Senior Director Keenan Center at The Ohio State University
Job Type
Full-timePosting Date
May 3, 2019Location of Position
Columbus, OH
Company Summary
For 144 years, The Ohio State University's campus in Columbus has been the stage for academic achievement and a laboratory for innovation. It's where friendships are forged. It's where rivalries and revelry are born.
The university's main campus is one of America's largest and most comprehensive. As Ohio's best and one of the nation's top-20 public universities, Ohio State is further recognized by a top-rated academic medical center and a premier cancer hospital and research center. As a land-grant university, Ohio State has a physical presence throughout the state, with campuses and research centers located around Ohio.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Ohio State University supports creativity, innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship as essential components of an academic research institution and crucial factors needed to accomplish the mission of a land-grant university.
At Ohio State, the assembly of 15 different colleges on one campus offers possibilities for multidisciplinary teams to address complex technological and social issues, and achieve novel solutions and breakthroughs by incorporating diverse perspectives, backgrounds and sources of expertise.
The Corporate Engagement Office (CEO) is seeking a highly motivated and proven leader to serve as the Senior Director (Director) for the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship to assure its establishment as the go-to source for entrepreneurial interests and endeavors for The Ohio State University students and faculty. The Senior Director will develop and implement a comprehensive plan to realize a vision for entrepreneurship that spans the university. This will be accomplished through effective working relationships, shared vision and coordination of programs with leadership across the university and all units and individuals involved in entrepreneurship, not through governance.
The Senior Director is responsible for developing a comprehensive program to serve and collaborate with all academic units, student organizations and external stakeholders (funders, business leaders, entrepreneurs, etc.). She/he will also establish and maintain productive relationships with community, state and national economic development groups, entrepreneurial organizations and institutions. Forging successful relationships and collaborations is of vital importance to the strategic learning mission and advancement of entrepreneurial interests and opportunities for students.
The Senior Director will promote, enhance and facilitate the creation, development and growth of student startups and commercialization of Ohio State technologies. The continually changing expectations of students and faculty demand continually evolving approaches that will allow them to compete at the highest levels in a global economy.
The Senior Director provides leadership in an academic and non-academic environment to ensure the Center aligns with programming throughout the university and promotes and supports the commercialization of student and faculty initiatives.
Position Requirements
Desired Qualifications:
Master's degree in business administration or a related field appropriate to the position. Must be from a highly regarded, accredited university. Experience running a center for entrepreneurship, technology/business incubator or an accelerator; experience leading student programs at the university level; a record of competent undergraduate and/or graduate teaching related to entrepreneurship at the university level; P&L management experience; a strong, active network of entrepreneurial and business collaborators who can be leveraged for Center growth and expansion.
Required Experience
Required Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in business administration, or a related field appropriate to the position. Must be from a highly regarded, accredited university. At least ten (10) years of experience leading, coaching or investing in scalable, commercialization and/or technology-driven startups; demonstrated experience as an entrepreneur in one or more startup companies or senior executive in one or more high growth companies; extensive relevant work experience that can be drawn upon in advising and mentoring early stage companies with an existing network of contacts in the business, technology and/or venture community; proven track record of delivering successful business results through proactive cross-functional team leadership and teamwork; ability to think strategically and translate leading-edge ideas into a range of academic and non-academic programs; ability to leverage individuals and organizations who are adept at finding innovative ideas, technologies, adjacencies and convergent opportunities that can be leveraged into platforms and products to fuel startups; recognized success in building productive relationships and facilitation with senior executives, faculty, staff, administrators, and key business leaders; experience in selling ideas that result in funding and/or resource allocation; exceptional analytical, problem-solving, organizational and project management skills; exceptional verbal and written communication skills; ability to communicate effectively with all levels of the organization; strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate with a broad audience; proven experience supervising and training staff and project teams including organizing, prioritizing and delivering against established goals; skill in budget preparation and management; knowledge and understanding of university organization and culture; proven range of instructional systems development; acute understanding of current and emerging trends in entrepreneurship and commercialization.
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The Ohio State University is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, national origin, disability status, or protected veteran status.