Head of Venture Acceleration, Program Manager

Rice University; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 95,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Rice University is seeking a Program Manager to lead the Venture Acceleration program (Lilie). You will identify promising people, research, and companies across the Rice ecosystem and build immersive programs to catalyze startup growth.

You will mentor student founders, facilitate mentorship and networking, manage partnerships with sponsors, and drive program outcomes across the Texas and US startup ecosystems.

Qualifications

• Minimum of a Bachelor's degree with 4+ years in entrepreneurship, program management, or startup roles.
• Ability to develop complex program partnerships and funding sources.
• Strong written and verbal communication, and the capacity to work with diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and implementation of major program(s) within Lilie Venture Acceleration.
• Collaborate with faculty and staff to design programs and establish strategic plans.
• Identify promising research and technology from Rice University for startup opportunities.
• Oversee operations, administration, and evaluation of programs.
• Develop outreach, events, communications, partnerships, and fundraising strategies.

Skills

Program management

Entrepreneurship experience

Partnership development

Funding and grants

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Time management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Job Description

Position Summary:

The Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (Lilie) isseeking a Program Manager to lead our Venture Acceleration program.This is a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of innovationand help Rice entrepreneurs bring their cutting-edge ideas tomarket. In this role, you will be responsible for identifyingpromising people, research, and companies from across the RiceUniversity ecosystem, and building the immersive, experientialprograms to catalyze their next great startup. You will workclosely with student startup founders to help them acceleratetheirgrowth, secure funding, and achieve their goals while acting asconnective tissue to the broader Texas and US startup ecosystems.In practice, this means you will facilitate mentorship andnetworking opportunities, you will develop and lead co-curricularand accelerator programs, and you will manage relationships withpartners, sponsors, and key stakeholders to ensure that Lilie’sventure acceleration efforts are a success. Lilie is a small,ambitious team that works collaboratively to achieve amazingresults, employing an iterative creation process where we share ourwork early and often. Lilie is the beating heart ofentrepreneurship, innovation, venture capital, and researchcommercialization for the whole Rice University campus. Our Centercombines over 50 for-credit, experiential courses every year with asuite of programs, resources, competitions, and accelerators tohelp entrepreneurs and innovators at every stage of their journey.Our mission is to serve Rice University students, faculty, andalumni from all majors and degree programs in helping them go fromidea to real-world impact. We’ve been ranked as the #1 GraduateEntrepreneurship program in the country for the last 7 years in arow, but need your help to aim even higher in the future.

Ideal Candidate Statement:

The ideal candidate is someone who has been a founder or anoperator in an early-stage start-up, especially if pursued while astudent, and is interested in the worlds of entrepreneurship, deeptech, and venture capital. The ideal candidate is a proactive,service-oriented communicator who enjoys collaborating with othersto iteratively refine products to perfection.

Workplace Requirements:

Rice Business primarily delivers residential classes and activitiestaking place almost daily between 7 am and 10 pm. We value a highlycollaborative and community-based culture, with expectations toprovide in-person support and services to all members of ourcommunity. Remote work options are limited. Most employmentactivities are required to be performed in-person and on-campus.This in-person approach is central to the successful achievement ofour research and academic missions.

This position is exclusively on-site, necessitating all dutiesto be performed in-person on campus Monday – Friday 9am to5pm.

This is a two-year term-limited position with a possibilityof an extension

Hiring Range: $95,000 to $105,000 , commensurate witheducation and experience. * Exempt (salaried) positionsunder FLSA are not eligible for overtime.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree
• Four or more (4+) years of entrepreneurship, program managementand/or start-up experience
  • In lieu of the experience requirement, additional relatededucation, above and beyond what is required, may be substituted onan equivalent year-for-year basis.
• Skills:
  • Ability to develop complex and/or multiple program partnershipsand funding sources
  • Ability to develop and initiate new strategies
  • Ability to work well under pressure and manage projectssimultaneously
  • Ability to work independently and as part of a team to meetexpected deadlines, schedules, and goals
  • Adept at problem solving, creating contingency plans andhandling issues when necessary
  • Excellent organizational and time management skills
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills
  • Excellent client service orientation
  • Ability to prioritize, take initiative, and ownership ofprojects
  • Ability to routinely and independently exercise sound judgmentin making decisions

Preferences:

• Five or more (5+) years of entrepreneurship, program managementexperience
• Experience with startups and startup accelerator programs
• Experience engaging within and across a startup ecosystem
• Shares work early and often, valuing a process of iterativefeedback to produce exceptional results

Essential Functions:

• Leads the development and implementation of majorprogram(s)
• Collaborates with faculty and / or staff leadership to designprograms and establish long range strategic and operationalplans
• Identifies promising research and technology from across theRice University ecosystem
• Oversees the operations, administration and evaluation ofprograms
• Identifies and implements program changes to ensure alignmentwith mission and program effectiveness
• Develops and implements strategies related to outreach, events,communications, development, partnerships and fundraising /funding
• Devises and manages financial and budgetary plans for theprogram(s), approves and monitors expenditures
• May teach a course, seminar or workshop
• Performs all other duties that assigned

Additional Functions

• Responsible for tracking and reporting on all program metricsand impact.
• You may support other Lilie programming and courses as the needarises

Rice University HR | Benefits: https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits

Rice Mission and Values: Mission and Values | RiceUniversity

Rice University is committed to ensuring Equal EmploymentOpportunity and welcoming the fullness of diversity into ourcandidate pools. Rice considers qualified applicants for employmentwithout regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexualorientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, geneticinformation, disability, or protected veteran status. Rice alsoprovides reasonable accommodations to qualified persons withdisabilities. If an applicant requires a reasonable accommodationfor any part of the application or hiring process, please get intouch with Rice University’s Human Resources Office via email [e-mail] forsupport.

If you have any additional questions, please email us at [e-mail]. Thank you for yourinterest in employment with Rice University.