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.

• Manages the operational planning and implementation for established IALS Venture Development programs and resources, including the Business Innovation Fellows program, Startup Law, Intellectual Property Law, and Mentor Office Hours, Startup Know‑How educational speakers and training workshops, and the IALS Venture Development web presence.
• Oversees the week‑to‑week development of specific pre‑startups and startups as assigned, including supervision of small 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, and communicates key concepts with respect to startup development such as milestones, differentiation strategy, and the importance of unmet customer needs.
• Works with the Director, 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, IALS Venture Development and other members of the IALS Leadership team to design, develop, and implement new programs.
• Works with the Director, IALS Venture Development and other members of the IALS Leadership team to build awareness of and interest in pre‑startups and startups through news stories, web content, social media, and events directed toward key campus and external audiences.
• Works with the Director, IALS Venture Development and other members of the IALS Leadership team to cultivate 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.
• Works with the Director, IALS Venture Development and other members of the IALS Leadership team to define 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: (1) measure the impact of IALS Venture Development, (2) inform ongoing improvement, and (3) inform the development of new programs and resources.

• Participates in IALS Venture Development collaboration in the Manning IALS Seed Grants program and 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 the IALS Director of 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) or more years of experience in a startup, research and development, venture accelerator, or similar environment, or an Associate’s…