1871 - Director Of Corporate Innovation

About 1871

The story of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 isn’t really about the fire. It’s about what

happened next: A remarkable moment when the most brilliant engineers, architects

and inventors came together to build a new city. Their innovations – born of passion

and practical ingenuity – shaped not just Chicago, but the modern world. What

started 140 years ago continues to this day.

1871, a global non-profit innovation hub, exists to inspire, equip, and support

founders, growth scalers, and innovators in building great businesses from all

backgrounds. We deliver unfair advantages at scale. We are the only organization in

the world that we know of that supports the full maturity curve of a business - idea to

Fortune 50. The team supports ~450 young companies, 200+ growth stage members

and 100+ partners made up of the brightest digital designers, engineers, and leaders

shaping new technologies, disrupting old business models, and resetting the

boundaries of what’s possible.

Come to a place where you can share ideas, make mistakes, partner with others,

work hard, grow professionally and, with a little luck, change the world. If that sounds

like you, join us.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

As the Director of Corporate Innovation at 1871, a 501 C-3 non profit, you will work

closely with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Experience Officer (CXO) to

drive new business and ensure our members and partners have a positive experience

that continues to grow over time. You will join a fast-paced entrepreneurial

environment where you will have the opportunity to shape the future landscape of

1871. This role is designed to help scale 1871’s flagship products (e.g. Innovation Labs,

Innovation Challenges) supporting our local, national and international corporate

community, while also connecting 1871’s community of founders and startups. This is

a critical area of growth for 1871 and will require significant focus and energy. We

expect to onboard 20+ new Corporate members and partners over the course of the

next 12 months.

Reporting to the CXO, the Director of Corporate Innovation will manage the

Corporate Innovation team internally and own the management of our Corporate

community (new and existing members and partners). This includes sales, account

management and customer success for all Corporate accounts. The role will also

work closely with the Product team which is responsible for designing and delivering

the programs and resources for our Corporate members and partners. The goal of

this role is ultimately to build raving fans and lifelong members of our broader

community. 1871’s corporate members are pursuing multi-faceted agendas including

but not limited to - core problem solving, talent attraction and retention, connection

to broader community, and brand awareness.

Success in this role will hinge on your capacity to drive growth through corporate

membership and engagement across our core product objectives (e.g., Innovation

Labs and Challenges) . Your ability to identify and close opportunities for revenue

expansion within the corporate community will be a key performance indicator.

Additionally, maintaining strong relationships and high retention rates among current

members and partners will be critical, as will be your ability to play an active role

within the Tech community.

We are looking for someone who thrives in a team environment, and who is motivated

by closing deals and exceeding expectations. It’s imperative that this individual is

comfortable with public speaking, building relationships with C-suite executives and

representing 1871 as an ambassador for all that we offer. We expect our new Director

of Corporate Innovation to have a strategic mindset with passion for connecting and

building relationships, strong communication skills, attention to detail, and is looking

to expand their career by immersing themselves in one of the leading digital

technology hubs in the world.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Facilitate meaningful connections between companies and startups by leveraging in-depth understanding of focus areas and problem statements, effectively matching their needs and goals to foster mutually beneficial collaborations and innovation opportunities
• Responsible for the tracking and reporting on metrics related to customer growth, customer health, churn and retention and overall effectiveness of membership
• Lead sponsorship and partnership outreach efforts to support 1871 product suites and achieve 2024 growth targets (20+ new members)
• Collaborate with the Marketing Team and broader Experience Team to help drive inbound conversions
• Manage the sales pipeline ensuring accurate tracking of leads, opportunities, and partner interaction (via Hubspot)
• Lead orientation to welcome new corporate members
• Serve as 1871 ambassador within the greater innovation community
• Relationship Management
• Lead the Corporate Innovation pod (team) to maintain effective new member acquisition, new member engagement, member retention, and customer success effort
• Identify corporate members and partners to invite for panels, roundtable discussions and exposure to startups through 1871 core programs
• Startup Matching
• Establish yourself as trusted advisor to Corporate member champions; listen and understand challenges and then develop and execute action plan to resolve [with support from Corp Inno team and greater Experience Team]
• Business Development
• Strategy & Operations
• Manage and oversee the professional development of the Senior Manager of Corporate Innovation; who supports corporate account management and startup scouting aligned to corporate focus areas
• Partner with senior leadership to optimize the Corporate Innovation strategy, value proposition, and delivery model for acquiring and retaining Corporate members and partners for each of 1871’s product suites
• Team Leader

This Role Is a Fit For Someone Who Is...

• A team player -- you appreciate your team depending on you and therefore you work hard to play your part to drive the bigger mission of the organization
• A connector - you are passionate about finding and connecting startups to the Corporate and VC community
• Enjoy building – you are energized by the idea of getting to build out a function leveraging your creativity and expertise
• Able to juggle multiple priorities -- you are able to manage multiple projects and always on deadline
• A critical thinker – you are able to evaluate problems and surface solutions in an objective way
• A team leader - you are passionate about growing and coaching the (Corporate Innovation) team
• A sales enthusiast – you enjoy problem solving with a set product suite and bringing new partners into the 1871 community
• Goal-oriented and highly resilient -- you are hungry and focused on surpassing goals and enjoy finding new ways to problem-solve to achieve them
• A relationship builder - you enjoy creating and nurturing relationships, and can cultivate mutual benefits along the way

Requirements

• Passion for solving challenges alongside corporate senior leadership
• Ability to follow-through on commitments and communicate relevant information to internal and external stakeholders
• Demonstrated success in developing long lasting partners and increasing revenue
• Experience maintaining CRM data (Hubspot experience a plus)
• Strong people management skills
• 5+ years of experience managing sales processes in a management or director role
• Organization, planning, timeliness, follow-through on commitments
• Strong social and presentation skills with ability to influence

Benefits

1871 offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, dental, vision, 401k, unlimited PTO, opportunities to participate in workshops and events, and more!

PERKS

In addition to our impressive benefits, there are other fun reasons to work with us.

• Work as a part of a diverse team
• Convenient downtown location
• Remote work opportunities [This role has a hybrid format - virtual 2 days a week and in person from the 1871 space in the Merchandise Mart for 3 days a week]
• Unparalleled access to opportunities and networking with some of the biggest players in tech
• Casual environment and dress code
• Work at the center of Chicago tech innovation

1871/CEC is an equal employment opportunity employer with a strong focus on crafting an inclusive and diverse environment. We encourage individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to apply for this position.