Senior Director Of Entrepreneurship

About The Opportunity

The Roux Institute is seeking an Senior Director of Entrepreneurship to build upon, and grow, our successful foundation of expanding the startup Ecosystem in Maine. Reporting to the Associate Vice President of Entrepreneurship & Venture Creation, this role oversees the Roux Entrepreneurship team and leads our efforts in Entrepreneurship Education, Venture Creation, and Community & Support. They will also serve as a member of the Global Entrepreneurship Leadership Team providing learning, insights, and innovations. Since inception, we have incubated 44 businesses that have raised over $35MM in outside funding. We have provided over 750 people across Maine with immersive, experiential entrepeneurship learning opportunities. We have built a capital and mentor network with over 125 members. And we are just getting started. We plan to exponentially scale our impact over the next 5 years.

This leader will be directly responsible for managing and implementing strategies, programming, and a collection of resources that enable the creation and support of new businesses and the education of entrepreneurs. They will lead engagement with entrepreneurs across the global Northeastern and local Maine network with the goal of making Maine and the Roux Institute the most exciting place to start and grow a business. This position will also work directly with leadership of partnership, academic, and research domains to ensure programs integrate with the Roux Institute mission and efforts of other key components.

The successful candidate will be passionate about engaging and supporting new ventures, building community, and entrepreneurship education. They will be able to execute on the core mission and values of The Roux Institute. They will possess strong knowledge of what it takes to launch a company, a keen ability to build relationships across all sectors needed to support new ventures, a bias towards partnership and ecosystem building, and a drive to build a team that makes this center come alive.

Responsibilities

The Senior Director of Entrepreneurship will report directly to the Associate Vice President of Entrepreneurship & Venture Creation. They will have a deeply integrated role, responsible for growing and leading an inclusive community-driven Entrepreneurship porfolio at the Roux Institute.

They will work collaboratively internally and externally with the University to create a porfolio that will serve students, entrepreneurs, researchers, corporate partners, and community members interested in starting businesses in Maine, as well as developing and providing an experiential entrepreneurial education offering.

The Senior Director Will

• Be responsible for structuring, executing, and managing strategic partnerships internal and external to the University.
• Will work with Partnerships & Advancement to develop and execute short and long-term funding strategies.
• Be an important representative of the Roux Institute mission and leader of our Entrepreneurship Initiatives in the community.
• Work in collaboration with the Associate Vice President of Entrepreneurship & Venture Creation to develop a yearly action plan and associated budget for Entrepreneurship offerings. This will include monitoring spending and preparing an annual impact report on how project funds have been allocated and the impact driven.
• Recruit the best talent in the world to join our staff, support our entrepreneurs, and educate our learners.
• Be an important representative of the Roux Institute mission and leader as part of the Global Entrepreneurship Leadership Team.
• Manage Entrepreneurship staff across our Entrepreneurship Education, Venture Creation and Acceleration, and Support & Community verticals.
• Develop a strategic vision and plan for the full suite of offerings based on a deep understanding of entrepreneurs needs and the resources available through the global Northeastern Network, Maine, and global startup ecosystems.
• Actively contribute to the Roux Institute’s quarterly strategic planning meetings, facilitating all parts of the planning for Entrepreneurship.
• Measure, and report on, the impact of the Entrepreneurship offerings including venture creation and success metrics.

Minimum Qualifications

The Senior Director of Entrepreneurship will be required to have team management experience, thorough understanding of starting and scaling a high growth technology company, developing a team, and managing diverse stakeholders. They must work with a high level of independence within a progressive institutional environment. They challenge the status quo and develop new techniques to support venture creation. They embrace new ideas; innovate and anticipate future needs; share knowledge and teach others to do the same. It is an expectation that the candidate is a strong communicator and collaborative partner, able to work up, down and across the organization, and represent the Institute in a variety of diverse forums.

• Experience scaling processes and teams
• Excellent communications skills and ability to work independently and in a team environment are a must
• Ability to work efficiently, creatively and meet deadlines
• Ability to interact with all levels of the organization, including University senior leaders and external executives where necessary, ability to positively represent the Institute
• Networked approach to developing leadership style is key; must be comfortable in an environment of deep collaboration, engagement and creativity from all levels of the organization
• 5+ years experience in startups or Entrepreneurship support ecosystems. Ideally both.
• Demonstrated ability to make decisions and exercise sound judgment
• Proven ability to work with external and internal organizations, partners, donors and agencies to produce results. This may include investors, corporations, government programs, and entrepreneurs
• Proven track record of success and expertise in building and/or mentoring businesses from concept to first customer and beyond
• Strong leadership skills that require a balance of managing day to day activities, as well as oversight of a team
• Bachelor’s degree preferred
• Experience managing and developing a team.
• Strongly demonstrates a bias towards action, rapid iteration, and hands on approach

Travel Requirement

• You will be required to travel to Boston occasionally for meetings at Northeastern’s Boston and Burlington campuses
• There is limited travel further afield to meet companies who wish to move offices to Maine or to visit Northeastern regional campuses- Networked approach to developing leadership style is key; must be comfortable in an environment of deep collaboration, engagement and creativity from all levels of the organization
• You will be required to travel, mostly regionally, to meet potential partners and entrepreneurs

Position Type

General Administration

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.

Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.

Northeastern University is an equal opportunity employer, seeking to recruit and support a broadly diverse community of faculty and staff. Northeastern values and celebrates diversity in all its forms and strives to foster an inclusive culture built on respect that affirms inter-group relations and builds cohesion.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

To learn more about Northeastern University’s commitment and support of diversity and inclusion, please see www.northeastern.edu/diversity.