ECI Small Business Ecosystem Navigator

About the role

The East Central Indiana Small Business Development Center, hosted by Ball State University, is seeking an Ecosystem Navigator to join our team. This full-time professional position is centered on building connections—helping entrepreneurs, small businesses, and community partners find the right resources at the right time while supporting the growth of a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem across East Central Indiana.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a boundary-spanning connector in and between various groups of entrepreneur-serving organizations and local entrepreneurs at the right time in their journey.
• Meet one-on-one with entrepreneurs to guide them to the right resource or mentor at the right time in their journey.
• Organize and facilitate founder peer groups.
• Work from locations throughout the region to meet entrepreneurs where they are, including holding walk-in office hours and hosting group coffee hours.
• Facilitate community collaboration by identifying, developing, and executing partnerships that support local entrepreneurial ecosystem initiatives.
• Regularly collaborate with stakeholders and partner organizations to strengthen and grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• Develop and maintain relationships with cities, towns, counties, and community leaders throughout the region, serving as an active partner in entrepreneurial ecosystem development.
• Represent the Indiana Small Business Development Center at regional meetings, events, and initiatives that promote entrepreneurship and small business growth.
• Identify gaps in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and provide recommendations and solutions to address unmet needs and improve resource accessibility for entrepreneurs.
• Perform operational duties that include identifying and promoting client and partner success stories; developing and providing activity, impact, and progress reports for the SBDC Regional Director and regional stakeholders; completing administrative, CRM, and data-related tasks to measure and report program impact; and regularly meeting with the SBDC Regional Director, Business Advisors, and other team members to coordinate activities, share best practices, and advance regional entrepreneurial ecosystem initiatives.
• Support the planning, marketing, coordination, and execution of regional entrepreneurial ecosystem events and initiatives.
• Organize and facilitate at least one entrepreneur or founder peer group that meets regularly throughout the year.
• Represent the Indiana Small Business Development Center at regional meetings, events, workshops, and initiatives that promote entrepreneurship, small business growth, and ecosystem development.
• Advocate for small business interests by developing and promoting public awareness of SBDC programs and services.
• Maintain accurate and timely records in the SBDC client relationship management (CRM) system, including client information, stakeholder and outreach activities, events, training, professional development, referrals, and other program-related data.
• Ensure all required documentation, notes, and impact metrics are entered and kept current to support reporting, performance measurement, and program compliance.
• Serve as the regional point of contact for the statewide resource portal (ConnectIND), which includes assessing individual entrepreneurs’ current needs and skills, advising entrepreneurs and small businesses about the programs and partners that can best assist them in their development process, and creating action plans outlining assistance steps for prospective clients and SBDC clients.
• Work within the regional host institution, a contractual center of the Indiana SBDC, to meet organizational goals and objectives and to serve students, faculty, and staff.
• Travel throughout the geographic area served, with occasional travel throughout Indiana. Early morning, evening, or weekend hours may occasionally be required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in business, public education, communication, program development, public relations, or other relevant fields.
• In lieu of a bachelor's degree, candidates with an associate's degree from an accredited university and a minimum of 2 years of experience in economic development, entrepreneurship support, community engagement, business assistance, workforce development, chamber of commerce operations, nonprofit management, grant-funded programs, or a related field will be considered.
• Demonstrated experience working with leaders in the private and public sectors.
• Must live or be willing to relocate to the East Central Indiana Small Business Development Center service region which includes the counties of Blackford, Delaware, Fayette, Grant, Henry, Jay, Madison, Randolph, Rush, Union, and Wayne.
• Must possess and maintain a valid Driver's License and be insurable under the university's auto fleet policy.
• Must have reliable transportation for work-related travel throughout the region.
• Experience assessing needs, identifying opportunities, and connecting individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses, or organizations to appropriate resources, partners, programs, and support services.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build working relationships with partners and stakeholders.
• Experience with customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including public speaking and presentation skills.
• Experience with computer hardware and software, including Microsoft Office Suites.
• Must be able to work independently, be self-motivated, goal-oriented, meet deadlines, and work as a team member on projects.

Benefits

Ball State University offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes generous paid time off, paid holidays, university-funded retirement contributions, medical, prescription, dental, and vision coverage, flexible spending and health savings accounts, tuition assistance and discounts, and many other valuable employee benefits.