Program Specialist, Black Entrepreneurs

About Futurpreneur Canada

Futurpreneur Canada has been fuelling the entrepreneurial passions of enterprising young Canadians since 1996. We’re the only national, non-profit organization that provides financing, mentorship and resources to aspiring business owners aged 18-39. More than 16,500 young Canadian entrepreneurs, spanning every province and territory, have successfully launched their business with Futurpreneur’s support. Their main street businesses help drive Canada’s inclusive economic prosperity in communities from coast to coast to coast.

Futurpreneur is a founding member of the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance, the Canadian member of Youth Business International, and the Canadian host of Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Our Purpose (why we exist): To drive inclusive Canadian prosperity by fostering the success of young enterprise.

Our Mission (what we do every day to achieve our purpose): To provide early-stage financing, mentorship and other resources to help diverse, aspiring entrepreneurs aged 18-39 launch successful businesses that contribute to sustainable economic development in their communities and for Canada.

Our Values (how we work – our core principles & commitments): We are mission-driven, collegial & collaborative, diverse & inclusive, and accountable & transparent.

Here’s the opportunity: Bilingual Program Specialist, Black Entrepreneurs

The bilingual Program Specialist, Black Entrepreneurs plans, coordinates, develops, and delivers Black-focused Futurpreneur programming, and proactively contributes to its continuous improvements. Reporting to the Director, Entrepreneurship Programs, this role requires frequent cross-departmental coordination, specifically working closely with the Black Entrepreneur Startup Program, Corporate Partnerships and Marketing / Communications, as well as liaising with other internal and external contributors to achieve programmatic goals.

Our Black Entrepreneur Startup Program (BESP) was created to address specific barriers faced by young Black entrepreneurs. After over one year of delivering this program, we intend to enhance access to resources by offering more support in business financial literacy and business planning. The objective is to develop and deliver specific programming to help our entrepreneurs build solid business plans and cash flow projections to take part in our process more seamlessly. In addition, we would like to offer continued support to the businesses we’ve helped launch. The goal is to give them as many tools as possible to be in a good position to access follow-on financing from Futurpreneur. We also want to facilitate networking opportunities for and between Black entrepreneurs all over Canada. To this end, this role will be focused on programming both for entrepreneurs who have yet to launch their businesses, as well as those who have recently launched.

This is a permanent, full-time position that can be located anywhere in Canada, though ideally in Montreal, Toronto or Edmonton. The incumbent will be working on our hybrid work model (minimum 2 days in the office). This role may require up to 20% travel. 

What you will do: 

Develop and deliver new Futurpreneur Programs/initiatives, with a focus on Black programming 75%

With insights from the market, BESP team members (Director, Business Development Managers, Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Client Relationship Managers), in collaboration with other members of the Entrepreneurship Programs team as well as entrepreneurs, develop the structure of Futurpreneur’s new Black Entrepreneur training programs with a focus on building solid foundations for one’s business, as well as scaling and building strong networks
Work with the Director, Entrepreneurship Programs and the Director of the Black Entrepreneurs Startup Program, to create and oversee the plan of new programs and initiatives including the identification of measurement and evaluation metrics
Deliver the new training programs for Black entrepreneurs with a network building component
Identify opportunities to partner with other Black-led and Black-focused organizations and programs complimentary to our offerings that our supported entrepreneurs could benefit from
Collaborate with Futurpreneur’s Programs teams to schedule events, coordinate production, manage timelines, monitor quality, and track attendance of the training programs developed
Engage with key stakeholders to identify and create tools and templates to facilitate operationalization of new programs and projects
Document findings and make recommendations for continuous improvement
Manage budgets and expenses, as required

General Program delivery support 25%

Coordinate, implement and report on the delivery of current Futurpreneur Canada programs/initiatives (e.g. webinars, bootcamps, in-person workshops for entrepreneurs)
Collect and review data to report on key performance measures, including impact measures and outcomes of ongoing programs
Support the collection and interpretation of user experience and client satisfaction metrics
Support the identification of gaps and make relevant recommendations to evolve and adapt existing offerings
Plan and coordinate implementation of improvements
Regularly assist in gathering information about competing programs, trends and best practices
Attend program-related events
Support Marketing & Communication team for program-related internal and external communications
Participate in team planning and brainstorming discussions
Support in gathering quantitative and qualitative data to validate new ideas
Support in documenting forward-looking roadmaps of all programs

What you bring:

Relevant experience may include education with a focus in Business Administration, Arts, or related field or equivalent hands-on career experience
3+ years experience in project management and coordination
Experience with the design and delivery of programs related to entrepreneurship and starting a business
Strong network and sense of purpose, entrepreneurial mentality and/or lived experience working with Black Entrepreneurs and community organizations
Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by young Black entrepreneurs and Black-led and Black-focused community organizations
Knowledge of the small business sector and ecosystem within the Black communities in Canada
Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously and be on time and on budget
Demonstrated problem solving skills
Ability to work effectively with different and multiple stakeholders
Bilingualism in French & English (spoken & written)
Strong communication skills with ability to present to different audiences
Public sector experience is an asset
Experience with Customer Relationship Management and project management tools
Advanced knowledge in Microsoft Office
Alignment with Futurpreneur’s values and commitment to the mission/purpose of the organization
Be a role model for Futurpreneur’s organizational culture by creating a positive impact at every touchpoint with people