Associate Director of Venture Development Institute Applied Life Sciences

Title: Associate Director of Venture Development for the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS)

Executive Area: Research and Engagement

College/School/MBU: Institute Applied Life Science

Department: Institute Applied Life Science

Work Location: Amherst

Schedule: Full time

Work Arrangement: Hybrid

Reporting to the Director of IALS Venture Development, the Associate Director of Venture Development for the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS) manages and facilitates IALS Venture Development operations and collaborations within IALS, within the University innovation ecosystem, and with external parties including venture mentors, alumni, experts, investors, and representatives of industry organizations, companies, and federal agencies.

• Business Innovation Fellows program.
• Startup Law, Intellectual Property Law, and Mentor Office Hours.
• Startup Know-How educational speakers and training workshops.
• IALS Venture Development web presence.

Oversees the week-to-week development of specific pre-startups and startups as assigned, including supervision of Business Innovation Fellows teams and their work (market assessments and landscapes, competitive analyses, financial modeling, identification of funding sources, draft pitch decks and backgrounders).

Serves as a navigator and knowledgeable resource for IALS Venture Development pre-startups and startups. Recommends, connects and arranges services for faculty and student founders to advance their early-stage ventures. Communicates key concepts with respect to startup development including milestones, differentiation strategy, and the importance of unmet customer needs.

Works with the Director of IALS Venture Development and other members of the IALS Leadership team to manage the Business Innovation Fellows (up to 25 MBA Fellows and 2 undergraduates). Works with the Director to design, develop, and implement new programs.

Builds awareness of and interest in pre-startups and startups through news stories, web content, social media, and events directed towards key campus and external audiences.

Cultivates faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate student interest in the creation of applied science and technology startups based on campus research.

Represents IALS Venture Development to operationalize collaborations with other venture development organizations and resources within and beyond the University.

Defines objectives and strategic goals to build and contribute to a translational research culture at the University by developing, implementing, and aggregating metrics of success, helping to create and administer new programs, and identifying key alignment areas between IALS strategic goals and the campus strategic plan.

Collects, maintains and analyzes statistics to measure the impact of IALS Venture Development, inform ongoing improvement, and inform the development of new programs and resources.

• Participates in IALS Venture Development collaboration in the Manning IALS Seed Grants program. Works with the Translational Seed Awards Program Manager and the IALS Director of Finance and Operations to support the Translational Seed Grant process.
• Collaborates with IALS Director Venture Development and others on the IALS Leadership team on strategic relationship management efforts with the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Mass Bio, Mass Ventures and other organizations within the innovation ecosystem.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

• Bachelor's Degree and five (5) plus years of experience in a startup, research and development, venture accelerator or similar environment, or related experience, or an Associate’s degree and seven (7) plus years of experience.
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills.
• Demonstrates the ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, Power Point, One Drive, MS Teams) and Adobe Acrobat, including advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel.
• Familiar with the use of Google Drive and G-Suite applications (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Calendar).
• Ability to work accurately with many forms of data and generate relevant reports when necessary. Demonstrated attention to detail.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and judgment.
• Ability to communicate and coordinate with other University departments effectively.
• Exceptional organizational and analytical skills.
• Familiarity with concepts of entrepreneurship, innovation, economic development, and university startups.

• MBA, advanced degree in a STEM discipline, or JD.
• Familiarity with the University, regional, Massachusetts, and U.S. innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems.
• Familiarity with basic aspects of life science areas.
• Familiarity with basic aspects of intellectual property.
• Familiarity with dilutive and non-dilutive funding vehicles relevant to university startups.
• Experience in commercialization / venture development based on university…