Director of Mobility and Health Innovation

Company: TechTown Detroit
Location: Detroit
Posted on: October 18, 2024

Job Description:

TechTown is Detroit's entrepreneurship hub. We empower Detroit-based startups and local businesses by providing resources, collaborative workspace and education for entrepreneurs that will further accelerate inclusive economic development across Detroit. Position Summary:The Director of Mobility and Health Innovation will strategize, manage, and lead our efforts to support legacy and new developmental programs aiming to facilitate innovation in the verticals of Mobility and Health (and the various places that these two important sectors intersect). The strategic focus for this director role is split between management of the Mobility Accelerator Innovation Network (MAIN), and TechTown's ongoing commitment to encouraging and inducing innovation in Health (Life Science, Medical Technology, Public Health, etc.). MAIN is part of an initiative established as the result of a Build Back Better Regional Challenge grant project called the Global Epicenter for Mobility (GEM). It is a regional coalition led by the Detroit Regional Partnership that will advance the state's mobility and electrification leadership and build on Michigan's economic momentum over a 54-month term. TechTown's role is to lead MAIN, and facilitate collaboration among seven organizations including the Michigan Founders Fund, College for Creative Studies, Centrepolis at Lawrence Tech, Endeavor Detroit, Invest Detroit, University of Michigan and Wayne State University to accelerate the growth of mobility startups that drive innovation and fill gaps in the mobility value chain.The TechTown work in Health Innovation is most directly evidenced by leading the regionally collaborative MedHealth initiative which has worked to connect, convene, and educate founders and stakeholders in the medical innovation ecosystem in Michigan and Ontario since 2015. As TechTown deepens its commitment to the Health Med-Tech sector, the Director's role will be to work cross functionally with the MedHealth board, regional ecosystem supporters, and internal TechTown programs teams to ensure ongoing support and advocacy for founders, products, and companies pushing the sector forward. More About the Opportunity:The right candidate will be motivated by opportunity to contribute thoughtfully and impactfully to a developing entrepreneurial ecosystem and be eager to participate in a startup culture, to support its founders and the organizations that serve them. They will relish in ways to act as a force multiplier for external initiatives, and as an architect and advocate for internal programs. This role demands the proven capacity to build deep relationships with collaborators and manage multiple stakeholders while navigating their at times divergent micro-objectives without sacrificing the macro programmatic goals. As an example of the necessary capacity, one of the role's primary responsibilities is to understand and support MAIN's seven partners, each of whom has a goal to make the early stages of mobility innovation more inclusive and effective at producing scalable companies and manage a small team internally that looks after these stakeholder needs and operational and reporting requirements of the large federal grant that funds the work. Similar is true for the role's support of MedHealth, and the ability to design tasteful process and program solutions to support these disparate networks of resources and collaborators to produce the best outcomes for the ecosystem is imperative. Responsibilities:

• Directing (and at times doing) the activities that build cohesion of multi-partner organizations including (but not limited to) planning and facilitating regular meetings, lifting up opportunities for shared experiences, sharing resources and communicating sector-focused news
• Building processes for accomplishing service-level, programmatic, and reporting needs of funding entities ahead of managing two-to-four subordinate staff members to scale and deepen the processes (coordinators and managers).
• Overseeing and insuring quality of plans for logistics and vendor relationships for all MAIN-related events (in-person and hybrid)
• Collaborating with TechTown teams and sector-specific stakeholders to build shared intake, assessment, and referral processes and iterate as necessary over life of grants and programs.
• Monitoring the portfolio of startups across relevant sectors (mobility, health) with the goal to build a pipeline of matriculation and to identify those that can benefit from multiple organization's resources
• Reporting to funders and grantors including liaising with each organization to ensure timeliness and accuracy
• In collaboration with TechTown and WSU Leadership, identifying when course-correction is necessary to meet or amend milestones and work with program officers at grantor to execute
• Tracking and documenting timeline milestones related to all phases of award
• Analyzing data to better meet milestones, predict patterns or tell stories to benefit the partner networks, or participants and outcomes from programs.
• In collaboration with TechTown's Marketing and Communications team, developing and executing a communications strategy among partners
• Working with the TechTown Finance Department to file accurate and timely reports
• Cultivating sector-specific networks that contribute to a pipeline of participants by attending events, serving on panels, etc. that develop relationships to aid successes
• Maintain an updated viewpoint on the best practices in technology, innovation, and early-stage development with context as to how those broad trends show up in the sector-specific focuses
• Assisting Sr. Director Strategic Partnerships and Sr. Director Tech-based Services to establish a referral-network, success measures and an improvement process
• Developing benchmarks for collaboration between partnering entrepreneurship support organizations
• Other duties as assigned by Sr. Director of Tech Based Programs, or Leadership The Impact You Will Make:This Director role will have a significant impact both on the Tech-Based Programs team at TechTown, and the ecosystem at large. Sectors like Mobility and Health, and the intersections between them, are often where there are significant barriers to entry for marginalized and otherwise disenfranchised founders (geographically or otherwise). TechTown's core mission is to ensure that the front door to Detroit entrepreneurship is always open, providing a pathway to economic development for people in our region. Both in terms of producing better outcomes in supporting founder journeys as they navigate these complex subsector ecosystems, and designing programs housed at TechTown to better support the gaps identified, this role should be able to measure its long-term productivity in the number of founders supported. Every day is an opportunity to change a life, the region, or the world the role will be best filled by someone who relishes in that challenge and opportunity.What You Will Bring to the Table:An unparalleled ability to think strategically, to balance pragmatism and patience with proactivity and innovation, to think as an entrepreneur and intrepreneur and to structure and execute long timelines that drive toward successful shared outcomes while also celebrating wins and stories of growth along the way And the desire to have fun at work.To Apply:This is a full-time position. To apply please send a resume and cover letter to Careers@TechTownDetroit.org with the job title in the subject line. Salary:The budgeted salary range for this position starts at $95,000 and may be adjusted according to qualifications and experience. Benefits:TechTown offers generous health and dental plans as well as vision, life insurance, short-term disability, a 401(k) plan, and a Team member Assistance Program. Full-time team members also receive: 100% TechTown paid Life, STD, and LTD benefits Wellness Inspired Workplace with a Wellness Program and onsite Wellness Room 5 Weeks of paid time off per year 22 paid holidays (including 2 weeks in December and 1 week in July) 12 Paid Mental Health Days per year (one per month) $2500 Professional development stipend Retirement plan with employer matching up to 6%. Paid parental leave Creativity and innovation supported and encouraged by leadership Fulfillment and the knowledge of having made an impact in Detroit's economic growthWork Arrangements:Most TechTown team members (including this position) are assigned to work remotely at this time and for the foreseeable future (with frequent in-person meetings and event attendance required).PIab93657497de-31181-35815818

Keywords: TechTown Detroit, Lansing , Director of Mobility and Health Innovation, Healthcare , Detroit, Michigan