BGC Marketplace Consulting Opportunity
Brown Girls Climb is seeking consultants to help us launch our new shopping platform, the BGC Marketplace. The BGC Marketplace is a values based shopping experience for outdoor enthusiasts committed to a better future for all.
The BGC Marketplace incorporates search filters beyond what you find in a typical retailer. We offer an option for you to filter brands by your values because let’s face it – it matters. Search options include: Ownership (BIPOC, Women, Non-Binary (NB), and LGBTQIA2+), Fit & Style (Adaptive, Gender Inclusive, Plus Size), and Corporate Responsibility (Environmental & Social initiatives)
About Brown Girls Climb
Brown Girls Climb (BGC) is a for profit social enterprise which strives to facilitate mentorship, provide access, uplift leadership, and celebrate representation in the outdoors and climbing for People of the Global Majority. Our process is adaptive and emergent with a focus on building equitable and just relationships in all the efforts we commit to, including meet-ups and mentorship, resource sharing and redistribution, and employment and industry practices.
Overview of the Consulting
We are committed to making this an inclusive shopping experience that reduces barriers to finding the companies, gear, and apparel we love. We also want to make sure that as we build this service, we incorporate how wealth is redistributed in our community. For these reasons, we are seeking consultants that can help us accomplish the following objectives. As a note, chosen consultants may be hired to help with one or more of the areas:
- Initial Call and Overview of project (1 hr.)
- Review and edit our partnership intake form. (1 hr. min)
The partnership form(s) will be given and filled out to any companies (small or large) joining the marketplace. Since we are prioritizing inclusive search features, we want to make sure that the questions we are asking, specifically as it relates to specific communities, are appropriate and valid to the market they are reaching. These include determining companies making:
- Plus size gear & apparel
- Gender neutral gear & apparel
- Adaptive gear & apparel
- Review and edit the BGC Marketplace website and search features. (1 hr. min)
As we add new partners that fit these criteria, we also want to make sure that the user experience and search capabilities reflect what the customer is looking for and how they may be searching (language, categories, etc.)
- Develop an equitable solution to redirecting and redistributing wealth. (2 hr. min)
We recognize that as we are building something new, this presents a great opportunity to build sustainable avenues for other communities to generate income as well. Although our primary goal is to have the BGC Marketplace as a revenue source for the BGC Community both to staff and to continue outreach, we believe it has the potential to provide for beyond BGC. If and when this model is successful and considering that many potential consultants have done significant work advocating for inclusive products within certain brands or industries, we want to build options for compensation for the sales generated from the platform. We would seek advice from the community to make sure this is done in an equitable and just manner with respect to the communities they are a part of once we have solidified additional funds.
Requirements and Qualifications
We are seeking consultants with experience working with and being part of Plus size, Disabled, and Gender expansive/Queer communities. Additional support is needed from consultants with insight into reparations and Land Back initiatives.
- Knowledge concerning product development and marketing or user experience is preferred.
- Good communication skills: these projects are collaborative and may involve calls with multiple people or other consultants.
- Strong consideration to timelines is necessary: we are hoping to launch an initial public version in November.
Compensation
$150-$250/hour depending on experience. Minimum hours are listed by consulting project. Initial call and project overview is required for all hired consultants.
Timeline
September:
- Reach out to consultants
- Finalize consultants
October:
- Incorporate feedback to partner form, website
- Begin Beta testing with community members
November:
- Launch public website
Final Notes
We recognize that after beta testing and once the platform becomes publicly available, we will need to continue to check in with the communities it is serving to ensure that it is representative and accurate to the various needs that exist. Our hope is that by investing in this initial launch, we can begin generating funds that can help us continue to maintain the platform and the oversight it may require to stay up to date.
If you are interested in consulting for Brown Girls Climb as we develop the BGC Marketplace, please email your resume to info@browngirlsclimb.com by September 24th with the title “BGC Marketplace Consulting”. Brown Girls Climb is an equal opportunity employer.
