WE’RE HIRING:

LOUISIANA INNOVATION NETWORK MANAGER 

The Idea Village’s core belief is that entrepreneurship is an agent of social and economic change. As an early champion of entrepreneurship and innovation in New Orleans, the organization has played an integral role in catalyzing the city’s entrepreneurial movement with over 20,100 entrepreneurs served and $1.8B in new wealth created to date. Today, we are relentlessly focused on supporting the region’s  burgeoning startup community and making New Orleans (and Louisiana as a whole) a hub for innovation.  We are the region’s trusted authority on the startup life cycle because we actively invest capital, time, and resources in the region’s top startup companies, build pipeline for others, and drive change in the conditions that help startups thrive.  Through accelerators, convening, and other strategic initiatives, we  provide direct support and education to a wide range of founders and companies, elevating those with the potential to scale to become new industry leaders.  Together, with our companies and partners, we are a force multiplier for economic impact – creating a more vibrant, inclusive, and resilient local economy and serving as an enduring engine for economic growth across the region.  www.ideavillage.org 

If sharing in our impact excites you, you are passionate about supporting startups, and you believe in the potential that building a true local venture ecosystem brings to communities –we want to hear from you!

ABOUT YOU

You are passionate about building a network of organizations across Louisiana that support innovation and actively position our state to lead in industries of the future.  You are a problem solver, excel in building meaningful relationships, and understand what it takes to build a startup community across parish lines.  You are comfortable regularly interfacing with entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, and executives.  You have a strong interest in technology, startups, entrepreneurship, and venture capital, and you have your finger on the pulse of what is happening in and beyond the regional startup community. You deliver successful outcomes in a fast-paced environment both personally and through others. You are capable and excited to work with diverse founders of all identities, and you continuously look to build and refine processes that enable your work to scale.

You understand the power of events as a tool for convening and recruitment, a way to facilitate meaningful connectivity, and a platform to develop thought leadership and share best practices.  You understand how people experience events, how to drive unique experiences and how to manage people in space at scale. You can find and activate the resources needed to turn ordinary into extraordinary.  You are accountable, detail oriented, and thrive getting things done by activating others’ strengths and expertise.  You have a track record of turning big visions into reality and you know how to juggle multiple timelines, stakeholders, and expectations without missing a beat. You’re energized by fast-paced, mission-driven environments and seek to make a real lasting difference with everything you touch.

The Louisiana Innovation Network Manager position is a full-time role that reports to the Programs Director, is based in New Orleans, LA, and is expected to travel frequently statewide and occasionally beyond. 

LEAD RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Drive the creation of a cohesive statewide innovation network by developing greater connectivity across startup and innovation networks across the state.

  • Develop and promote a unified common narrative for why Louisiana is a place to build innovation driven companies focused on industries of the future.

  • Support the implementation of The Idea Village and Louisiana Economic Development’s Strategic priorities related to 1) increasing statewide startup support collaboration and 2) increasing engagement in and recognition of signature innovation focused events around the state

    • Lead the development of deep relationships with 8-10 network node partners covering all eight of Louisiana’s economic development regions.

    • Support the deployment of financial and in-kind resources to support a minimum of five regional signature innovation events annually; each signature event should invite broader participation statewide and serve as a platform that positions Louisiana to “win” on the national scale.     

  • Build and maintain relationships with key event resources to be shared across signature events – including, but not limited to – founders, mentors, investors, speakers, sponsors, vendors and production partners 

  • Identify gaps in the LA.IO’s event-centered “connection” strategy, and make recommendations for building more inclusive and connected networks

  • Manage post-event reporting grant and contract compliance across supported events; create & implement systems to track KPIs across all events

    • Collect data and narrative reporting from each event in a timely manner; work with each event to quality control data collection and maintain integrity of reporting

    • Support the data collection and reporting for 3rd Coast Venture Summit (The Idea Village’s signature event in this series)

    • Synthesize data and feedback across all events to deliver macro-level reporting to the state & other partners on an established cadence

  • Support the strategy, design, development, recruitment and implementation of 3rd Coast Venture Summit (3CVS), the annual event that connects high-growth talent from across the Gulf South to a national pool of Investors.

    • Position 3rd Coast Venture summit as a culminating statewide event with regard to startups and capital. 

    • Support recruitment, marketing, strategy, technology, logistics and event planning

    • Drive statewide founder recruitment (identify and track) of promising companies across LA.IO events to maintain a pipeline of venture-scale entrepreneurs for 3rd Coast Venture Summit

    • Serve as a 3CVS spokesperson across a network of statewide and national partners

  • Build and maintain awareness of all statewide innovation focused events to ensure LA.io and The Idea Village visibility at all innovation focused events, build feeder relationships and identify new potential partnerships.

