Program Officer - Early-Stage Innovators

About The Role:

VentureWell is growing, and has an exciting opportunity to hire a new Program Officer to work with existing and new programs. If you are someone with at least three years of highly related experience, including project management, relationship building, and networking in communities of entrepreneurs, this may be a great role for you. Candidates must bring domain experience in fields related to VentureWell program areas, such as: science and technology innovation, entrepreneurship, med tech, climate tech, startup acceleration or incubation, or in a startup. We also seek staff who bring experience (work or lived) with groups identifying as marginalized by racism, sexism, or classism.

PO-ESI (Early-Stage Innovators): The ideal candidate for this role has experience running programs for early-stage entrepreneurs and has lived experience as an innovator, entrepreneur, or investor. The person in this role will take a programmatic position in our suite of accelerator programs serving student and first-time founders. This person joins our Early-Stage Innovator (ESI) Program team with a high proportion of time spent on our advanced investor-readiness programs and other related accelerator programs, with  25%-35% travel as global public health guidelines allow.   

Responsibilities:

Entrepreneurship Program Management and Delivery

• Coordinate the planning, development, and execution of VentureWell’s Ascend and Aspire investment-readiness and engagement cohorts and related accelerator programs, with guidance from manager.
• Collaborate on recruitment, review, and selection of entrepreneurs and guide their journey through the program offerings.
• Participate in internal collaboration and communication to ensure program success through use of project management tools and practices including project kick-off and ongoing project management.
• Work across programs to align training and opportunities with the organization’s ESI pipeline development strategy and provide support to other programs as needed.
• Source and manage instructors, mentors, partners, and consultants assigned to the program.
• Provide guidance to cross-organizational colleagues partnering on programs to collaborate for excellent program delivery and tracking.
• Work closely with the Learning and Evaluation team to ensure relevant assessment metrics are used for evaluating workshops and documenting learning, knowledge, and impact.
• Support ecosystem strengthening and value-added activities that further goals related to developing ventures, such as making connections and referrals and sourcing new relationships that could be valuable to our community.
• Ensure logistics required for successful program implementation including materials, vendors, and contractors, are planned and executed in a manner that delivers excellence and compliance with budget and finance policies.
• Ensure seamless meeting setup on-the-fly during an event, whether in person or virtual, and providing on-the-ground support of activities and events during in-person program execution
• Lead documentation and tracking efforts for supporting ventures and innovators post-program, including fundraising needs and connections required. 

Relationship Management 

• Act as a connector among program stakeholders including innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors related to resources, capital, connections, and ecosystem support and maintain a database of stakeholders and documentation.
• Develop and cultivate relationships to support organizational venture development goals, including maintaining a network of high-quality and aligned mentors and instructors for the ESI Portfolio.
• Manage ecosystem support partner networks in support of the VentureWell Accelerator programs and innovator development.
• Collaborate with the ESI Programs team in the branding, promotion, and marketing of programs as well as the reporting of program outcomes. Prepare and synthesize written material for proposals and reports to funders.

Thought Leadership and Subject Matter Expertise 

• Contribute ESI expertise to program area, and leverage domain knowledge to develop content and case studies for content marketing or lessons, synthesize lessons learned into program design evolution, and provide thought leadership across the Program team.
• Use domain experience to deliver programming across ESI programs – including group conversation facilitation, presenting and teaching directly in a “front of classroom” role, and one-on-one engagements with participants (e.g. students, investors, entrepreneurs, professionals, etc.). 
• Work towards energetically advancing equity in the scope of team-member performance goals, and broader contributions to VentureWell’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

What You Bring:

• BS/BA equivalent preferred but not required
• Experience and subject matter expertise in entrepreneurship and innovation methods
• Minimum 3-5 years related experience including program design and administration, with domain experience in fields related to VentureWell program areas (entrepreneurship, science and technology startups, equity investment ecosystems (angels/VC)
• Significant experience in collaborating with higher education, foundation, and/or government agency funding staff and their related working environments
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills with an ability to articulate and synthesize information in a compelling and organized manner; Effective and skilled presenter
• Ability to extract key information and data to solve problems and inform decision making
• Experience (work or lived) with groups identifying as marginalized by racism, sexism, or classism
• Demonstrated history of success utilizing project management skills, including ability to meet deadlines and coordinate multiple tasks with a wide range of stakeholders
• Comfort and experience delivering trainings or content related to domain experience online and in person
• Ability to succeed and thrive in an environment with vying and changing priorities and tight deadlines
• Track record of and ability to build solid, collaborative working relationships; exceptional team player who enjoys “customer service” orientation to collaboration internally and externally
• Self-starter with proven attention to detail and a commitment to delivering high-quality work
• Highly adaptable and comfortable working with a degree of ambiguity
• Ability to understand and apply appropriate tools and technologies used in the workplace; ease with adapting new technologies as needed
• High degree of digital fluency using cloud-based office tools such as GSuite, CRMs, team collaboration tools, and other web-based applications; ability to incorporate these tools into day to day work

Across the Board, VentureWell Staff:

• Are able to succeed and thrive in an environment with competing and changing priorities and tight deadlines
• Have track records of and ability to build solid collaborative working relationships, and are proven team players who enjoy a “customer service” orientation to collaboration
• Are committed to embedding equity in our internal practices and culture and in our programs in order to live and achieve our mission
• Bring openness and engagement to personal, professional, and organization-wide learning on race, class, gender, justice, and equity
• Are curious and committed to issues of environmental sustainability
• Are self-starters with excellent attention to detail and a commitment to delivering high-quality work 
• Are active learners who independently learn new tools and work processes quickly
• Have excellent written and oral communication skills

Our Benefits:

• An attractive and equitable compensation package, including: 
• a salary range of $70-80K commensurate with experience and internal equity
• 403 (b) with 200% match up to a maximum contribution from VentureWell of 10% when the employee puts it 5% (eligible after one year of service for the match)
• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance
• $1,000 home office stipend upon hire

• A true focus on work-life balance with work weeks that reflect that
• It’s our aim for our employees in this position to not work more than a 40-hour workweek. Exceptions for this role are occasional, with planned travel or events with external partners 
• 20 paid vacation days PLUS the week off between Christmas and New Years
• 12 paid wellness days 

What We Offer:

• A culture where people work intentionally and collaboratively in pursuit of our mission  
• Values we believe in
• A commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion