Senior Associate Director, Accelerators and Investments

Department

Booth Polsky Center: Innovation Programs

About the Department

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business is the second-oldest business school in the U.S. and second to none when it comes to influencing business education and business practices. Since 1898, the school has produced ideas and leaders that shape the world of business. Their rigorous, discipline-based approach to business education transforms students into confident, effective, respected business leaders prepared to face the toughest challenges.

Chicago Booth has the finest set of facilities of any business school in the world. Each of the four campuses (two in Chicago, one in London, and one in Hong Kong) reflects the architectural traditions of its environs while offering a state-of-the-art learning environment.

Chicago Booth is proud to claim:
-an unmatched faculty.
-degree and open enrollment programs offered on three continents.
-a global body of nearly 56,000 accomplished alumni.
-strong and growing corporate relationships that provide a wealth of lifelong career opportunities.

As part of the world-renowned University of Chicago, Chicago Booth shares the University's core values that shape the distinctive intellectual culture. At Booth, they constantly question and test ideas, and seek proof. This extraordinarily effective approach to business leads to new ideas and innovative solutions. Seven of the Booth faculty members have won Nobel Prizes for these ideas - the first business school to achieve this accomplishment.

For more information about the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, please visit: http://www.chicagobooth.edu/.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Senior Director of Accelerators and Investments, the Senior Associate Director of Accelerator Program Operations will serve as a key member of the Polsky Center’s Accelerator and Investments team. This team oversees the Polsky Center’s deep tech science startup accelerator programs, which currently include a quantum accelerator (Duality), a clean tech accelerator (Resurgence), and a data science/AI accelerator (Transform). The Senior Associate Director is responsible for the operational management as well as internal and external stakeholder engagement for all accelerator programs.

Responsibilities

• Oversees the execution of all programming and operations across all accelerator programs. Ensures programs meet cross-functional goals, leverages all available resources, and supports the accelerators long-term strategy.
• Develops, implements, and formalizes the operational and programmatic elements of the accelerators.
• Oversees the curriculum, selection of instructors, and quality of educational programming.
• Manages the annual cohort application process, including review of applications and selection of startups into the program. 
• Supports the Senior Director with finances by managing the budget for the education, programming, and associated operations of the accelerators.
• Creates an Accelerator program calendar with clearly defined milestones and metrics to measure internal operational success.
• Manages the cohort application process, including review of applications and selection of startups into the program.
• Supports each startups participation in the program through consistent communication, quality programming execution, events, and drawing upon appropriate resources to connect participants with a network of mentors and investors.
• Oversees communication with all accelerator constituents, including business liaisons, coaches, mentors, student interns, sponsors, and others involved with the program.
• Oversees the existing mentorship program bringing in external leaders with business, technical and domain expertise to mentor, advise and guide startups in the program.
• Oversees contractual engagement with startups participating in the program as well as individual contributors, facilities, non-profit partners, industry partners, and other partners.
• Evaluates program success through feedback, data collection, goal setting, and metric tracking.
• Attends events as a representative of the Polsky Center to build and maintain relationships, stay up-to-date on entrepreneurial initiatives and accelerator programs, and participates in programming hosted by external partners as they relate to the goals and purpose of the accelerators.
• Supports ongoing external and internal marketing strategies to raise national and international awareness of the accelerator program.
• Partners closely across internal teams, including technology development, business development, venture development, marketing, and science student programs, to align accelerator activities with Polsky goals and identify areas for col