Business Development Manager, Indigenous Entrepreneurship

About Futurpreneur Canada

Futurpreneur Canada is a national non-profit organization that empowers young, diverse entrepreneurs, ages 18-39 to start, buy or grow their businesses in Canada, by providing loans with mentorship and resources.

Founded in 1996, we have helped more than 18,700 young entrepreneurs, promoting entrepreneurship among Canadian youth as a critical pillar for diversifying the economy, generating employment opportunities, and fostering a sustainable future.

Futurpreneur Canada 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 (GEW).

Our Purpose: To drive inclusive Canadian prosperity by fostering the success of young entrepreneurs.

Our Mission: To empower diverse entrepreneurs ages 18-39 by providing loans with mentorship and resources to help them start and buy businesses that contribute to sustainable and inclusive economic prosperity, in their communities and across Canada.

Our Values: We are mission-driven, collegial & collaborative, diverse & inclusive, and accountable & transparent.

Here's the opportunity: Business Development Manager, Indigenous & Northern Entrepreneurs

Reporting to the Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Director, Indigenous & Northern Entrepreneurs, you will connect young entrepreneurs to the business planning support, start-up financing, and mentorship they need to successfully launch businesses. In this role, you will also connect with and recruit mentors for the young entrepreneurs we support and work collaboratively with Aboriginal Financial Institution (AFI) members of the National Aboriginal Capital Corporation Association (NACCA) network and other community partners supporting entrepreneurs in the Territories.

The Business Development Manager, Indigenous & Northern Entrepreneurs will be responsible for the delivery and facilitation of programs and workshops to our entrepreneurs, across Canada and in various communities.

This is a permanent, full-time position that can be located in The Yukon, Northwest Territories, or Nunavut. The incumbent will be working remotely or will be located at one of our offices, depending on the location, working on our hybrid work model. This role will require frequent travel in different provinces across the country, with at times travel to remote areas.

Key Responsibilities

Business Development - Entrepreneurs:

• Act as Futurpreneur Canada's main point of contact for young entrepreneurs in northern communities.
• Facilitate informal gatherings with Indigenous and northern young entrepreneurs to discuss and learn about small business development.
• Support young, Indigenous and northern entrepreneur leads by reviewing their business plans and cashflows and supporting them through the application stage of the process.
• Promote awareness of Futurpreneur Canada and partner programs to young Indigenous and northern demographics to increase participation of potential young entrepreneurs by delivering seminars, attending tradeshows, and special events.
• Promote Futurpreneur Canada programs and updates through local social media platforms.

Business Development - Mentors:

• Attend and coordinate events that provide the opportunity to engage prospective mentors.
• Identify, recruit and onboard volunteer mentors within the community.
• Communicate with Futurpreneur Canada client services regarding fulfilling mentor gaps.

Business Development - Strategic Partners & Referral Partners:

• Support the Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Director, Indigenous & Northern Entrepreneurs, in building and maintaining strong relationships with Aboriginal Financial Institutions and other northern community partners in the territories to support young entrepreneurs access start-up resources, support, and financing.
• Manage relationships with local NACCA partners, Aboriginal Financial Institutions, and others in the community, as well as grow the number of community partners if and where appropriate.
• Attend and coordinate events that provide the opportunity to engage formal community partners.
• Identify potential partners through research, events, networking and referrals.
• Manage inquiries from potential new partners.

Requirements

What you will have:

• Must have a valid driver's license and access to a vehicle (40% of this role includes local and territorial travel).
• Willingness and ability to travel to remote northern communities, especially during spring & summer seasons.
• Relevant experience may include education with a focus on business administration, economic development, entrepreneurship or equivalent hands-on career experience.
• 3 years of experience in sales, start-up business development or economic development position is an asset.
• Experience working with entrepreneurs or business start-ups, business plans, and cashflows is considered a strong asset.
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the barriers and opportunities experienced by young Indigenous entrepreneurs and Indigenous-led and Indigenous-focused community organizations.
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the barriers and opportunities experienced by young northern entrepreneurs and north-led and north-focused community organizations.
• Excellent interpersonal and communications skills with the ability to influence.
• Strong customer focus with the ability to work with volunteers.
• Proficient with computer skills; experience with a Customer Relationship Management system is required.
• Confident, proactive and self-motivated, able to work with minimal supervision.
• Team-oriented.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Ability to develop and facilitate program presentations and workshops.
• Knowledge of trends within the entrepreneurial, startup, small business industry.
• General administration experience including budget management, report writing, etc.
• Alignment with Futurpreneur Canada's values and commitment to the mission/purpose of the organization.
• Be a role model for Futurpreneur Canada's organizational culture by creating a positive impact at every touchpoint with people.

Scoring assets:

• Bilingualism in French & English.
• Event planning and execution experience.
• Management and volunteer management.
• Experience using social media accounts (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram).

How to Apply

Qualified candidates are invited to submit their resume, cover letter and salary expectations by August 14, 2024.

What we offer:

Futurpreneur Canada offers you the opportunity to work for an organization with a clear and compelling purpose - To drive inclusive Canadian prosperity by fostering the success of young entrepreneurs. Respect, teamwork, diversity and inclusion, transparency, empathy, impact, innovation, high performance, recognition and working hard and having fun are important to us

We offer an attractive compensation package that encompasses a competitive salary, amazing benefits such as, health and dental benefits package plus RRSP contribution matching, health spending account, flex hours and more.

Futurpreneur Canada is committed to an inclusive, equitable workplace and encourages applications from all qualified candidates. We embrace the unique perspectives and experiences within our team. Reasonable accommodation is available on request for candidates taking part in the selection process.

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