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Director of Business Support Services

Company: Mountain Association

Locations: Berea, KY; Prestonsburg, KY; Hazard, KY

Job Function: Other

Background

The Mountain Association is a nonprofit, established in 1976, that invests in people and places in order to build to a new economy in Eastern Kentucky.

We serve this mission in a number of ways. Our Lending team offers loans to existing and startup businesses and organizations. Because we are a Community Development Financial Institution and a nonprofit, we can offer greater flexibility and lend to those who may not otherwise qualify. Unlike most traditional lenders, we offer flexible payment schedules and a variety of other services.

Our Business Support program connects business owners and nonprofit leaders to consultants who can help them succeed – from website development to social media marketing, and more.

Our Energy experts help businesses, organizations and public agencies find much-needed cost savings. We do this through utility bill analysis, on-site energy efficiency and solar assessments, grant application support, and financing.

We also engage in research, communications and advocacy for policy and narrative change, and work with partners on a variety of projects to demonstrate what’s possible in Eastern Kentucky.

Summary

The Director of Business Support Services leads a staff team and manages the day-to-day administrative, operational, and business support program functions for Mountain Association. The Director develops and implements business technical assistance services, partnering with directors of other Mountain Association programs to coordinate appropriate services across program areas. The Director creates, maintains, and oversees project delivery systems, engaging a highly collaborative staff team. The Director aligns program functions with Mountain Association’s mission and strategic goals while supporting compliance.

Responsibilities

Essential Functions:

1. Oversee Service Management and Administration

  • Maintain and manage a pool of support partners (consultants, contractors, nonprofit organizations) across Eastern Kentucky with skills and experience to support businesses, nonprofits, communities, and local governments with an emphasis on meeting the needs of low-income communities and business owners.  

  • Manage consultant relationships, including addressing performance issues.  

  • Working with the staff team, review and approve/decline scopes of work and consultant invoices for Business Support Services.   

  • Provide project management oversight for key consulting services, strategies, and tools for business support.  

  • Evaluate programs, conducting routine assessment and continuous improvement for meeting measurable objectives of serving businesses, nonprofits, communities, and local governments, particularly for clients that are considered low-income or underserved.   

  • Plan and monitor program budgets.  

2. Provide Program Leadership & Supervision

  • Provide leadership to the Business Support Services staff, ensuring a cohesive and effective team that provides impactful services to clients.   

  • Supervise staff in their daily work with for-profit and nonprofit clients, including providing coaching on consulting projects and training programs, managing team procedures, conducting performance assessments, and supporting staff learning plans to develop job-related skills.  

  • Collaborate with other Mountain Association program directors (Lending, Energy, Strategic Initiatives) to encourage cross-program client support.   

  • Collaborate with administrative teams including Finance and Operations staff to ensure budgetary solvency and compliance with pertinent regulations and the Development Team to produce grant proposals and reports.  

  • Working with Communications staff, serve as a public-facing representative of Mountain Association’s Business Support Services work with audiences that include clients, Community Development Financial Institutions field practitioners, funders, and other stakeholders.   

  • Maintain situational awareness of issues impacting the business ecosystem in Mountain Association’s service area.  

3. Develop Responsive Trainings & Resources

  • Work with the Business Support team members to design, implement, and assess pilot technical assistance projects, approaches and resource development using Mountain Association’s change management process.   

  • Develop and maintain an updated library of key support resources, platforms, and tools for traditional small businesses and nonprofits.   

  • Collaboratively design training and workshops and supervise implementation by staff team members.  

  • Lead Business Support Services on special projects, such as response to emergencies and disaster recovery within Mountain Association’s mission.  

  • Develop new relationships and networks to strengthen the work of supporting small businesses and nonprofit organizations in underserved areas of Eastern Kentucky. 

4. Other / General

  • Member of Mountain Association’s Leadership Council 

  • Engage with Mountain Association’s journey to ensure a welcoming atmosphere for clients and coworkers. 

  • Participates in Mountain Association programs and training programs as required. 

  • Performs all other duties, as assigned. 

  • Practices safety in all aspects of the job. 

  • Participates in the strategic planning process and implements the plan as it relates to this role.  

  • Provides courteous, professional services to clients and presents a positive image of Mountain Association. 

Requirements

Manage others:  

Recruit and interview individuals who will make a positive impact on the organization. Effectively perform all supervisory functions of hiring, coaching, training, disciplining, and terminating, according to Mountain Association policies. Hold employees accountable for meeting their goals and assignments and take appropriate steps when problems occur. Similarly, hold consultants accountable for performance related to defined scopes of work and take appropriate steps when problems occur.

Critical Skills: 

Confidentiality and professional discretion.  Able to manage workload including ability to understand, follow, and meet schedules; ability to prioritize, organize tasks and time, and follow up; and perform responsibilities efficiently and timely and within budget constraints. Project and client management. Able to juggle multiple requests and meet multiple deadlines and can direct and monitor others to ensure goals and deadlines are met. Performs responsibilities efficiently and timely. Experience with Salesforce or similar CRM and ability to lead integration of such database programs. Takes initiative and needs little supervision. Proactive in anticipating and alerting others to problems with projects or processes. Able to collaborate effectively with other staff on resolving programmatic issues. High detail orientation and accuracy. Can thoroughly and accurately complete forms and other documents. Comprehensive understanding of state and federal regulations regarding compliance as it applies to the position. Can effectively communicate with a variety of individuals with diverse backgrounds, education, and economic levels and roles both with external and internal others. Able to communicate effectively and professionally in person, during online meetings, over the telephone, and through email. Able to work well in a team environment and as part of a team. Must be able to work proficiently with computers and other office equipment.

Work is primarily in an office environment (at home or a Mountain Association office) with office equipment, sitting or standing for long periods of time.

Occasional travel in and out of the service region will be required.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree; experience can substitute for education.

  • Six years of related experience is required; of the six years of experience, at least three years of those must include demonstrated supervisory experience of full-time employees.

  • Experience and demonstrated leadership in one of the following or a related field: social enterprise work; nonprofit or for-profit management; enterprise development; organizational development; technical assistance provision; sustainable development; community development is preferred.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $71,593 – $93,071.

Benefits outlined here: https://mtassociation.org/careers/

How to Apply

Apply here: https://mtassociation.org/careers/