Innovation Ecosystem Relationship Manager

Summary

We are seeking candidates to join our team at Tech Square in Atlanta, GA. In this role, you will support academic researchers, innovative entrepreneurs, and corporate industry partners by connecting people and ideas to encourage inter-disciplinary collaboration.

Primary responsibilities include: knowing our clients and understanding the nature of their work; promoting a culture of open collaboration; building and strengthening connections by making purposeful introductions; planning and holding events; implementing programs to support new discoveries and their translation to the marketplace of end users; and liaising between clients and our property management support teams.

Preferred candidates will possess a STEM (science, technology, engineering, or math)-related college degree or work background and demonstrate experience working in an innovation-related setting such as academic research or technology entrepreneurship. Successful candidates will be outgoing, self-motivated, confidently conversant about science and technology, and able to work independently to implement their ideas.

About Us

We make innovation communities thrive.Every day we create spaces, communities, and programs designed to inspire, connect, and strengthen inter-disciplinary collaboration between scientists and innovators in their pursuit of new ideas.

Collaborative Real Estate (CRE) is continually working to define “best in class” management for innovation and research properties.We are a full-service firm with expertise in real estate development, asset/property management, and promoting inter-disciplinary engagement.Our clients and partners include universities, not-for-profit foundations, private owners, developers, and local governments.

We see things differently. Therefore, our vision – and ultimately our approach – is different: we implement a human-centric operating philosophy.We seek to understand the work of researchers and innovators within our ecosystems because we recognize that what happens inside a building matters far more than the building itself.We intentionally work to motivate, sustain, and inspire the individuals inside the space because it is the people that truly matter.

About You

• Experienced in building collaborative partnerships
• Demonstrates an interest and a deep-rooted curiosity about a multitude of science and/or technology-related fields
• Outgoing when meeting new people and building relationships, prefers to spend much of the day talking and interacting with a wide range of personalities
• Holds working knowledge of both research grant funding along with business formation, funding, and growth
• Comfortable communicating with multiple internal and external stakeholders including executive-level leadership
• Strong influencing skills when working with internal and external partners at all levels of the organization

Responsibilities

• Build relationships and liaise with building tenants and community members specifically including scientific researchers, corporate innovation leaders, entrepreneurs, and university faculty.
• Understand the work undertaken by key companies, institutions, and individuals:

- For companies or institutions: develop high-level understanding of their industry, status, strategic goals, affiliations, and major customers or target markets.

- For individuals: understand their personal and professional background, roles, knowledge strengths, current connections, personal and professional interests.

• Work with tenant contacts to identify their relevant knowledge “ecosystem” and develop measurable goals to improve the quantity and depth of connections they have within it, with an eye towards promoting:

-Inter-disciplinary pursuit of research funding or breakthrough ideas

- University – Industry research partnerships

- Translation of innovation to a customer marketplace

• Identify, plan, and implement networking introductions, events and communication strategies aimed at providing the specific connections outlined through the goal-setting process above.Through these methods, strategically assist tenant contacts with developing new connections:

-To others at their property

-To other CRE-managed properties

-To others within their own organization

- To other institutions

-To others within their discipline or field of work

-To other intersecting disciplines

• Assist leasing and brokerage representatives with identification of potential tenants in research ecosystems that are relevant to each building’s knowledge community.
• Identify feasible discretionary projects that enable our properties to enhance user interaction and participate in project planning and design efforts when necessary.
• Plan and manage property-level budgets for property activation and events and certain administrative expenses.
• Prospect national and regional affiliations for potential research or commercial partnerships.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for tenants on property operational issues when needed, representing additional CRE staff to provide excellent customer service.
• Gather data and insights, working with other CRE staff to provide intelligence from the data and to turn insights into useful stories that demonstrate the value of our network promotion efforts.
• Assist other CRE staff to Develop and continually reinforce a culture of curiosity, discovery, sharing, and collaboration among members through communication and events.

Necessary Qualifications

• Minimum five years professional work experience across any of the following:
• Bachelors’ Degree or greater in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math)-related field

-University administration of research or commercial partnerships

-Commercial innovation

-Start-up incubator/accelerator

-Economic development

-Venture capital

- University research (including post-graduate sponsored research)

• Ability to work full-time on site with occasional overnight travel