Location: Remote (must reside in Missouri)

Position Type: Contract (part-time)

Compensation:  $5,000 per month, with Consultant to invoice Company at the end of each month.

About Right to Start

Right to Start is an organization working to expand entrepreneurial opportunity for all as a key civic priority. After launching Starters Coalitions in Arkansas, Indiana, and New Mexico (virtual), we are excited to further bolster our grassroots engagement and civic organizing by establishing a Starters Coalition in Missouri, dedicated to removing barriers and driving civic change for anyone who seeks to start and grow a business, regardless of race, place, or background. The coalition will foster collaboration between entrepreneurs, entrepreneur support organizations, and civic and community leaders, in order to increase public awareness of the benefits of new and young companies and help improve the statewide environment for entrepreneurs.  

Position Overview

We are seeking a dedicated and passionate Coalition Manager to lead our efforts in driving civic change and removing barriers, so that everyone can realize their entrepreneurial dreams.

The Coalition Manager will play a pivotal role in improving the entrepreneurial environment in Missouri by supporting the creation and management of a Starters Coalition. Right to Start Starters Coalitions bring together entrepreneurs and their champions, identify barriers to launching new businesses, and advocate for policy changes to remove those obstacles. By fostering a more supportive environment for entrepreneurship, these coalitions help drive economic growth, create homegrown jobs, increase incomes, strengthen communities, and reduce inequality and poverty across the state.

Starters Coalitions are designed to reshape civic infrastructure by connecting the grassroots to the grasstops around the Right to Start movement. Through regular convenings, coalitions mobilize supporters to drive civic change and advocate for entrepreneurs by:

• Taking action through consistent calls-to-action (CTAs).

• Spreading Right to Start’s messaging via our online training platform.

• Building connections through our digital community, fostering collaboration and shared advocacy.

Note: Coalitions are not designed to engage in lobbying activities or push legislation.

This role requires a strategic and collaborative individual who can drive civic change through coalition-building, knowledge-sharing, policy advocacy, and community engagement.

Key Responsibilities

Based on what we have seen work effectively, Right to Start’s activities at the state level include a combination of three strategic pillars: grassroots organizing and mobilizing, policy advocacy, and storytelling through media. You will be responsible for ensuring that all three are working in concert together across the state of Missouri. 

1. Coalition Building and Management

• Develop and implement a strategy for building a diverse and engaged coalition of entrepreneurs, civic and community leaders, policymakers, and partners (entrepreneur support organizations, incubators, accelerators, and others) across Missouri, who will engage in grassroots engagement activities (such as petition drives, public education events, roundtables, and online campaigns) to advance Right to Start’s mission.

• Meet with stakeholders to educate them about Right to Start and the Missouri Starters Coalition, and to recruit them as members.

• Foster collaboration and communication among coalition members to amplify the collective impact on the local entrepreneurial ecosystem.

• Administer the online and offline organizing of the coalition. Online organizing of the coalition will be conducted within our digital community, “We Are All Starters,” where you will be responsible for running the statewide digital community page (specifically, creating and moderating content, posting meeting agendas, engaging with members, etc.)

• Maintain stakeholder and other coalition data in our data tracking systems (e.g., NationBuilder and/or Monday.com, as relevant)

• Manage one part-time grassroots Advocate to execute coalition priorities, recruiting members, and engaging entrepreneurs and the public to take action and join the movement for change.

• Organize a Steering Committee (including Advocate, State Ambassadors & key coalition members) to support and inform Coalition priorities and operations.

2. Coalition Activities

• Plan, promote, and execute public-facing events, convenings, and activations, including monthly meetups (in-person or online).

• Utilize Right to Start’s digital community for knowledge-sharing, inspiring civic action, and fostering a culture of collaboration within the local entrepreneurial communities.

• Mobilize coalition members to take action, including documenting entrepreneurs’ stories and barriers, and compiling and sharing these stories to raise awareness, inform policymakers, and inspire collective action.

3. Policy Advocacy

• Advise Right to Start’s Chief Government Affairs Officer and Director of Field & Campaign Strategy in the development and championing of a statewide policy agenda and offer input into the state Scorecard.

• Meet with and educate local and state policymakers and civic leaders about the challenges faced by local entrepreneurs, sharing real stories captured by the coalition's members.

• In consultation with the Chief Government Affairs Officer and Director of Field & Campaign Strategy, engage coalition members in advocacy efforts and civic actions to remove barriers, advance policy initiatives (e.g. alerting them to pro-starter legislation via NationBuilder platform), fostering a community that actively supports and values entrepreneurship.

4. Public Education and Engagement

• Partner with Communications Consultant, Henry Miller, on communications opportunities to advance the work of the coalition and tell the story of entrepreneurship in Missouri.

• Work with coalition partners to educate the public on entrepreneurial barriers, the power of entrepreneurship and policy issues and encourage them to join the movement, including through social media, videos, events, etc.

• With guidance from the Director of Marketing, manage coalition social media (creating and overseeing content) and draft marketing materials in Canva (customizing standard templates).

• Be the brand ambassador and face of Right to Start in the community.

• Engage the public in civic actions to remove barriers, fostering a community that actively supports and values entrepreneurship.

4. Other

• Attend monthly state meetings with the Director of Field & Campaign Strategy and other HQ staff for input into state strategy, strategic support, and alignment across departments.

• Collaborate with other Coalition Managers to share ideas, lessons, and best practices to grow Starters Coalitions across the country.

Who You Are

• This role requires a strategic and collaborative individual who can drive civic change through coalition-building, knowledge-sharing, policy advocacy, and community engagement.

• Hold a bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience).

• Have proven experience in coalition-building, community engagement, grassroots organizing, or related fields.

• Possess excellent communication and facilitation skills.

• Able to work collaboratively with diverse, disparate stakeholders, including entrepreneurs, policymakers, and community and civic leaders.

• Understand the political and civic landscape in Missouri.

• Have a demonstrated commitment to lifting the voices of those left behind in the economy.

• Care deeply about everyday people trying to start and grow businesses, especially those whose voices are often unheard.

• Understands that the real day-to-day work of business is quiet, hard, and does not make headlines.

• Trusted and respected among your peers and in your broader communities, including in communities left behind economically and politically.

• Possess personal qualities of humility, integrity, and dependability.

• Be willing to conduct on-the-ground, in-person coalition activities across Missouri.

What Would Set You Apart

• Experience in and understanding of local and state policy advocacy.

• Established relationships with entrepreneurial support organizations or policymakers.

• Background in entrepreneurship or entrepreneurial support.

What We Offer 

• Highly flexible remote work arrangements (live anywhere).

• Highly flexible hours (no fixed office hours).

Compensation

Compensation is $5,000 per month, with Consultant to invoice Company at the end of each month.

Our Principles

1. Everyone has a fundamental Right to Start.  We have the right to pursue our entrepreneurial dreams and shape the destiny of our own lives. 

2. We must protect and nourish starters.  Society should provide equal access to resources for all of us to start and grow.

3. To level the playing field, tilt it.  Americans don’t seek favors, but every starter deserves an equal shot to succeed.  

4. Renewal comes bottom-up.  Communities and nations are transformed by lifting up their people.

5. Grow ecosystems to grow economies.  Prosperity for all comes by breaking barriers, fostering trust, bridging differences.

6. All of us matter.  Every big idea starts small and vulnerable, and needs all of our help to grow. 

Right to Start is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity and inclusion. All employment decisions at Right to Start are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, HIV status, marital status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate.