Company description

OVERVIEW OF HOPE & MAIN

Hope & Main is Rhode Island’s premier food business incubator. Our mission is to empower an inclusive community of entrepreneurs to jumpstart and cultivate thriving food businesses that are the foundation of a more just, sustainable, and resilient local food economy.

We contrinute a more vibrant local food economy by creating a community of support for food entrepreneurs and cultivating an environment where emerging culinary startups can test, create, scale and thrive. We offer low-cost, low risk access to shared use commercial kitchens and other industry specific technical and business resources designed to support entrepreneurs of all backgrounds and means.

Hope & Main has successfully launched 500 food businesses, including a number of graduates who have created more than thousands of jobs and poured millions of dollars into the local food economy. Our member businesses are 60% women-owned and 40% owned by people of color including immigrants and refugees. We are among the top 10% of all culinary incubators in the country. We offer a unique professional opportunity to food professionals who want to be part of a new food movement that values inclusion, sustainability, equity and access, consumer health, and community-based economic development.

Job description

SUMMARY: The Director of Incubation (DI) will develop, lead, & manage Hope & Main’s evolving and innovative incubation program when the organization is both expanding its footprint to new facilities in Providence and diversifying the programming offered to meet the rapidly growing demand. The Director of Incubation will be the hands-on lead to a team focused on the development of a portfolio of unique & integrated business, technical, & educational programs provided to prospective and onboarding members. These services bring food-preneurs’ ideas from inception to launch and forge an early path toward growth and success. Incubation team members serve as knowledgeable & enthusiastic first points of contact for prospective members & general inquiries. The DI will shape & promote Hope & Main’s incubation program & will lead the effort to recruit & onboard new members, including for the new West End Kitchens in Providence. The DI will tap the valuable expertise of Hope & Main’s members & graduate community, including outside consultants & industry professionals to develop a collaborative network to assist & empower a wide variety of food start-ups. The DI will generate reports, insights, & original analyses of applicants & onboarding members to continuously improve our incubation program & grant funding. The position requires a broad understanding of the range of business processes involved in launching a food enterprise from ideation through market introduction, & the challenges faced by entrepreneurs, particularly those from underserved communities.

SPECIFIC DUTIES

1. Will build & lead an Incubation-team to shape & manage, & deliver Hope & Main’s incubation program, onboarding process, & First Course educational curriculum as the organization continues to expand.
2. Will organize & implement the First Course educational program, & revise & expand the curriculum as needed, particularly across language & cultural barriers.
3. Develop & continuously improve the education/incubation programming offered to prospective & onboarding members. Develop programs for non-producing members across all categories of businesses
4. Along with Incubation team members, personally host & lead information sessions, tours, & update supporting materials as needed. Extend outreach to satellite locations including Biz Bodega in Providence, new West-End Kitchens, & other communities as needed to meet aspiring food-preneurs of all means & backgrounds where they are.
5. Manage & coordinate Hope & Main’s application & onboarding processes to ensure timely, respectful, and culturally appropriate responses. Respond to & follow up on inquiries through various channels & refer to appropriate staff members. Ensure communication with applicants during initial phases, answering questions & providing information. Connect prospective members to industry resources, and ensure that services are delivered.
6. Work with the President, Executive Director & Advancement Team to assist in identifying areas of the Incubation program that are in need of grant support.
7. Will work with the Director for Member Success to maintain & research information about member resources including vendors, consultants, suppliers, retailers and distributors, government agencies & the like.
8. Will advise & work closely with the Director of Marketing and Communications on effective, & culturally relevant outreach & engagement strategies to promote the incubation program.
9. Will oversee the use, development, & maintenance of Hubspot CRM functionality to support both incubation & related processes. Generate reports of applicants & onboarding, including demographic, geographic, for helpful insight into operations' continuous improvement, growth, & funding.
10. Other related assignments as necessary.

EXPERIENCE, SKILLS, & ATTITUDE Seeking a problem-solver with intellectual curiosity and a willingness and desire to learn. The DI will take initiative, independently research options & alternatives to assist prospective members. Must be flexible & able to manage in a fast-paced rapidly changing environment requiring creativity & resourcefulness. Must be able to make decisions in the face of ambiguity & enjoy the journey of continuous improvement. We are a learning organization built on the core belief that teamwork, patience, & persistence of purpose in service to Member success is central to our mission.

• Bachelor's degree required preferably in business, finance, marketing, accounting, organizational behavior, or a related area.
• Must have knowledge of the food business and preferably have worked in a fast-paced, innovative & impactful environment related to growing a food or food-related enterprise; an industry adjacent to food; or for a non-profit or government entity that has provided business and/or technical assistance to food businesses.
• Must have front-line relationship management/customer interface experience, i.e., in service and/or sales.
• Must have solid business acumen and understand financial statements such as P&L, cash flow, and related understanding of inventory management, sales & marketing, and unit cost, preferably in a food-related business.
• Must have demonstrated commitment to principles of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and have assisted clients from historically underserved and underrepresented communities.
• Language and cultural fluency in Spanish is strongly preferred. Fluency in other languages, in addition to English, is helpful.
• Must be proficient in both Google Drive suites and willing to learn other applicable software solutions.
• Experience with Quickbooks preferred.
• Very comfortable and accomplished with networking, service, promotion, and sales.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Must love cake.

Compensation

this position is: salaried, $50,000 - $75,000

Application instructions

Deadline

August 15, 2023