PROGRAMS DIRECTOR


The Idea Village’s core belief is that entrepreneurship is an agent of social and economic change. As an early champion of entrepreneurship in New Orleans, the organization has played an integral role in catalyzing the city’s entrepreneurial movement. In addition to supporting over 18,000 entrepreneurs, The Idea Village has successfully elevated New Orleans’ reputation as a hub of innovation, entrepreneurship, and business. By serving as a catalyst and developing programs that provide direct support and education to founders and early-stage companies, The Idea Village helps entrepreneurs build innovative and industry-leading companies that generate revenue and jobs and help create a more vibrant, inclusive, and resilient local economy. www.ideavillage.org 

The Idea Village team works hard year-round to drive major impact in the regional venture ecosystem; see how we track our outcomes and impact here. Long-term, “winning” for The Idea Village is helping to build a startup ecosystem where at 10 companies a year are able to raise at least $1M in venture capital.  We are looking for a leader who can help accelerate this flywheel.

As Programs Director, you will oversee the organization’s Programs Team to collectively lead efforts that accelerate high-growth startups.  To thrive in this role, you must have a passion for startups and a desire to make a difference in the community, which you channel into planning and executing industry-leading startup programs.  You are a problem solver and a connector, and you excel in building meaningful relationships 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 New Orleans startup community. You have experience in managing a small and high-powered team that delivers successful outcomes in a fast-paced environment. You are capable of coaching diverse founders of all identities, and you continuously look to build and refine processes that enable your work to scale. The Programs Director position is a full-time role that reports to the Managing Director and is based in New Orleans, LA.


Lead Responsibilities

  • Lead the strategy, design, development, and implementation of an ever evolving suite of programs that accelerate Seed to Series A high-growth founders in New Orleans and the surrounding region; Programs currently include but are not limited to VILLAGEx, IDEAinstitute, IDEAfuel, and METRONOME

  • Lead the annual program design and implementation of our flagship accelerator, VILLAGEx, including  year-round recruitment, structuring relevant curriculum, actively working with founders, and creating strategic pairings with mentors and advisors

  • Lead a team of 2-3 individuals tasked with executing The Idea Village’s programs, which currently entail 4-6 unique programs per year; Serve as a leader in an organization that consistently punches above its weight class

  • Lead recruitment (identify and track) of promising companies across multiple stages to maintain a pipeline of venture-scale entrepreneurs for VILLAGEx 

  • Lead alumni engagement activities (workshops, networking events, and more) for the growing VILLAGEx alumni base

  • Provide direct coaching to founders during programs; Help local startups develop meaningful traction through custom connections to relevant resources 

  • Oversee key performance metrics for all programs in order to accurately and effectively report on organizational outcomes and support donor relations 

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

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

  • Be an agile, flexible team member who manages and supports administrative tasks, organizational events, marketing efforts, and community partnerships as needed

  • Additional duties as assigned 


Supporting Responsibilities:

  • Support the implementation across all programs, in close coordination with Programs Team 

  • Support recruitment (identify and track) promising companies across multiple stages to continually build pipeline across all programs; oversee the evaluation of companies for all program selection in coordination with Programs Team

  • Help to set a strong foundation for upholding diversity, equity, and inclusion across all programs and organizational activities; Actively cultivate and support a highly diverse and inclusive network of both founders and mentors

  • Support marketing and communications related to program recruiting, founder storytelling, donor relations, and funding applications

  • Support mentor recruitment by identifying, and cultivating relationships with a growing mentor network of over 120 entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders in order to continue strengthening The Idea Village’s role as a center of gravity for the local startup community

  • Contribute to the design and  planning for new programs, including design for leadership and execution of any new programs; help develop partnerships to extend The Idea Village’s programming reach in a thoughtful and high-quality way

  • Help develop and extend the organization’s content expertise and thought leadership in serving startups, including industry focus areas such as Culture Tech and Climate Tech

  • Support the development, evolution, and recruitment activities of 3rd Coast Venture Summit as the premier innovation event in the region

  • Support the development and evolution of New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW) as a continued anchor for local entrepreneurial convening


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


Desired Skills and Knowledge:

  • Knowledge of what venture-scale startups successful and competitive, with a sharp analysis on next needed resources for subsequent stages of growth 

  • Strong team leadership skills, with the ability to coach and support more junior team members while collaborating effectively within and across teams of all levels to drive outcomes; 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 engaging stakeholders in a broader mission

  • Ability to directly coach both early and later-stage founders through the acceleration process; Ability to facilitate strong connections to specialized resources

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

  • Can develop and maintain connections with a broad range of stakeholders including founders, mentors, donors, and partners

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

  • Working knowledge of the entrepreneurial and startup community inside and outside of New Orleans 

  • High degree of familiarity with  startup tools such as the Business Model Canvas as well as team software tools such as Monday, Slack, and Google Workspace


Qualifications:

  • 7+ years of experience in accelerator operations, startups, related program management, leadership and/or strategic operations

  • The ideal candidate will have previous experience or demonstrated deep knowledge of running a company/ an accelerator and/or other programs that support growth-oriented, technology-enabled startups 

  • Previous experience managing one or more direct report(s) to drive strategic outcomes preferred

  • May require some in state and out-of-state  travel 


Compensation, Perks, & Benefits

  • Compensation commensurate with experience

  • Health, Dental, & Vision  Insurance

  • Retirement plan available

  • 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 may be provided 

  • Deep exposure to high-growth founders and a vast network of entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast 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: https://bit.ly/idea-village-employment-application 


Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time position with variable hours.


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.