Director, Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC) International Trade Center (ITC) - Chicago, IL
ICNC works to strengthen the companies in the Kinzie Industrial Corridor on Chicago's Near West Side. In addition to representing and providing assistance to hundreds of companies in its community, ICNC owns and operates Make City, a small business incubator which houses 100 small business tenants in its 416,000 square foot facility.
ICNC also co-owns The Hatchery, a food and beverage manufacturing incubator in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood which assists food & beverage entrepreneurs grow their businesses. This facility is a one-stop-shop aiming to solve three major challenges in the industry: access to production space, financing, and resources.
Please visit http://www.industrialcouncil.com and http://www.thehatcherychicago.org for information on ICNC's mission and activities.
POSITION ACTIVITIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Illinois Small Business Development Center and Illinois Small Business Development Center International Trade Center are funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, and the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago (ICNC).
ICNC’s International Trade Center (ITC) assists Illinois companies to begin exporting or increase their foreign sales. The ITC provides high-quality business advising and technical assistance services to new and emerging companies. The ITC Director oversees the center’s operations, its relationship with the State of Illinois, manages daily operations of the ITC, including provision of direct business assistance to companies (clients), management of other ITC staff, marketing the ITC and ICNC, and administrative and budgetary responsibilities. This position reports to the SBDC Director.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:
QUALIFICATIONS:
POSITION STRUCTURE & BENEFITS INCENTIVES:
TO APPLY:
Please email letter of interest, current resume, and three professional references to:
ICNC
Illinois SBDC/ITC Hiring Committee
nancy@industrialcouncil.com
The subject line must include the recruiting code ITC
ICNC is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for its team, the businesses it supports, and ultimately the communities in which it works.
ICNC also co-owns The Hatchery, a food and beverage manufacturing incubator in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood which assists food & beverage entrepreneurs grow their businesses. This facility is a one-stop-shop aiming to solve three major challenges in the industry: access to production space, financing, and resources.
Please visit http://www.industrialcouncil.com and http://www.thehatcherychicago.org for information on ICNC's mission and activities.
POSITION ACTIVITIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Illinois Small Business Development Center and Illinois Small Business Development Center International Trade Center are funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, and the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago (ICNC).
ICNC’s International Trade Center (ITC) assists Illinois companies to begin exporting or increase their foreign sales. The ITC provides high-quality business advising and technical assistance services to new and emerging companies. The ITC Director oversees the center’s operations, its relationship with the State of Illinois, manages daily operations of the ITC, including provision of direct business assistance to companies (clients), management of other ITC staff, marketing the ITC and ICNC, and administrative and budgetary responsibilities. This position reports to the SBDC Director.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Evaluate companies’ export readiness and determine appropriate ITC service levels on a per-client basis
- Identify and analyze client export assistance needs, especially as related to the areas of management, operations, finance, and marketing
- Provide in-depth assistance to clients in the areas of international trade strategy, techniques, export processes, and international market opportunities
- Conduct market research (including foreign market selection, market analysis, and sales projections) necessary to assist clients in identifying the best foreign markets for their products
- Conceive, plan, and conduct online and in person international trade seminars that provide relevant, actionable information for companies in exporting
- Develop and maintain relationships with other resource and technical assistance providers, including attorneys, logistics providers, consultants, and others who can provide relevant assistance to clients
- Establish and maintain productive relationships with federal, state, and local government staff to assist clients and promote the ITC and ICNC. Ensure clients are aware of various export programs, grants, and trade missions for their respective industries
- Produce and deliver all required reporting information to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and participate in DCEO-sponsored trainings, conferences, and seminars
- Work with the ICNC staff to see that the ITC and other ICNC programs benefit from shared resources, staff, programming, and information
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s degree in related field (international business, business, marketing, international relations);
- A proven track record of successfully maintaining and developing business and community relationships
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with great follow-up skills;
- Self-starter that is collaborative, energetic, creative, proactive, entrepreneurial and responsible
- Able to maintain strong, positive, collaborative working relationships;
- Excellent time management and strong organizational skills;
- Able to work in a fast-paced environment to meet established goals and deadlines;
- Active listener who can relate well with all types of people, builds rapport, constructive and effective relationships;
- Effective in a variety of formal presentation settings (virtual and in-person), one-on-one, small and large groups with peers, subordinates and supervisors.
- Skilled coordinating a variety of projects simultaneously;
- Ability to demonstrate flexibility and creativity;
- Working knowledge of MS Office Suite (Teams,PowerPoint, Word, Excel), virtual meeting platforms (Zoom) and intermediate Internet research techniques;
- Willingness to work flexible, varying hours, including evenings and weekends as needed.
- Willing to travel and use personal vehicle as necessary for work-related activities –mileage expenses are reimbursable
- Working knowledge of at least one foreign language is a plus
POSITION STRUCTURE & BENEFITS INCENTIVES:
- This is a full-time position; 40 hours per week; 8:30am-5pm, Monday-Friday; with the ability to work remote until a hybrid work from home structure is finalized
- Starting annual salary range is $53K-$60K; commensurate with experience;
- Benefit incentives includes: One-week paid vacation to start and one week personal/sick time off, participation in group health insurance plan, SIMPLE IRA, short and long term disability and life insurance; training and career development opportunities available
- This position is eligible to participate in ICNC’s Great Game of Business growth incentive bonus plan
TO APPLY:
Please email letter of interest, current resume, and three professional references to:
ICNC
Illinois SBDC/ITC Hiring Committee
nancy@industrialcouncil.com
The subject line must include the recruiting code ITC
ICNC is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for its team, the businesses it supports, and ultimately the communities in which it works.