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We’re Hiring!

About the position:

BCCO seeks to hire a Co-op Organizer who has experience with bookkeeping and small business support, and would like to continually expand and broaden their skill set. We are looking for someone who has spent time working for small businesses in a bookkeeping, financial management, or similar capacity. This could be a family owned business, an employer, a co-op, or your own sole proprietorship. If your colleagues, friends, and family come to you for answers to their questions about bookkeeping, filing taxes, registering with the state, filling out business certificates, writing business plans, applying for loans, etc – you are who we are looking for. If you’ve often heard people say, “Wow, I never understood it until you explained it like that!” – you are who we are looking for.

We are a young organization with a small but dedicated team, and we’re looking for someone who is excited about contributing to the organization and culture we’re building. The job title “Co-op Organizer” reflects our community organizing approach to the development of cooperative businesses. This new position is for 20 hours per week at a rate of $30/hour, with room for hours and compensation to grow. Hours are flexible and may include weekend or evening meetings, depending on the client’s needs. We have a generous paid time off policy and a healthy training budget for each person. BCCO is organized as a membership based non-profit organization, where the members are the employees and dedicated volunteers. Employees become members after a candidacy period of 6 months, and as a member, you will have a vote in our annual meeting where we elect our board of directors, as well as the opportunity to run for the board yourself. Under normal circumstances, we work primarily from home, using a co-working space in Dorchester for client meetings and workshops, or meeting with clients on-site at their business. Due to the pandemic, we are currently conducting all our work remotely through Zoom. This position will remain open until filled. (Posted [date])

Initial responsibilities:

  • Regular weekly/monthly bookkeeping for co-op clients, including entering receipts and bills, invoicing customers, running payroll, recording sales and expenses, reconciling statements
  • Maintaining a bookkeeping manual and checklist for each client
  • Producing periodic financial reports (Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet) and reviewing them with clients
  • Providing training to clients on understanding their financial reports
  • Making recommendations to clients on how to manage cash flow, control costs, and increase profit margins
  • Setting up financial management procedures for clients that allow for full transparency and quality information for decision making
  • Facilitate inclusive budget development processes that involve members from all parts of the co-op
  • Interface between our clients and their accountants to prepare clients’ yearly taxes
  • Participation in weekly or biweekly BCCO management meetings and board meetings as needed
  • Along with other staff, sharing in administrative tasks related to management of BCCO
  • Helping to promote BCCO to prospective clients, organizations, and funders
  • Representing BCCO in various coalitions and organizations in which we are members
  • Keeping a detailed and accurate time sheet logging all your activities so we can accurately bill them to projects

Depending on your interest and inclination, responsibilities may grow to include:

  • General support for co-op businesses through the course of their development, from the intitial idea and team building phase, through startup and launch, to ongoing support through the life of the business.
  • Developing financial pro formas for co-ops, including projected Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statements
  • Delivering existing BCCO workshops for clients and the public, and developing new training content
  • Managing our catalog of training offerings – promoting, scheduling, and managing registrations for workshops
  • Participating in fundraising through grant applications and small donor requests
  • Internal bookkeeping for BCCO
  • Other responsibilities, depending on your interests. We welcome your ideas for how to build a more just and sustainable economy.

Requirements for this position:

  • Practical, hands-on experience with bookkeeping or accounting in a small business setting, particularly with Quickbooks
  • Strong verbal communication skills, and the ability to explain complex financial and business concepts in a way that is accessible and empowering to the listener
  • Cultural competencies related to one or more immigrant communities or communities of color in the Boston area currently underrepresented on our staff, particularly African American, Cape Verdean, Haitian, and/or other Caribbean communities
  • Committment to our values of respect and empowerment for low income workers and entrepreneurs
  • Eagerness to participate in training to develop additional skills in small business support and deepen your understanding of the cooperative model of doing business.
  • Passion for our mission of building a cooperative economy
  • Good judgement, ability to respond calmly and constructively to challenging situations

Other qualities that would strengthen your application:

  • Familiarity with various Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Point of Sale (POS) software options
  • Strong writing skills and a love of writing, experience writing business plans, marketing materials, and/or grant applications
  • Fluency in a language other than English or Spanish that is commonly spoken in our region
  • Experience with community organizing or social justice movements
  • Experience and/or training as a meeting facilitator or mediator
  • Course work in accounting or business topics, economic development, or public policy
  • Experience leading workshops or trainings
  • Experience working in cooperatives or other democratic organizations

 

Other News

Winter Social January 31, 2022

Hello again, fellow co-operators, hope you all had a warm and wonderful holiday and are having a great 2023 so far! We, GBCC and USFWC

Estamos contratando!

Boston Center for Community Ownership is hiring a Co-op Organizer to provide hands-on business support to worker-owned cooperatives and other small businesses in our region. 

Co-op Cookout June 26, 2022

UPDATE: DIRECTIONS TO HOUGHTON’S POND: We are using Picnic Area 5, which is on the West side of Houghton’s Pond, off Blue Hill River Rd.  USE

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