-to-day basis.
  • Maintains relationships with partners, subject matter experts and city agencies to make sure participants are connected with necessary extended support.
  • Supports participants by providing training and/or consultation to help them achieve high levels of performance in: business paperwork/administration, time management, and financial management including budgeting and bookkeeping, and sustainability.
  • Develops toolkits and resource guides.
  • Under the supervision of the JBA Entrepreneurship Manager, coordinates program logistics at all locations including: booking rooms, coordinating presenters and program contracts, requesting marketing and promotion.
  • Collects individual participant demographics.
  • Assists participants in creating and regularly updating their business services plan (BSP) that identifies short, mid and long-term goals.
  • Tracks individual participant counseling, workshop attendance and participation in other internal and external activities and services based on their BSP.
  • Tracks individual participants’ goal achievement and outcomes.
  • Assists in the development and implementation of tools to measure the impact of the programming.
  • Prepares regular reports according to specifications as directed by the Director of Adult Learning, the Assistant Director of JBA and the JBA Entrepreneurship Manager.
  • Under the supervision of the JBA Entrepreneurship Manager, participates in outreach activities with special attention paid to continuously developing and improving partnerships with external organizations, which provide support and continuation of services to participants including, but not limited to, advanced business development services and online tools.
  • Performs other duties as assigned.

The schedule for this position will include evenings and weekends.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Marketing, Finance or related field required.
  • Two (2) or more years of experience in small business development required. Experience with small businesses in NYC highly desirable.
  • Experience in building strong relationships with external organizations.
  • Experience in developing and delivering instructor-led and interactive workshops is required.
  • Position requires an independent self-starter with excellent interpersonal skills and an in-depth understanding of most if not all of the following: business planning, capital formation, marketing, workforce development, finance/financial management and essential elements to growing a successful business across a variety of industries.
  • Experience in MS Office Suite software (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint). Excellent presentation skills.
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills; good networking and team building skills. Basic knowledge and experience serving a diverse population. Strong organization and administrative skills including experience with tracking program attendance and preparing reports.

ABOUT QUEENS PUBLIC LIBRARY:

Queens Public Library is a national and international leader in the delivery of public library service.  Our mission is to transform lives by cultivating personal and intellectual growth and by building strong communities. Queens Public Library welcomes innovators and leaders to contribute to a long history and dynamic future of serving the most diverse county in the United States. Queens Public Library is a private, non-profit corporation with 1,700 employees serving 65 locations.

TO APPLY:  Please email your resume and cover letter to: Employment@queenslibrary.org  and reference “Entrepreneurship Counselor - QLWEB” in the subject line. Resumes will only be accepted by email. 

Starting annual salary range is $43,000 - $53,000.

The Queens Public Library is an Equal Opportunity Employer.