Associate Director, VIP Incubator, Venture Lab, Wharton School

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn's distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America's Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Associate Director, VIP Incubator, Venture Lab, Wharton School

Job Profile Title

Associate Director C, Student Services, Academic Programs

Job Description Summary

Founded in 1881 as the world's first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is shaping the future of business by incubating ideas, driving insights, and creating leaders who change the world. With campuses in Philadelphia and San Francisco, Wharton has over 850 staff, a faculty population of more than 235 renowned professors, and 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students. Each year, 13,000 professionals worldwide advance their careers through Wharton Executive Education's individual, company-customized, and online programs. More than 104,000 Wharton alumni form a powerful global network of leaders who transform business every day. Wharton is home to a dynamic staff population representing a rich array of backgrounds, expertise, and cultures. To learn more, visit www.wharton.upenn.edu.

The Associate Director provides leadership for Venture Lab's key strategic priorities through the delivery, management, and end-to-end operations of the Venture Initiation Program (VIP) Incubator. This work will enable Venture Lab to deliver co-curricular learning opportunities in innovation and entrepreneurship to Penn students and connect them to Penn alumni leaders and experts to receive practical instruction, advice, mentoring, and networking support.

Job Description

Reporting to the Senior Director of Venture Lab, the Associate Director will:

• Lead the VIP Incubator program, providing Penn students with the opportunity to develop and to receive feedback on their business ideas or startups. Develop the program strategy, plan program curriculum, prepare and manage program budget.
• In consultation with Senior Director, lead program management, including all program logistics and day-to-day execution. This includes application development and selection process, selection criteria and rubric, student experience, summer programming, partner onboarding/engagement, administrative tasks, alumni and external partner-led workshops, collaboration with other Venture Lab programs, data tracking and reporting, and other tasks associated with this program.
• Lead the development, program design and delivery, alumni merchandise showcase program, and space planning and development of one of Venture Lab's innovative learning labs, the Retail Lab - a space that serves as a teaching tool that showcases alumni ventures; gives students opportunity to test products, conduct customer and market research; host events, speakers and workshops in collaboration with other programs and centers.
• Prepare management reports and presentations for Venture Lab leadership to deliver. Develop performance measurement plan. Collect and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs). Support Salesforce data entry and management. Collaborate with Wharton External Affairs to create donor stewardship reports. Create impact reports and use feedback from Venture Lab and Wharton senior leadership to identify and execute approved improvements. Support other time-sensitive reporting as needed.

The position requires frequent interaction with seasoned, accomplished alumni entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and other professionals engaged in entrepreneurship and innovation careers, including significant donors. The position is also responsible for cultivating an open rapport and a professional, supportive educational approach with undergraduate and graduate student entrepreneurs and innovators from all disciplines across the University of Pennsylvania.

The position requires excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills; strong collaboration and team building skills; a forward-thinking mindset; and demonstrated creativity, problem solving, critical analysis, initiative, judgment, and decision-making skills.

This position is based in Philadelphia. After successful completion of the introductory period, this position is hybrid eligible with some weeks requiring more in-person work as needed. While the schedule is generally business hours, the Associate Director must be able to work early mornings/evenings/weekends and to travel as needed.

Position is contingent on funding.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree and minimum 3-5 years of professional experience related to entrepreneurship and innovation. Masters Degree a plus.
• Demonstrated experience with program management, developing dashboards and frameworks for business and programs.
• Demonstrated ability to establish priorities, manage shifting priorities, and handle numerous time-sensitive projects with multiple deadlines.
• Demonstrated forward-thinking mindset and creativity, problem solving, critical analysis, initiative, judgment, and decision-making skills.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills.
• Demonstrated experience managing budgets, creating detailed project work plans, and managing complex projects with cross-functional and cross-organizational teams.
• Demonstrated ability to function both independently and as part of a team. Excellent collaboration and team building skills.
• Ability to interact effectively and comfortably with diverse group of students, senior executives/professionals, and staff with demonstrated ability to cultivate and manage relationships professionally and with good judgment with a variety of stakeholders. Must have a high degree of professionalism.
• The successful candidate will be adept with technology: Must possess skill in Google software applications (Docs, Sheets, Slides) as well as the Microsoft Office suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook); Experience with cloud-based tools such as Beautiful.ai, Monday.com, and Typeform; email marketing tools such as ActiveCampaign; and additional tools such as Qualtrics, SurveyMonkeyApply; Experience with Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Acrobat a plus.

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

Wharton School

Pay Range

$66,000.00 - $75,000.00 Annual Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate's qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, and in alignment with salary ranges based on external market data for the job's level. Internal organization and peer data at Penn are also considered.

Equal Opportunity Statement

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protected under applicable federal, state or local law.