Vice President of Small Business Acceleration

Position Overview

The Vice President of Small Business Acceleration is a senior leader responsible for architecting and advancing the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance's strategy to accelerate the growth, competitiveness, and market integration of small businesses across the region.

Supporting the leadership team, this role elevates small business engagement from programmatic activity to a core economic strategy, aligning supplier readiness, capital access, and procurement pipelines with the region's largest employers, infrastructure investments, and policy priorities.

This executive serves as the Alliance's strategic convener and market connector, ensuring small business acceleration is fully integrated into the organization's economic development, workforce, and member value strategy.

Primary Responsibilities

Enterprise Strategy & Executive Leadership

• Lead the development and execution of the Alliance's small-business acceleration strategy, aligned with regional competitiveness goals and Small Business Committee priorities.
• Integrate small business engagement into corporate member priorities, economic development initiatives, and public policy objectives.
• Advise executive leadership and board members on small business trends, ecosystem gaps, and growth opportunities.
• Position the Alliance as the region's premier platform for demand-driven small business acceleration.

Acceleration Strategy & Program Execution

• Design and scale high-impact initiatives including Small Business Scale Up Program, Contract and procurement readiness pipelines, Sector-focused acceleration strategies, and Supplier and workforce alignment models.
• Ensure programs are market-driven, outcome-oriented, and tied to measurable metrics such as revenue growth, procurement wins, capital access, and talent pipeline integration.
• Establish performance dashboards and continuous improvement frameworks.

Employer & Member Integration

• Engage with members of the Small Business Committee, executive roundtables, industry working groups, and cross-sector convenings.
• Partner with corporate and mid-sized members to align small business acceleration with supplier engagement goals, infrastructure and capital investments, and workforce and apprenticeship pipelines.
• Serve as a senior liaison to small business members, creating clear pathways to engagement, value, and growth.

Regional Ecosystem & Public-Private Collaboration

• Build and steward strategic partnerships with public-sector agencies, workforce boards, industry associations, and community and capital partners.
• Align Alliance efforts with regional infrastructure investments, economic mobility initiatives, and industry sector strategies.
• Represent the Alliance in regional and statewide discussions related to entrepreneurship, supplier ecosystems, and inclusive growth.

Operational Stewardship & Financial Sustainability

• Oversee budgets, staffing, and operational systems supporting small-business acceleration.
• Partner with investor relations and communications team to secure investments, grants, and strategic funding.
• Ensure initiatives are scalable, financially sustainable, and operationally sound.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• 5+ years of senior leadership experience in economic development, business growth, workforce development, or enterprise ecosystem leadership.
• Strong experience working in and/or with small business enterprises.
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-sector partnerships involving corporations, government, and community stakeholders.
• Proven ability to translate strategy into measurable, market-facing outcomes.
• Experience engaging executive-level stakeholders and governing boards.
• Strong financial and operational oversight experience.

Core Competencies

• Market-Driven Strategy & Growth Acceleration
• Executive-Level Partnership Development
• Performance Management & Data-Driven Execution
• Financial Stewardship & Program Sustainability
• High-Level Communication & Influence