Business and Cooperative Development Specialist

About Masa

Masa partners with Mexican and Latin American immigrant children, youth, and families in the South Bronx to develop strong learners and leaders who fully contribute to the larger community. We envision a community that is civically engaged, empowered, and educated.

Masa’s community-led, integrated model engages the entire family, grounded in a deep commitment to strengthening literacy, leadership, and power for Mexican, Central American, and Indigenous People. Masa fosters a culturally responsive learning community in which families engage with direct service and advocacy programs to dismantle barriers to success.

About the Language Justice Program

The Language Justice Program aims to deliver language services that empower historically marginalized voices. Through this project, we seek to address the need for interpretation and translation services in Spanish and Indigenous languages from Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC) across NYC, provide economic opportunities for communities that speak these languages, and support workforce development through the strengthening of a Community Interpreter Program and a language worker cooperative

About the Business and Cooperative Development Specialist position

The Business and Cooperative Development Specialist will support the incubation and formation of a language services worker cooperative for Spanish and Indigenous interpreters of Latin America and the Caribbean. This role will provide hands-on technical assistance and support to cooperative members in acquiring the skills and knowledge required to successfully run a worker-owned cooperative independently after a period of incubation. The Specialist reports to the Language Justice Program Manager and will work closely with worker-owners, cooperative development partners, and program consultants to ensure the group receives the structure, resources and support to advance its goals and successfully launch the language services worker cooperative.

The ideal candidate will be passionate about cooperative business models, language justice and empowering indigenous and immigrant communities; self-driven; possess a degree of business acumen; and have strong project management skills, including the ability to set goals, plan timelines, allocate and coordinate resources, and manage tasks effectively.

This is a full-time, in-person role (40 hrs/week) that is planned to run through June 30, 2027 with the possibility of extension contingent on funding.

Key responsibilities

• Coordinate the selection and onboarding process for potential cooperative members
• Regularly meet with worker cooperative training participants individually to assess their needs, concerns, availability, commitment, training needs, and barriers that affect their participation
• Provide technical assistance and engage consultants to provide training in business operational planning, democratic management, governance, legal, cooperative accounting, leadership development, decision-making, collective leadership models and cooperative development best practices
• Develop a workplan and coordinate weekly working group and bi-weekly group meetings to ensure progress is being made towards successfully incorporating the worker cooperative
• Remain abreast of and address group dynamics that may hinder progress
• Support group in developing key documents and procedures for worker cooperative incorporation
• Secure training opportunities for interpreters to continue to develop their practice and expand their menu of services
• Maintain accurate records of participants, communications, attendance, progress,outstanding needs, and members engagement in different roles
• Coordinate with organizational leadership and external partners to ensure continued alignment
• Promote inclusive, transparent, equitable and language-justice-centered practices throughout the worker cooperative development process that ensures indigenous speakers and the original goals of the project are centered at all times and central to the decision-making process
• Prepare progress updates, reports, recommendations, and documentation regarding the cooperative’s development
• Monitor progress towards milestones, documented lessons learned, and adapt support based on member’s feedback

Requirements

• Fluent in Spanish and English
• A Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Community/Economic Development, or a related field is required
• 2–4 years of experience in business development, non-profit program management, community organizing, or working within cooperative enterprises
• Knowledgeable on worker cooperative models and collective decision-making frameworks
• Familiarity with basic business financial planning, cash flow forecasting, and operational bookkeeping OR willingness to skill up quickly
• Exceptional communication skills with a proven track record of guiding diverse stakeholder groups toward consensus, especially with immigrant, underserved and marginalized communities
• Strong commitment to language justice, racial equity, economic justice and experience working directly alongside low-income, immigrant, or marginalized communities
• Experience supporting groups through follow-up, planning, outreach, or organizational development
• Ability to organize multiple participants, activities, deadlines, and records
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with team members and community partners
• Proficiency with email, spreadsheets, online meeting platforms, and database or customer relationship management systems
• Project management skills and experience developing scalable projects from start to finish

Bonus skills

• Fluency in an Indigenous language spoken by the participating community
• Previous experience providing interpretation or translation services
• Experience with cooperative business models, participatory leadership, or popular education
• Knowledge of small-business, legal, accounting, or business-planning resources
• Experience using Salesforce or another client, contact, or program-management database
• Strong group facilitation and conflict-resolution skills; ability to simplify complex business and legal concepts for diverse audiences
• Familiarity with New York City community-based organizations and immigrant-serving networks

Physical Demands

• This position is in-person at Masa’s office, with local travel (NYC-based) required
• Moderate carrying of program materials (10-25 lbs) is required
• Work schedule may include occasional evenings and Saturday availability
• Ability to sit, stand, and walk for extended periods during meetings, outreach, tabling, or events
• Handling technical equipment (smartboards, projectors, laptops, interpretation devices) for events

Masa provides paid time off, paid sick leave, and medical insurance options for eligible staff.

Fluent in Spanish and English