Business Advisor

Program Description:

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at LaGuardia Community College is part of the New York SBDC network that provides business advising, training, and technical assistance to small businesses across Queens and surrounding areas. Supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the State University of New York (SUNY), and LaGuardia Community College, the Center helps entrepreneurs start, operate, and grow their businesses through no-cost one-on-one advising, specialized workshops, and outreach initiatives. The LaGuardia SBDC also oversees an Outreach Center at Queens College, providing services across both campuses to support business creation, job retention, and regional economic development.

Queens is one of the most diverse business environments in the country, with strong concentrations of immigrant-owned businesses. The Center seeks candidates who can effectively serve multilingual communities, particularly Spanish and Mandarin-speaking entrepreneurs in the Flushing, Jackson Heights, Corona, and Elmhurst corridors.

Role Description:

Under the direction of the Regional Center Director, the Business Advisor provides direct one-on-one advisement, training, and technical assistance to entrepreneurs and small business owners across Queens. The Business Advisor works with clients at all stages of business development, from formation through expansion, and is responsible for meeting established program performance targets, including businesses served, counseling hours delivered, capital accessed, and new businesses established. The Business Advisor will provide services across both the Long Island City and Flushing (Queens College) locations, with regular travel between sites as a standard part of the role.

The Business Advisor will also engage in cross-collaboration with LaGuardia’s Business Services programs, including coordinated client referrals, joint programming, and shared outreach efforts, to ensure businesses have access to a comprehensive suite of services and resources.

This position is well-suited for experienced business professionals, former entrepreneurs, retired executives, and career changers who want to apply their expertise in direct service to the Queens business community.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Client Advisement and Technical Assistance

• Provide confidential one-on-one advisement to entrepreneurs and small business owners on matters related to business start-up, stabilization, growth, and expansion.
• Assist clients with the development of business plans, financial projections, and loan packages to support financing applications.
• Provide guidance on financial management practices, including cash flow analysis, pricing strategies, and financial statement interpretation.
• Support clients in identifying opportunities to increase revenue through marketing strategies, operational improvements, and digital tools.
• Assist businesses in identifying procurement and contracting opportunities at the federal, state, and local levels.
• Conduct industry and market research using SBDC network resources to provide clients with relevant market intelligence.

Training and Outreach

• Plan and deliver workshops, seminars, and orientation sessions for entrepreneurs and small business owners.
• Build relationships with community organizations, chambers of commerce, financial institutions, and economic development partners to expand outreach and referrals.
• Collaborate with the Center Director and staff to increase awareness of SBDC services across Queens.
• Represent the SBDC at community events, business conferences, and partner convenings.

Program Compliance and Reporting

• Maintain accurate client records in accordance with New York SBDC Network reporting requirements.
• Document client outcomes, including capital accessed, jobs created or retained, and business expansion milestones.
• Maintain awareness of federal, state, and local regulations affecting small businesses and provide guidance to clients when appropriate.
• Perform additional duties related to center operations and client services as assigned.

Core Competencies/Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Management, Entrepreneurship, or a related field required; equivalent professional experience will be considered. MBA or advanced degree in a relevant field preferred.
• Minimum of five years of substantive experience in business ownership, small business consulting, commercial lending, financial advisory, corporate operations, or economic development.
• Demonstrated experience advising or supporting businesses on business planning, financial analysis, access to capital, and operational strategy.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret financial statements and develop financial projections.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to manage multiple client engagements simultaneously and maintain accurate documentation.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality when handling sensitive client information.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule, including some evenings and weekends.
• This is an in-person position.

Preferred:

• Bilingual preferred (Spanish, Mandarin, or Korean).
• Experience owning or managing a small business preferred.
• Background in commercial banking, SBA lending, CDFI lending, or credit analysis preferred.
• Experience delivering training or workshops for business audiences preferred.
• Experience working with publicly funded small business support programs or economic development initiatives preferred.

About LaGuardia Community College

“Founded in 1971 in Long Island City, Queens, LaGuardia Community College is one of seven community colleges of the City University of New York (CUNY). LaGuardia offers more than sixty associate degree programs and more than fifty workforce training, ESOL, GED, and pre-college programs. In 2023, LaGuardia served approximately 24,000 students. More than one-third of LaGuardia’s degree-seeking students are born outside the United States; they come from 136 countries and speak 43 heritage languages. Sixty percent are first-generation college students.

Virtually all LaGuardia students are ethnic minorities (89 percent), 58 percent are women, 27 percent are over the age of 25. Forty-six percent of associate degree students are Hispanic. Upon graduation most students transfer to four-year colleges, typically in CUNY, to complete their baccalaureate degrees. Graduates of career programs such as Nursing, Computer Technology, and Veterinary Technology enter the workforce. LaGuardia ranked fifth among U.S. community colleges in economic mobility – moving low-income students into the middle class and beyond – in studies by Stanford University (2017) and the Brookings Institution (2020). Please visit www.laguardia.edu to learn more.”

Pay Range:

$55,000 - $64,298

RFCUNY Benefits

RFCUNY Employee Benefits and Accruals (link to https://www.rfcuny.org/RFWebsite)

About the Research Foundation

The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) is a nonprofit educational corporation founded in 1963 to provide post-award fiscal and administrative support for CUNY’s research and sponsored programs. RFCUNY’s services allow CUNY researchers, faculty, and staff to focus on their intellectual curiosity and scientific discoveries, on projects and programs that serve our local and global communities, proposing concrete solutions to society’s most pressing challenges.

RFCUNY serves as a fiscal agent and works closely with all the CUNY campus Grants Offices to perform the core functions of post-award financial management for CUNY research projects and sponsored programs. These functions include legal assessment and signing of agreements where RFCUNY is named as a fiscal agent; setting up award accounts; preparing sub-awards and assisting PIs in monitoring the work of the recipients of sub-awards; supporting project directors with hiring and managing research project and sponsored program staff; supporting the purchasing and paying for goods and services with grant and program funds; managing financial aspects of projects including accounts receivable, financial reporting, invoicing, budget monitoring, and cost compliance with uniform guidance; ensuring that sponsor financial requirements are met; monitoring compliance with applicable project and financial management rules and laws; supporting the management of independent and external audits and financial reviews; and providing data, information, management expertise, and other supports to CUNY’s research and sponsored programs.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The Research Foundation of the City University of New York is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Americans with Disabilities Act/E-Verify Employer. It is the policy of the Research Foundation of CUNY to provide equal employment opportunities free of discrimination based on race, color, age, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, national origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic violence victim status, arrest record, criminal conviction history, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.