Associate

For more than 20 years, corporations, governments, and philanthropies have hired Next Street to strengthen the small businesses they rely on. Founded in 2005 as a Boston-based consultancy advising a selection of small local businesses, Next Street has evolved into the leading national small business solutions firm impacting more than 200,000 entrepreneurs across the country each year. We maintain our unwavering commitment and specialized expertise in small business support on behalf of our clients.

Over the years, our work has impacted more than 4 million small businesses, connecting them with more than 50,000 hours of advisory services, $6 billion in capital and $10 billion in contracts.

Today, we provide end-to-end solutions — from ecosystem assessments and strategies to resource platforms and accelerators — for these clients to propel the small businesses in their communities and supply chains. Our solutions ultimately help small businesses, whether they are solo entrepreneurs or advanced suppliers, to unlock new revenue, build wealth, and reinvest in their communities. We believe that with the right support, America's small business owners will be the engines driving new economic growth across the country.

Next Street is a certified B-corporation that is committed to becoming an anti-racist organization to represent the small businesses we strive to serve. Through this commitment, inclusivity is integral to our DNA, and our values are embedded in every aspect of our work. 

Join us, and together, we will live into our values, pursue fulfilling careers, and transform our society.

Why this Role?

Our Strategy group is hiring a high-performing Associate to lead research and analysis and turn those insights into transformative strategies and solutions for institutional clients. Join us and you will get exposure to some of the most complex economic and community development challenges in the country, while working alongside an extraordinary team and accelerating your career.

We will give you ample opportunity to contribute and lead work from day one. You’ll work in teams of typically 3 – 5 colleagues, playing an active role in all aspects of the client engagement. Your day-to-day work will be concentrated in three main areas: (1) Research and data analysis (2) strategy development and stakeholder engagement, and (3) project administration and coordination. These areas will help you refine your strategic thinking and quantitative and qualitative skills. As you grow, we will give you increasing responsibility for managing project scopes, teams, and client relationships.

Your work will consist of…

Research and Data Analysis

• Structure and organize ambiguous problems, tasks, and information, and be able to act independently
• Conduct primary and secondary research to inform place-based and organization-specific assessments and strategies
• Perform complex qualitative and quantitative data analyses to understand a target market, industry, or geography and identify key trends for clients
• Interview subject matter experts, conduct focus groups, and design surveys to deepen understanding of client and broader market challenges
• Develop scenario-based quantitative models with projections based on historical analysis and researched assumptions

Strategy Development and Stakeholder Engagement

• Synthesize key takeaways into strategic frameworks to develop actionable recommendations and implementation plans to meet the client’s objectives
• Create client deliverables with research findings and recommendations, primarily in PowerPoint and Word (or equivalent Google products), using visualization and charts
• Present findings to clients’ senior leadership and internal firm management
• Coordinate with client stakeholders, partner organizations, and/or vendors in support of meeting client and impact goals

Project Administration and Coordination

• Organize and initiate tasks independently and see them through to completion
• Assist with day-to-day execution of programs, coordinate work across multiple partners and workstreams, help maintain workplans, track deadlines, monitor deliverables, and support action plan development when deliverable dates are at risk
• Support the administrative needs of projects, including email communication with internal and external stakeholders, scheduling meetings, focus groups, and surveys
• Create and maintain project documentation, including status reports, meeting minutes, and project timelines
• Contribute to firm knowledge development, codification, and dissemination

Why you?

• You have 3-4 years of work experience with a top-tier professional services firm (management consulting, financial services, or program development)
• You are an Excel and PowerPoint wizard and take pride in a well-structured, high-quality model and beautifully designed slide, perhaps drawing from data visualization tools
• You have experience supporting or contributing to a client services environment
• You have excellent communication and cross-functional relationship skills
• You are energized by solving problems and getting to the right answer
• You are looking for opportunities to grow and accelerate your career in both strategy and operations
• You are willing to challenge and be challenged, regardless of seniority
• You believe in social equity and our commitment to anti-racism efforts

What we offer:

We want our team members to bring their best, true selves to work every day. We will offer you:

• Competitive salary and benefits – We know you work hard, and we want to reward you for it. We offer competitive salaries and generous benefits packages (including 401k and paid parental leave) for mission-driven work.
• Generous paid time off – We want to ensure you have time to recharge and to pursue your many passions. We give our team members 20 days of paid time off per year, inclusive federal holidays, volunteer days and more!
• Mentorship and Sponsorship – You will have frequent access to our diverse and dynamic senior team. They will be committed to your growth and will invest in mentoring you.
• Career development – We take growth seriously. We give each team member an annual professional development stipend and provide ample coaching.
• Flexibility – It is important that you work when and where you work best. We are flexible with employees to accommodate individual schedules and work preferences. This includes a low travel mode during non-pandemic times.
• Social events and perks – We admire and value our teammates. We plan events throughout the year and provide office snacks so you can perform your best every day and more!

Next Street believes in an equitable and transparent compensation approach. The starting salary for Associate positions across the firm is $84,460 - $91,464 regardless of location and commensurate with experience. This role is based in New York. You will be eligible to participate annually in Next Street’s discretionary incentive program. For new hires, Next Street targets the start of the salary band, although considerations could be made based on job knowledge, skills, and experience. As part of our Antiracism commitment, Next Street uses a pay scale approach and transparent methodology to advance staff within a compensation band based on performance.

Next Street is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.

 Note: We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.