Bilingual Business and Contractor Specialist, Empowerment Group

Posted by on May 12, 2006

[emailed 5/11/2006]

BILINGUAL BUSINESS & CONTRACTOR SPECIALIST

The Empowerment Group is a non-profit organization based in North Philadelphia. The organization?s mission is to accelerate economic growth in distressed urban communities by cultivating local entrepreneurship. The Empowerment Group envisions successful businesses and empowered individuals sustaining and enriching their communities, thus building a stronger Philadelphia. The Empowerment Group seeks candidates with experience in Contracting for the position of Bilingual Business & Contractor Specialist under its Philadelphia Entrepreneurship Program (PEP). The Philadelphia Entrepreneurship Program will add to its curriculum a new Specialized Contractor Training Program tailored to emerging contracting businesses.

The PEP Bilingual Business & Contractor Specialist will develop a Contractor training curriculum for start-up and informal contractors wishing to formalize and expand their construction businesses. The curriculum will encompass all the specific skills needed to become a successful contractor, including: estimating, bidding, project management and job costing, crew management, financing, Minority Business Enterprise Council (MBEC) certification, and qualifications for larger jobs (such as with the City). The curriculum to be developed will be for approximately 50 ? 70 hours of class time. Candidates should have extensive experience and contacts in the contracting industry. In addition, experience with teaching and/or developing curricula is requested. This position will develop instructor lesson plans, student worksheets, related readings, dynamic games and activities and homework assignments, and compile a list of resources that should be provided to each adult student. The curriculum will be developed within the guidelines of Empowerment Group?s philosophy of teaching people through ?learning-by-doing?.

Position Title: PEP Bilingual Business and Contractor Specialist

Reports to: Philadelphia Entrepreneurship Program Director

Job description:
? Create a Needs Assessment Process for emerging contractors.
? Develop a comprehensive bilingual training curriculum for start-up and informal contractors.
? Instruct regular evening course for emerging contractors.
? Offer one-on-one consulting to all emerging contractors (on-site and off-site).
? Help businesses to acquire minority business status and to register with the Small Business Administration.
? Research resources that are available for Contractors and create a bank of easy-to-use printed materials.
? Organize workshops on topics that are pertinent to contractors.
? Establish a network of local contractors who are interested in partnering to work on larger jobs.
? Assist contractors in complying with legal and union requirements.
? Carry out regular evaluations of the progress of customer businesses.
? Collect and enter data on all client progress.
? Work in tandem with two other Business Specialists and PEP team to deliver results.
? Assist with recruitment and other Philadelphia Entrepreneurship Program duties as needed.

Requirements:
? Experience in General Contracting.
? Thorough knowledge of local Contractor licensing, bonding, insurance, bidding and estimating.
? Equivalent to a Bachelor?s degree in Business Administration.
? Fully proficient in Spanish and English (spoken and written).
? Experience working with the Philadelphia Latino community.
? A self-starter who is motivated, enthusiastic, flexible and enjoys taking on new projects; ability to multitask.
? Approaches work as a team-player, but also with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.
? Ability to motivate others and passionate about fighting poverty.

Desired qualifications:
? Experience in bidding for public contracts.
? Experience in teaching and lesson-planning.
? Experience running a business.
? Experience working in the non-profit sector or community economic development.

Please submit your resume and cover letter with salary history to: msantiago@empowerment-group.org. By fax to 215-427-0506, Attn: Myriam Santiago. Visit our website at: <a href="http://www.empowerment-group.org">http://www.empowerment-group.org</a>. The Empowerment Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer.