United States: Childcare Business Counselor

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is at work in over 40 countries and 24 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities.

The IRC’s Center for Financial Opportunity (CFO) helps newly arrived refugees and other low-income individuals reach self-sufficiency by finding entry-level employment and progress to living wage jobs, learn basic financial management skills and build assets, and start small businesses. The IRC's Center of Financial Opportunity hosts a Small Business Development Center, the IRC SBDC, helping small business owners and entrepreneurs prosper by delivering in-language and no-cost business assistance. The small business development team offer loans and technical assistance to help CDBG, ORR, and SBDC eligible San Diego County residents start or grow a small business.

Job Overview:

The Childcare Business Counselor will support the continued development of the IRC Small Business Development Program with a strong focus on supporting the development and expansion of childcare businesses. As the Childcare Business Counselor within the IRC SBDC, this position will provide business advising on several topics including but not limited to start-up assistance, financial literacy, marketing, expansion, and accessing capital.

Major Responsibilities:

• Assist in the outreach and recruitment of program participants; screen and assess interested County of San Diego residents for program eligibility and participation.
• Connect with ECBOs and provide assistance with coordination of technical assistance and trainings, data collection, and other administrative tasks as needed.
• Lead training programs on a variety of topics including family childcare businesses, marketing, financial literacy, starting a business, best business practices, etc.
• 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;
• Provide one-on-one business counseling and management assistance to new and existing San Diego county residents 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 up to $10,000 loan applications, and present for review to the IRC’s CDFI.
• Proactively facilitate referrals to outside service providers as necessary to meet the diverse needs of the program participants;
• Assist participants accessing COVID 19 related funding such as grants and loans
• Assist in the planning and coordination of training activities and special events;
• Develop outreach materials and assist with communication to partners
• Attend regularly scheduled meetings with other IRC staff and volunteers as part of the review, evaluation, and program maintenance process.
• Other duties as assigned.
• Provide one-on-one technical assistance to eligible clients in obtaining the State of California family childcare license and in starting a licensed family childcare business;
• Data entry in Neoserra and ETO, as necessary, to log key outcomes such as milestones, scope of work, surveys, etc.
• Conduct individual case management and loan collections, including "off-site" technical assistance visits to the businesses or homes of program participants;
• Proactively facilitate referrals to outside service providers as necessary to meet the diverse needs of the program participants;

Job Requirements:

• Excellent computer skills, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and the ability to learn the custom computer programs used for the SBDC
• Experience with CRMs such as Salesforce, ETO, Neoserra preferred
• Familiar with assessing childcare business training needs and analyzing business-related materials, including financial reports, business and marketing plans as well as conduct market research.
• Undergraduate degree in Business Administration, Finances, Public Administration, or related field. Childcare business experience in lieu of formal business education is acceptable.
• 2+ years of experience in small business development counseling and training. Experience operating a small business in lieu of small business development counseling and training may be acceptable.
• Prior experience working with immigrant and refugee childcare entrepreneurs is strongly desired; experience in the non-profit sector strongly preferred.
• Excellent organizational, record keeping, and analytical skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills;
• Proven ability to conduct affective instructional sessions to colleagues and entrepreneurs;
• Proficiency in refugee or immigrant language and English required; Proficiency in Pashto or Swahili strongly preferred;
• Ability to work independently, be a self-starter and maintain responsibility for multiple tasks.

Working Environment***:***

• Standard office environment, including the current hybrid mode of remote work within San Diego County and required in-office days, and some ‘field’ time within the service delivery area to perform the above outlined responsibilities. Office working environment is subject to change based on organization/business need.
• May require occasional weekend and/or evening work.
• Offices hours are scheduled as Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm.
• Access to a reliable vehicle to travel throughout the service delivery area with a valid driver's license and current insurance required.

Compensation: Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity: IRC is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of inclusivity. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Professional Standards: The IRC and IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days (depending on role and tenure), medical insurance starting at $145 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus a 3-7% base IRC contribution (3 year vesting), disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

How to Apply: 

Please apply on IRCs website: https://rescue.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/1/home/requisition/46297?c=rescue