Director, APEX Accelerator

Research Foundation of CUNY · Long Island City · $85,000–$98,448 (stated in the posting)

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Thank you for considering a career with the Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY).

The team at RFCUNY is made up of dedicated, talented professionals committed to providing the services that allow CUNY researchers, faculty, and staff to focus on their intellectual curiosity and scientific discoveries.

We are pleased that you are interested in exploring opportunities to join RFCUNY.

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Program Description

The LaGuardia Community College APEX Accelerator helps businesses in Queens compete for federal, state, and local government contracts. Established in 1999, it is part of a nationwide network funded in part by the U.S. Department of War (DoW) Office of Small Business Programs through a cost-share cooperative agreement. The Accelerator is managed through the Business Services unit of LaGuardia Community College’s Division of Adult and Continuing Education. It provides no-cost, one-on-one counseling, training, and technical assistance to businesses of all sizes, with particular attention to minority-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, veteran-owned, and women-owned small businesses. Its work supports the Defense Industrial Base and Government Industrial Base.

Role Description

The Director reports to the Assistant Dean of Business Services and has overall leadership, programmatic, and fiscal responsibility for the APEX Accelerator. The Director serves as the Accelerator’s authorized point of contact with DoW on matters related to the cooperative agreement, sets program strategy, supervises the Assistant Director/Senior Procurement Counselor and Procurement Counselors, and ensures that the Accelerator meets its performance measures for businesses served, counseling hours, and conract award outcomes.

The Director ensures compliance with the APEX Accelerators General Terms and Conditions, DoW reporting requirements, and applicable federal cost-share and procurement assistance regulations. The position requires engagement with DoW components, prime contractors, government agencies, small business resource organizations, and college leadership. Travel is required, including out-of-state travel to national APEX Accelerators meetings several times a year.

Duties and Responsibilities

Program Leadership & Strategic Management

• Serve as the Accelerator's Program Director and primary liaison to DoW OSBP; act as the authorized representative for the cooperative agreement, including negotiation, reporting, and renewal.
• Provide day-to-day leadership of the APEX Accelerator, including strategic planning, program design, and execution in alignment with DoW OSBP priorities and the APEX Accelerators General Terms and Conditions.
• Represent the APEX Accelerator to host-institution leadership, providing regular updates on program performance, funding status, and strategic initiatives.

   

Staff Leadership & Program Operations

• Recruit, hire, supervise, mentor, and evaluate the Assistant Director/Senior Procurement Counselor, Procurement Counselors, and support staff; foster a high-performing, client-focused program team.
• Oversee counseling, training, and technical assistance delivered by the program team through individual sessions, workshops, webinars, and networking events
• Oversee maintenance of the Accelerator's website and client database systems, ensuring data integrity for DoW reporting.

Fiscal Management, Compliance & Accountability

• Develop, manage, and monitor the annual program budget and required cost-share match; ensure fiscal accountability and compliance with cooperative agreement financial requirements.
• Own overall responsibility for program performance metrics (client counts, counseling hours, contract awards, and economic impact) and submit all required federal and host-institution reporting on schedule.
• Ensure the center and its staff maintain current knowledge of, and full compliance with, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and federal, state, and local government contracting/subcontracting requirements.
• Manage internal controls, audits, and site visits related to the cooperative agreement; respond to DoW OSBP inquiries and corrective action requests.

Government Contracting & Technical Expertise

• Lead the Accelerator's focus areas mandated under the APEX Accelerators program, including strengthening the Defense Industrial Base (DIB)/Government Industrial Base (GIB) and addressing Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI) considerations with clients.
• Serve as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on government contracting, representing the program at conferences, networking events, and DoW OSBP national meetings.

Business Development, Outreach & Strategic Partnerships

• Develop and maintain a marketing/outreach strategy to achieve client recruitment, retention, and economic development goals across the service area.
• Build and sustain strategic relationships with prime contractors, government agencies, other APEX Accelerators, Small Business Development Centers, Chambers of Commerce, economic development entities, and small business resource organizations.

Training, Events & Client Engagement

• Plan and execute procurement expos, workshops, and webinars that connect clients with government buyers and prime contractors.

• Provide direct counseling and training to clients as needed.

