Next Street’s mission is to help small businesses facing disproportionate barriers realize their potential. With a track record of nearly 20 years, we design and implement solutions that connect entrepreneurs and small business owners with the right resources at the right time. Next Street accelerates the impact of institutions and advisors on small businesses and provides millions of business owners with the experts, tools, and capital they need to thrive.

We have an extensive network of small business advocates, operators, and investors. We know when small businesses excel, their neighborhoods, cities and our economy do, too.

Next Street is committed to becoming an anti- racist organization in order to represent the small businesses that we strive to serve. Through this commitment, inclusivity is part of our DNA. We are happy to celebrate that with 80% of our team identifying as women and/or people of color, we are well on our way.

Learn more here: https://nextstreet.com/racial-equity/.

Next Street is a special place to work. Our values are instilled in every aspect of our work:

• We work to challenge systems of injustice through our anti-racist ways of working
• We bring our whole selves to work and strive to create authentic joy everyday 
• We utilize creativity and curiosity to put bias towards action in our work
• We are interwoven and empower each other through collaboration and established trust
• We encourage entrepreneurship and always put small business first, both internally and externally
• We grow sustainably and encourage learning through career and professional development

Join us and live out our values every day, while leveling-up your career and helping us to have a transformative impact on the society in which we live.

Why this Role?

Next Street is seeking a dynamic and entrepreneurial leader to serve as the Center Director (CD) of Next Street’s NYC Business Solutions, Lower Manhattan Center. This is an exciting opportunity for a strategic leader to develop and execute the Center’s service delivery strategy, drive business development, oversee ongoing operations, and develop the team. The CD will also cultivate and manage key Center partnerships while providing ongoing leadership, vision, and support for Center staff to develop and grow the impact of the services they deliver.

The Center Director will be responsible for leading the Center towards its goal of providing high-quality services to assist small businesses in lower Manhattan to start, operate, and expand. The CD will have a strategic mindset to help create sustainable solutions for small businesses. Reporting into Next Street’s Senior Director of Small Business Advising, the Center Director. Join us and play a key role building the best in class ONE team, NYC Business Solutions Centers.

Your work will consist of…

Management & Operations (60%)

• Partner with the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) to ensure delivery of all services to businesses, while ensuring goals set by the SBS and Next Street leadership team are regularly met and exceeded by the Center
• Have a deep understanding of service lines and business resources available for entrepreneurs
• Serve as primary thought leader in Center strategies, ensuring the needs of entrepreneurs are met
• Lead development of program impact reports for clients, funders, and other key stakeholders
• Own special initiatives to ensure team efficiency and goal achievement (e.g., new grant programs, new curriculum, volunteerism, recruitment); ensure team achieves all annual service goals
• Lead hiring efforts to bring on passionate, mission driven, and high performing staff members dedicated to serving the needs of local businesses
• Train, manage, and coach team members to achieve their individual service line goals and to ensure that the Center provides high-quality support and customer care
• Develop team initiatives and strategies to deepen impact and improve service delivery methods
• Manage all Center leads and the SBS Customer Resource Management system
• Provide budget oversight and monitoring
• Review and monitor invoices that come to the Center from various stakeholders
• Occasionally Present on topics around Small Business Finance and SBS Services to several stakeholders
• Comfortable managing multiple office tools like and not limited to ( CRM, SendPulse, Dynamics, Adobe, Passport)

Marketing & Stakeholder Development (20%)

• Lead the design and strategic approach for maintaining, building, and expanding partnership relationships
• Serve as the face of the Lower Manhattan Center in relevant stakeholder engagements, discussions, etc.
• Manage the client relationship between the Lower Manhattan Center and the Small Business Services to ensure a strong partnership.
• Plan and develop small business recruitment/business development strategies for team implementation, increasing client pipeline and leads across all service lines
• Support Center marketing efforts to ensure small business engagement and lead generation

Firmwide (20%)

• Collaborate across Next Street and SB Advising teams to ensure our client’s strategic, financial, and organizational needs are met and learnings are shared
• Participate and contribute to thought leadership across varying disciplines
• Provide support, as needed, to business development opportunities
• Use a relationship driven approach to cultivate connections with high potential, scaling clients
• Other tasks as needed

Why you?

• You have 3+ years of work experience with entrepreneurs and small business owners and a deep understanding of and connections to the NYC small business economic development arena
• You have 6+ years of team management, with demonstrated thought and client leadership
• You have a desire to build the strategy and vision for a team and to take entrepreneurial initiative
• You have a commitment to develop your personal leadership style, in addition to cultivating your ability to lead others and shape an organization 
• You have a proven ability to effectively manage multiple priorities across various projects and teams
• You can identify and cultivate business development opportunities within client interactions
• You have superb writing and presentation skills and a communicative presence with clients
• You have a desire to continuously learn through work across industries, client segments, and communities of practice
• You have a willingness to challenge and be challenged, regardless of seniority

What we offer:

We want our team members to bring their best, true selves to work every day. We will offer you:

• Benefits Package – We know you work hard, and we want to reward you for it. We offer competitive salaries and generous benefits packages (including 401k and paid parental leave) for mission-driven work.
• Generous paid time off – We want to ensure you have time to recharge and to pursue your many passions. We give our team members 20 days of paid time off per year, inclusive federal holidays, volunteer days and more!
• Mentorship and Sponsorship – You will have frequent access to our diverse and dynamic senior team. They will be committed to your growth and will invest in mentoring you.
• Career development – We take growth seriously. We give each team member an annual professional development stipend and provide ample coaching.
• Flexibility – It is important that you work when and where you work best. We are flexible with employees to accommodate individual schedules and work preferences. This includes a low travel mode during non-pandemic times.
• Social events and perks – We admire and value our teammates. We plan events throughout the year and provide office snacks so you can perform your best every day and more!

Next Street believes in an equitable and transparent compensation approach. The starting salary range for Center Director positions across the firm is $134,800 – $146,900 regardless of location and commensurate with experience. You will also be eligible to participate in Next Street’s discretionary incentive program annually. For new hires, Next Street targets the start of the salary band, although considerations could be made based on job knowledge, skills, and experience. As part of our Antiracism commitment, Next Street uses a pay scale approach and transparent methodology to advance staff within a compensation band based on performance. Next Street does not negotiate compensation offers, as research shows that salary negotiations disadvantage People of Color and women.

Next Street is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, disability, or Vietnam era, or other eligible veteran status, or any other protected factor.