Venture Development Specialist - Skandalaris Center

Venture Development Specialist

This position advises entrepreneurial students and supports founders and students interested in VC/investment careers and helps them connect with resources they need, including each other, to advance their ideas and develop their skills. The Venture Development Specialist implements multiple venture/ideation competitions and programs, designs inducements to engage innovators university-wide, and facilitates operational management of the Center's investment portfolio including relationships with the WashU Venture Network, startups, and investors.

Primary

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Meets with Washington University students, alumni, faculty, and staff to help advise founders, support early-stage venture development and connect participants with relevant campus, regional, and industry resources. Supports venture development competitions and programs such as the Student Enterprise Program, the Global Impact Award, the Skandalaris Venture Competition, Idea Bounce®, hackathons, and related founder support initiatives. Advises and prepares students/alumni participating in regional, national, and international startup competitions.
• Supports identification of promising WashU-affiliated startups that are seeking investment or preparing to raise capital. Works with and engages experts to evaluate investment readiness, business model strength, market potential, team capacity, intellectual property position, resource needs, and strategic partnership opportunities; and performs diligence and prepare recommendations for possible investment. Manages appropriate resources to support the Center's WashU Venture Network, including the Startup Showcase series, investor engagement, investment funds, and venture growth pipeline.
  
  Recruits, trains, and supervises student analysts supporting the WashU Venture Network, ensuring high-quality diligence, professional standards, and appropriate engagement with startups and investors.
• Actively tracks metrics; manages CRM Platform and databases (Air Table) and designs custom research surveys. Ensures efficiencies and data analysis for the venture development and venture growth pipeline, including reporting program, competition, and gap funding success for all stakeholders. Collects and analyzes data for leadership updates, rankings, annual reports, and other institutional needs.
• May assistant in developing and tracks budget for Venture Development programs; provides general operational support for the Center and Venture Development and Venture Growth teams;
  Tracks the Center's financial commitments, awards, and investments.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Working Conditions:

The work environment is primarily an office setting with frequent events/programs where transporting of lightweight (15lbs) materials/tables/etc., will be required. Many Skandalaris events and programs are held in the evenings and on weekends, thereby requiring hours/activities outside the normal work-day as needed. Work will be conducted at both the Danforth and Medical School campuses and occasionally off-campus.

• Normal Office Environment
• Ability to travel to various on- and off-campus locations

• Typically sitting at a desk or table
• Repetitive wrist, hand or finger movement

• Office equipment

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all job duties performed by the personnel so classified. Management reserves the right to revise or amend duties at any time.

Required Qualifications:

Education:

Bachelor's degree or combination of education and/or experience may substitute for minimum education.

Certifications /Professional Licenses :

No specific certification/professional license is required for this position.

Work Experience:

Relevant Experience (3 Years)

Skills:

Not Applicable

Driver's License:

A driver's license is not required for this position.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Graduate degree in business, finance, or entrepreneurship.
• Proven ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks and deadlines with varying degrees of pressure; ability to exercise judgment and take corrective action.
• Donor and volunteer management, including positive stewardship, experience.
• Investor and LP management.
• Background working in entrepreneurial support organizations or directly at a startup venture or venture capital firm.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite Package, Air Table Software Management, Pitch Book, and Crunchbase.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills, written and verbal; a service-oriented communicator who is a true team player.
• Strong creative and problem-solving skills, organizational skills, event management, attention to detail, and customer service skills.
• This position requires a self-starter with excellent project management, technical, communication (both written and oral), and interpersonal skills.
• Desire to work in environment of growth and change.
• Must be…