• Perform other duties as assigned by host-institution leadership.

Core Competencies and Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher learning required; Master's degree preferred.

• Five (5) or more years of related experience in government or private-sector purchasing/procurement, small business counseling, or government contracting, including at least two (2) years of supervisory or program management experience.

• Knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and federal, state, and local government contracting/subcontracting requirements relating to small businesses.

• Business and/or government contracting background required; experience with the Defense Industrial Base preferred.

• Proven ability to lead and develop staff, manage competing priorities, and drive a team toward measurable performance goals.

• Proven ability to build and maintain strong relationships with external stakeholders, including government agencies, prime contractors, and small business resource organizations.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and CRM/client management database platforms (e.g., Monday.com), including safeguarding sensitive client and electronic data and generating accurate program reporting.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including public speaking and training delivery.

Preferred

• Demonstrated experience managing federal grants, cooperative agreements, or cost-share funded programs, including budget development and compliance reporting.

• Prior experience with an APEX Accelerator, SBA Small Business Development Center, or similar small-business technical assistance program strongly preferred.

Work Schedule and Travel

• This is a full-time, grant-funded, in-person position, through the Research Foundation of CUNY.  Some remote work may be available, subject to change. Appointments are subject to availability of funding and satisfactory performance.  

• Required to travel, including occasional out-of-state travel for national APEX Accelerators program events.

• Flexible schedule aligned with program calendar, including some evenings.

About LaGuardia Community College

Founded in 1971 in Long Island City, Queens, LaGuardia Community College is one of seven community colleges of the City University of New York (CUNY). LaGuardia offers more than sixty associate degree programs and more than fifty workforce training, ESOL, GED, and pre-college programs. In 2023, LaGuardia served approximately 24,000 students. More than one-third of LaGuardia’s degree-seeking students are born outside the United States; they come from 136 countries and speak 43 heritage languages. Sixty percent are first-generation college students. 

Virtually all LaGuardia students are ethnic minorities (89 percent), 58 percent are women, 27 percent are over the age of 25. Forty-six percent of associate degree students are Hispanic. Upon graduation most students transfer to four-year colleges, typically in CUNY, to complete their baccalaureate degrees. Graduates of career programs such as Nursing, Computer Technology, and Veterinary Technology enter the workforce. LaGuardia ranked fifth among U.S. community colleges in economic mobility – moving low-income students into the middle class and beyond – in studies by Stanford University (2017) and the Brookings Institution (2020).

Please visit www.laguardia.edu to learn more.

Pay Range:

Minimum - Maximum: $85,000-$98,448

RFCUNY Benefits
RFCUNY Employee Benefits and Accruals (link to https://www.rfcuny.org/RFWebsite)

About the Research Foundation
The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) is a nonprofit educational corporation founded in 1963 to provide post-award fiscal and administrative support for CUNY’s research and sponsored programs. RFCUNY’s services allow CUNY researchers, faculty, and staff to focus on their intellectual curiosity and scientific discoveries, on projects and programs that serve our local and global communities, proposing concrete solutions to society’s most pressing challenges.
RFCUNY serves as a fiscal agent and works closely with all the CUNY campus Grants Offices to perform the core functions of post-award financial management for CUNY research projects and sponsored programs. These functions include legal assessment and signing of agreements where RFCUNY is named as a fiscal agent; setting up award accounts; preparing sub-awards and assisting PIs in monitoring the work of the recipients of sub-awards; supporting project directors with hiring and managing research project and sponsored program staff; supporting the purchasing and paying for goods and services with grant and program funds; managing financial aspects of projects including accounts receivable, financial reporting, invoicing, budget monitoring, and cost compliance with uniform guidance; ensuring that sponsor financial requirements are met; monitoring compliance with applicable project and financial management rules and laws; supporting the management of independent and external audits and financial reviews; and providing data, information, management expertise, and other supports to CUNY’s research and sponsored programs.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
The Research Foundation of the City University of New York is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Americans with Disabilities Act/E-Verify Employer. It is the policy of the Research Foundation of CUNY to provide equal employment opportunities free of discrimination based on race, color, age, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, national origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic violence victim status, arrest record, criminal conviction history, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. 

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