Hiring at BRED!
Job Description: Project Officer
BRED helps worker co-ops in the greater Baltimore area get the capital they need to start and grow. Our non-extractive lending process prioritizes inclusion and equity, rather than locking communities out of the funding they need to start owning their economy. Combining the financing we offer, with technical assistance and cooperative mentoring, we can support worker-owned businesses and give them a chance to thrive. BRED has mobilized over $4 million of patient capital in the past five years to local cooperatives.
We are a member of Seed Commons, which is a national network of locally-rooted, non-extractive loan funds that brings the power of big finance under community control. By taking guidance from the grassroots and sharing capital and resources to support local cooperative businesses, we are building the infrastructure necessary for a truly just, democratic and sustainable new economy.
Our loan portfolio is growing and we are looking to add 1-2 new team members beginning in 2022, we are open to applicants available for both part time and full time work, for part time employees we have a preference that the applicant be a current member of a cooperative.
Project Officers are responsible for executing approved technical assistance plans, regularly reporting on status of your assigned projects to the Staff Collective, assisting with BRED events & educational programming. Project Officers will participate in:
Loan preparation & technical assistance for co-ops, which includes:
Preparing sustainable loan and investment plans in collaboration with our cooperatives and senior Project Officers, to be presented to our national credit committee at Seed Commons (https://seedcommons.org) for feedback and approval.
Executing approved technical assistant plans for projects assigned to you.
Attending weekly Staff Collective meetings.
Coaching current and potential loan recipients on business planning, financial forecasting, and cooperative governance.
Connecting cooperatives and potential cooperatives to various opportunities for growth.
Being a public facing representative for BRED in a number of business and organizing environments.
Reporting regularly to the Staff Collective on the progress of your projects.
Meeting monthly with all projects that have received loans.
Actively participating on the BRED Slack.
Assisting with events & educational programming, which includes:
Working with the Senior Project Officers to plan and execute events. Recommend events that would meet needs expressed by co-ops you work with.
Regularly staffing and attending events.
Creating and attending cooperative roundtable gatherings for active area cooperators.
Building relationships with local partners to strengthen the co-op ecosystem in Maryland.
Participate in The Seed Commons Peer Network, which includes:
Active participation in ongoing Peer Network phone calls.
Active participation in semi-annual Peer Network trainings.
Active participation on the Peer Network Slack.
Strongly Desired Skills
Interest in workplace democracy and cooperative structures and/or business development experience
Comfort with financial projections and reports
Ability to communicate with diverse groups at various levels of business development
Experience with collaborative governance and decision making
Salary: $55,000 - $60,000/year for full-time, or pro-rated accordingly for part-time, plus vacation and sick pay and an additional healthcare stipend.
Please send a resume/CV and cover letter to: jobs@baltimoreroundtable.org by close of business on Monday January 24th, 2022.