Program Facilitator, Peer Cohorts (Texas & Arkansas)

Program Facilitator, Peer Cohorts (Texas & Arkansas)

Employment Type: Full-time, salaried (exempt), with benefits

Location: Based in Texas [preferred hubs: Austin or Houston], with regular in-person travel across Texas and Arkansas (approximately [40–50]%)

Reports To: Director of Programs

Compensation: [$75,000–$85,000], commensurate with experience, plus benefits and travel reimbursement

Position Overview

The Program Facilitator is a full-time, field-based role responsible for leading the Center’s Milestone Circles peer cohorts for small and mid-size business owners across Texas and Arkansas. Rather than guiding a single cohort, this person will own a rolling portfolio of in-person cohorts, delivering the structured 12-week program and helping founders define and advance measurable milestones tied to revenue growth, access to capital, job creation, and other growth priorities.

This role is the Center’s on-the-ground presence in the region. Beyond facilitation, the Program Facilitator will recruit founders, cultivate local partners and host venues, connect participants to capital and expertise, and capture the outcomes and stories that demonstrate program impact to funders and partners.

The ideal candidate has led in-person programs for small to mid-size business owners, knows how to hold a room of experienced operators, and brings working relationships in the Texas and/or Arkansas entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Key Responsibilities

• Facilitate a Portfolio of Peer Cohorts: Lead in-person Milestone Circles sessions for multiple cohorts across Texas and Arkansas using the program curriculum. Adapt delivery to each cohort’s industries, business stage, and local context while maintaining program quality and consistency.
• Drive Milestone Execution: Guide each founder in setting a measurable 12-week milestone, translating it into specific actions, tracking progress, and working through barriers between sessions.
• Coach Founders Individually and in Groups: Provide practical guidance on strategy, leadership, operations, hiring, and growth. Hold periodic one-on-one check-ins, help founders weigh options and decide next steps, and recognize when to bring in specialized expertise.
• Build Peer Accountability and Lasting Community: Create trusted, candid peer environments where founders share progress, exchange insights, and hold one another accountable. Maintain alumni connections across cohorts so the network keeps working after the program ends.
• Recruit and Select Cohort Participants: Partner with the program team and regional partners to identify, recruit, and select qualified small and mid-size business owners for each cohort, with attention to cohort fit and the communities the Center aims to serve.
• Cultivate Regional Ecosystem Partnerships: Develop and maintain relationships with SBDCs, chambers of commerce, CDFIs and lenders, universities, economic development organizations, corporate partners, and other ecosystem organizations in both states. Secure host venues, guest experts, and referral pipelines, and represent the Center at regional events.
• Connect Founders to Capital and Resources: Identify advisors, capital providers, business networks, and potential customers or partners relevant to participants’ milestones, and make timely, well-matched introductions.
• Manage Cohort Logistics: Coordinate session scheduling, venues, materials, and travel. Plan and calendar cohort launches and wrap-ups in partnership with the program and events team.
• Track Outcomes and Report Impact: Collect milestone progress, attendance, and outcome data (e.g., revenue, capital accessed, jobs created) in the Center’s systems in collaboration with the Impact and Learning team. Surface founder impact stories for funder reporting and communications.
• Strengthen the Program: Share field insights on curriculum, participant needs, and regional gaps. Contribute to refining the Milestone Circles model and help onboard and support guest facilitators or volunteer experts as the program scales.

How Time Will Be Spent (Approximate)

• Cohort facilitation, founder coaching, and one-on-one check-ins: [50]%
• Recruitment, regional partnerships, and ecosystem connections: [20]%
• Program logistics, data collection, and impact reporting: [20]%
• Team collaboration, curriculum feedback, and professional development: [10]%

What Success Looks Like in the First Year

• All in-person cohorts launched and completed across Texas and Arkansas, with full attendance and completion rates.
• A majority of participants achieve or make measurable progress on their 12-week milestones.
• An active network of regional partners and host venues that provides a steady pipeline of qualified founders.
• Clean, timely outcome data and a bank of founder stories that support funder reporting and renewals.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience leading in-person programs, cohorts, or workshops for small and mid-size business owners or entrepreneurs (e.g., accelerators, SBDCs, CDFIs, chambers, peer advisory groups, or corporate small-business programs).
• Demonstrated experience coaching or advising established, growing businesses, with examples involving revenue growth, access to capital, hiring, operational capacity, or market expansion.
• Proven skill facilitating peer-learning groups of experienced operators, including managing group dynamics and keeping discussion focused on action.
• Established relationships within the Texas and/or Arkansas entrepreneurial ecosystems, and the ability to build new ones quickly.
• Ability to help business owners translate goals into measurable milestones and actionable plans.
• Strong organizational skills and comfort managing multiple cohorts, partners, and deadlines at once, often while traveling.
• Ability to lead inclusive discussions with founders from varied backgrounds, industries, and stages of growth.
• Willingness to travel regularly within Texas and Arkansas, including occasional evenings or overnight stays; valid driver’s license and reliable transportation.

Desired Qualifications

• Executive coaching certification, or a background in business ownership, small business lending, or leadership development.
• Experience with peer advisory models (e.g., EO, Vistage, or similar) or structured goal-setting frameworks.
• Familiarity with small business support resources in both Texas and Arkansas.
• Spanish language proficiency.
• Experience with CRM or program management tools and capturing participant outcomes for funder reporting.
• Comfort supplementing in-person delivery with virtual sessions when needed (Zoom or online community platforms).