  • Support event production where applicable including managing surge resources across statewide events.

  • Support the launch and expansion of the LA.io brand and manage the relationship between The Idea Village and Louisiana Economic Development to ensure project renewal

SUPPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Support the recruitment of high-potential startups across multiple stages to maintain a robust statewide pipeline; oversee the evaluation of companies for all program selection in coordination with The Idea Village Programs Team

  • Support grant writing, grant reporting, donor relations and all data collection efforts.

  • Contribute to building a strong foundation for diversity, equity, and inclusion across all programs

  • Seek opportunities to engage The Idea Village alumni and mentors across supported statewide events.

  • Maintain exceptionally high brand standards in all activities and communications, especially as it relates to stakeholder engagement on behalf of the organization

  • Support marketing and communications related to fundraising and public storytelling, especially as related to program recruiting, program outcomes, and sharing founder stories

  • Research and stay up-to-date on national and global best practices for accelerators, startup programming, venture capital, and mentor network development

  • Be an agile, flexible team member who manages and supports team-wide initiatives such as content development, industry trends, organizational events, and administrative needs

  • Additional duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

  • 4-5 years of relevant experience in developing deep inter-organizational relationships, building connection strategies through events and/or operationalizing vision through event

  • Experience in brand management, storytelling, journalism a plus

  • Experience or working knowledge of startups, innovation, &/or venture-scale entrepreneurship

  • College degree preferred 

DESIRED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

  • Working knowledge of the entrepreneurial and startup community inside and outside of Louisiana; working knowledge and interest in innovation ecosystems, venture capital, and/or technology-based economic development 

  • Strong people skills; enjoy being around people and understanding what drives them; strong emotional intelligence and the ability to read between the lines

  • Strong leadership skills, with the ability to coach and support less experienced team members and partners, while collaborating and engage with a range of relationships across the network –  from high-level executives and VIPs to volunteers; Effectively able to communicate and shift between big picture and minutia, internal and external frameworks, and incentives across multiple players 

  • Proven track record building high-quality, high-level relationships and events and engaging stakeholders in a broader mission

  • Detail-oriented, highly organized individual who can effectively plan and problem-solve  

  • Can develop pipelines, systems, documentation and processes for tracking and scaling programs and events

  • Critical thinking; ability to honestly assess a situation and give constructive feedback

  • Solutions oriented​; ability to think creatively and leverage resources to achieve goals 

  • Willingness to travel; ability to drive within an approximately 3 - 6 hour radius, as needed

  • Experience with using a CRM (Monday.com preferred)

  • Strong organizational and administrative skills, including the ability to coordinate & execute on multiple projects simultaneously 

  • Experience with large events (500+ attendees)

  • Familiarity with team software tools such as Monday.com, Slack, and Google Workspace

ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Our team works with and functions like a startup. This requires team members to move quickly with limited time and/or resources to produce high-quality outcomes. Our team works independently and collaboratively with a culture of transparency and clear ownership of projects from idea to execution. Our team manages and coordinates several schedules, programs, and projects simultaneously.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

  • Salary range for this position is $65,000-$75,000, plus benefits and eligibility for incentive pay annually based on performance

  • Available Health, Dental, & Vision Insurance with Employer Subsidy.

  • Available retirement plan. Eligibility for 4% employer retirement contribution match with immediate vesting.

  • Discounted parking is available.  Parking reimbursable up to $100 per month.

  • Generous PTO policy, including time off for all major holidays and summer flex schedule

  • Opportunities for periodic remote work around job needs

  • Accommodations for and/or assistance with relocation up to $2,500 may be provided 

  • Deep exposure to high-growth founders and a vast network of entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders in the Gulf South region

To learn more about The Idea Village, please see our core values, our history, and our impact.

If some or all of this job description resonated with you, we encourage you to submit an application here: Louisiana Innovation Network Manager Application

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time position with variable hours.  This is a grant funded position that is currently funded for three years.

Physical Demands & Accessibility:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to stand; walk; use hands and arms to handle and reach. This position requires frequent use of the computer for long durations of time. The employee must be able to stand and walk for long periods of time during events, must be able to lift up to 25 pounds at times, and must be able to work a variety of hours in order to accommodate events.

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The Idea Village provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

 This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training. This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Other duties, responsibilities and activities may change or be assigned at any time with or without notice.