Small Business Development Advisor

Position Title: Small Business Development Advisor

Department: Small Business Development Center

Advertised Pay: Base is $48,234 a year

Campus Location: Washburn University

Application Deadline:  Application review will begin as applications are received and will continue until the position is filled. Applicants can be assured of full consideration if submitted by September 5, 2025.

Position Summary:

Washburn University is a teaching-focused, student-centered, public institution located in the metropolitan setting of Topeka that has earned national recognition for its high-impact programs for first-generation students. Washburn has a student body of over 5,500 undergraduate, graduate, and law students, a significant and growing number of whom are first-generation and Pell-Grant eligible. The University has created educational pathways for all students to be successful and achieve their educational goals.

Washburn is dedicated to recruiting and retaining a dynamic faculty, staff, and student body and cultivating a robust learning and working environment and curriculum. We employ more than one thousand faculty and staff on our campuses throughout Topeka and strive to offer competitive wages, an excellent benefits program, and a supportive culture and a healthy work/life balance. Washburn seeks to create an environment that reflects our core values for creating positive IMPACT: inclusion, modernization, partnership, achievement, community and transformation. In 2024, Washburn was recognized as one of the best colleges in the nation to work for, according to Great Colleges to Work For® program.

The Small Business Development Advisor for the Small Business Development Center provides consulting services to entrepreneurs and small businesses to support their efforts to start and grow their business. This is a partially grant-funded position. 

Essential Functions:
• Provide consulting/advising services to small business owners and start-up entrepreneurs for business planning, financial projections, financial analysis, financing options, market research, marketing strategies, technology development, and other small business needs.

• Counsel clients to determine business start feasibility, job creation potential, commercialization potential, prospective increase in sales, and access to capital.

• Develop, coordinate, and deliver small business seminars.

• Market and promote seminars, training programs, and other services provided by Washburn’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) that benefit NE Kansas communities within the service area.

• Participate in activities that support community relations and promote the programs of Washburn’s SBDC through the development and maintenance of professional relationships with bankers, economic development, and small business service professionals.

• Enter data and maintain client database. Generate appropriate reports and follow-up meetings as needed.

• Attend and participate in KSBDC team meetings, WU Kansas SBDC staff meetings, and other statewide KSBDC events, such as Legislative Day and Small Business Awards Day.

• Participate in professional development opportunities in the areas of entrepreneurship and small business management.

• Perform additional job-related duties as assigned or as appropriate.

Non-Essential Functions:
Blogging, writing articles, and digital marketing.

Required Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree.
• One to two years of experience operating/owning a small business or two years of experience advising small business owners.
• Demonstrated effective interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work autonomously.
• Proven effective skills using Microsoft Office Excel, Outlook, Word.

Physical Requirements:
• Responsible for providing personal transportation to and from SBDC appointments and events.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience with QuickBooks, technology commercialization, or coding.
• Proven knowledge of business, banking, exit, and/or strategic planning.
• BBA or an MBA.
• Small business financing or marketing experience.

Exempt, Full time    
Background Check Required