Cooperative Development Manager

Cooperative Development Manager

Reports to: Director of Programs | Classification: Full-time, Exempt, Regular, At Will | Apply by: June 19, 2026

About Prospera

Prospera believes communities already hold the wisdom, resilience, and leadership needed to create systems rooted in dignity, cooperation, and collective wellbeing. Through entrepreneurship, cooperative development, leadership cultivation, immigrant justice, and culturally rooted education, Prospera co-creates community wealth with Latina entrepreneurs.

Who We Are Looking For

The Cooperative Development Manager will lead and strengthen Prospera’s cooperative entrepreneurship strategy by designing, implementing, and scaling cooperative development initiatives that support Latina and immigrant entrepreneurs in building worker-owned businesses and cooperative economic pathways.

This role bridges program management, cooperative technical assistance, ecosystem building, strategic partnerships, education, and market development to expand Prospera’s impact and strengthen pathways toward collective ownership and economic mobility.

The Cooperative Development Manager will collaborate across internal teams and external partners to advance cooperative education, incubation, technical assistance systems, leadership development, and cooperative ecosystem growth.

Key Responsibilities

Cooperative Development & Technical Assistance

• Lead cooperative incubation and business development initiatives from exploration through launch and early operational stages.
• Provide technical assistance on cooperative governance, ownership structures, operational systems, and business readiness.
• Support entrepreneurs evaluating cooperative conversion or worker-owned business development pathways.
• Develop tools, frameworks, templates, and systems to strengthen cooperative success.
• Support business planning, commercialization strategies, operational planning, and sustainability models.
• Support participants in building the leadership skills and governance knowledge needed for cooperative ownership.

Program Implementation & Management

• Implement the cooperative program strategy in alignment with Prospera’s mission and long-term vision.
• Develop implementation plans and milestones; contribute to evaluation frameworks and track progress against established KPIs.
• Track program budgets and expenditures; manage timelines, deliverables, and grant reporting requirements.
• Coordinate consultants, facilitators, and program partners.
• Document program learnings and surface recommendations for program improvement to program leadership.

Ecosystem Building & Partnerships

• Cultivate relationships with ecosystem partners, nonprofits, funders, technical assistance providers, public agencies, educational institutions, and cooperative networks.
• Identify strategic partnership opportunities that strengthen cooperative pathways.
• Represent Prospera in coalitions, convenings, and regional ecosystem initiatives.
• Provide programmatic content, data, and storytelling to support grant proposals and funding reports.

Cooperative Education & Capacity Building

• Support curriculum development and adaptation of cooperative education programming.
• Facilitate training, workshops, and educational experiences rooted in culturally responsive and liberatory approaches.
• Contribute to cooperative knowledge sharing across teams and with program partners.
• Contribute to cooperative leadership development efforts.

Communications & Thought Leadership

• Document cooperative development practices, program learnings, and participant stories into case studies, briefs, and ecosystem learning materials that contribute to the broader cooperative field.
• Represent Prospera’s cooperative work at convenings, panels, and sector events by sharing program insights, models, and outcomes.
• Contribute cooperative expertise to reports, presentations, and publications that advance knowledge and visibility around worker ownership and collective economic pathways.
• Support storytelling efforts that elevate the leadership and impact of Latina and immigrant cooperative entrepreneurs.

Qualifications, Skills & Experience

Required

• Bilingual English/Spanish required to provide direct technical assistance, facilitation, and program services to Spanish-speaking participants and community members.
• 5+ years of experience in cooperative development, with demonstrated expertise in at least two of the following: worker-owned business formation, conversion of conventional businesses to worker cooperative models, or technical assistance supporting entrepreneurs pursuing cooperative ownership pathways.
• Strong program and project management skills, including managing timelines, deliverables, and reporting requirements across multiple workstreams.
• Experience working across diverse stakeholder groups, including community members, nonprofit partners, public agencies, or funders.
• Strong facilitation, communication, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage authentically across community, partner, and institutional settings.
• Experience developing systems, tools, and operational processes that support program delivery and can scale over time.
• Demonstrated experience working with and in service to Latina, immigrant, or BIPOC communities in an entrepreneurship, economic development, or community empowerment context.

Preferred

• Curriculum development or adult education experience, particularly in entrepreneurship, cooperative economics, or financial literacy contexts.
• Familiarity with popular education or liberatory pedagogical methodologies and culturally responsive facilitation approaches.
• Experience with grants management, program reporting, and evaluation frameworks, including contributing to funder reports and outcome tracking.
• Experience developing procurement strategies, market access pathways, or business-to-business networks that support small and emerging businesses.
• Knowledge of the resources, networks, systemic barriers, and cultural contexts relevant to underserved entrepreneurship ecosystems, including communities that are immigrant, Latina, or BIPOC-led.

Employment & Benefits

Compensation: $71,000–$79,000 commensurate with experience

Schedule: This is a full-time exempt position. Core collaboration hours are Monday–Friday, with flexibility based on program needs. Some evenings and weekends may be required.

Location: Currently working remotely with monthly in-person staff meetings in Oakland. Prospera holds various in-person program events throughout the year that this role may be expected to attend.

Vacation: 3 weeks paid vacation per year + 9 holidays + 1 week collective summer closure + 1 week collective winter closure.

Sick Time: 1 day per month (12 days annually).

Health Insurance: 100% employer-paid health insurance for employee; dependent coverage available. Flexible Spending Account (FSA) option included.

Stipends: $50/month mobile and Wi-Fi stipend.

Retirement: 401(k) plan — option to participate.

Family Leave: Prospera complies with the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and all applicable federal and state leave laws.

• Bilingual English/Spanish required to provide direct technical assistance, facilitation, and program services to Spanish-speaking participants and community members.