Manager of Venture Development - Skandalaris Center

About this role

Location ST. LOUIS, MO 63130

 Scheduled Hours 37.5

Position Summary The Skandalaris Center Manager of Venture Development is responsible for the leadership, development, execution, and continuous, data driven, and measurable improvement of the Center’s venture development, venture capital, and startup support strategies. This role oversees and drives the full startup and venture pipeline across all programs, including competitions and the co-investment fund and manages the Center’s investment portfolio across complex multi-structured dilutive and non-dilutive funding vehicles, ensuring alignment with priorities and long-term strategic growth.

Job Description

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:

• Create, lead, and continuously refine the Center’s comprehensive Venture Development strategy and staff across a wide variety of initiatives, programs, and constituent groups. Oversee structure, prioritization, and scheduling of staff support to ensure consistent, high quality, and scalable support for constituents. Govern the Center’s competitions and investment pipelines across programs such as Global Impact Award, Skandalaris Venture Competition, LaunchPad, Incubators, Accelerators, WashU Venture Network, Skandalaris Design Agency, etc • Meet with Washington University affiliates to grow and scale promising ideas and opportunities; evaluate ideas, emerging opportunities, and technologies; conduct feasibility reviews; connect founders to critical resources across campus, across disciplines, and in the regional and national innovation ecosystem. Manage, mentor, and strategically deploy direct reports, including Investors-in-Residence and Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, to deliver high impact mentorship, guidance, and venture support driving venture formation across student, faculty, staff, and alumni startups. • Manage existing and expand new strategic relationships, including revenue generating sponsorships, with firms and networks including corporations, venture firms, investors, and startup networks that will materially contribute to the growth, visibility, and success of WashU startups. Ensure and enforce ongoing rigorous and accurate collection of data and metrics into the CRM and design, build, and maintain functional reporting systems and dashboards for the Center leadership and operation teams and University colleagues engaged in supporting the Center. • Develop and execute concurrent workshops, master classes, bootcamps, and programming to connect entrepreneurs and innovators in pursuit of expanding their ideas. Recruit, vet and engage high caliber speakers and industry experts ensuring content quality, relevance, and alignment with emerging trends in entrepreneurship, venture development, and innovation. • Manage and oversee the budget and financial execution of Venture portfolio including an investment portfolio deploying over $350k annually across multiple funding mechanism. • Perform other duties as assigned.

Working Conditions: Job Location/Working Conditions • Normal office environment • Ability to travel to various on and off campus locations

Physical Effort • Typically sitting at desk or table. • Repetitive wrist, hand or finger movement.

Equipment • 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 Certifications /Professional Licenses : No specific certification/professional license is required for this position.

Work Experience: Relevant Experience (5 Years) Skills: Not Applicable Driver's License: A driver's license is not required for this position.

More About This Job Preferred Qualifications • Formal undergraduate education in entrepreneurship. • Graduate degree in business or scientific discipline to complement undergraduate degree.  • Proven ability to handle confidential information responsibly. • Development and oversight of sponsorship opportunities for university or similar initiatives. • Experience in startup environment as founder, investor, early-stage team member, or consultant. • Experience in venture capital or private equity. • Knowledge of dilutive investment vehicles such as SAFEs, Convertible Notes, and Priced Rounds. • Experience with startup and venture databases such as PitchBook, Crunchbase, and Carta. • 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. • Proven ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks and deadlines with varying degrees of pressure; ability to exercise judgment and take corrective action. • This position requires a self-starter with excellent project management, technical, communication (both written and oral), and interpersonal skills; A self-motivated individual driven by challenge with the ability to work independently with a high degree of reliability, accuracy and productivity; A positive attitude is a must. • Must be able to work independently in an environment of multiple and conflicting priorities and projects; anticipate and resolve problems and updates supervisor on status of projects. • The candidate should have good professional judgment, initiative, and confidence. • The candidate will work independently but have the ability to function as part of a team, coordinating with multiple constituencies. • Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Preferred Qualifications

Education: No additional education unless stated elsewhere in the job posting. Certifications /Professional Licenses : No additional certification/professional licenses unless stated

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