As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.
UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty. All of which has allowed the UW to be nationally recognized as a “Great College to Work For” for five consecutive years.
The Michael G. Foster School of Business has an outstanding opportunity for a Director of the Buerk Center.
The Arthur Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship was created in 1991 to provide students who know their careers will be entrepreneurial with the education, skills, experiences, and network they need to be successful in start-up ventures or other thriving entrepreneurial endeavors. The Buerk Center is a nationally recognized program that is also seen as a key element of Seattle’s start-up community.
The Director provides the leadership, strategic planning, organization-building, fund-raising, and project management skills to ensure continued success and to enhance the reputation of the Center while managing the day-to-day functions. This is a fast-paced environment that develops and supports multiple initiatives for students, the UW community, and Seattle’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The Director reports to the Dean of the Foster School of Business.
Develops the Buerk Center vision, provides leadership locally and nationally, spearheads the strategic planning effort. Leads external relations efforts, including the Center’s Advisory Board, connections across the University of Washington campus and within Seattle entrepreneurial and venture communities, and with alumni:
Develops, in coordination with the Foster School dean and the advisory board, the Center’s vision, mission, objectives and goals, and executes on that strategic plan. Quarterly meetings with the dean and the Center’s advisory board revisit the elements of the strategic plan and chart the progress of implementation.
Represents the Center inside the Foster School, the University of Washington campus, and the larger Seattle community. Joins university committees, sits on advisory boards outside the UW, and speaks at conferences, both local and national.
Manages an advisory board of 35 entrepreneurs, venture investors, and start-up professionals. Works with board chair to set meeting agendas, employs the board to work through Center-related issues, and cultivates high-profile potential candidates for board members.
Meets with deans and directors across campus to engage other disciplines/students/faculty in entrepreneurship. Collaborates on NIH and NSF grant proposals that include a technology commercialization component. Key university constituencies include engineering, arts and sciences, medicine, law, global health, environment, the Graduate School, the various research centers, UW CoMotion, the Institute for Translational Health Sciences, Children’s Hospital, the Applied Physics Laboratory, etc.
Collaborates with the Seattle entrepreneurial community to bring classroom speakers, domain experts, angel and VC investors, etc to campus to participate in classes, judge competitions, mentor teams, help with pitches, etc. In any given year, more than 1,000 individuals are engaged in the Center's programs and activities.
Creates, implements, and evaluates interdisciplinary programs/competitions/activities/fellowships for entrepreneurship students:
Develops and nurtures the entrepreneurial activities that provide students with the knowledge, skills, and experience they need to become articulate, well-prepared entrepreneurs.
Key programs include the Lavin Entrepreneurship Program, the ENTRE Minor, the Technology Entrepreneurship Certificate for nonbusiness PhD students, and the Jones + Foster Accelerator.
Annual competitions include the UW Business Plan Competition, the Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge, the Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge, and the Venture Capital Investment Competition intramural.
Activities include ENTREFest UW, the New Venture and CGF Internships (with the UW CoMotion), the Startup Job Fair, the Science and Technology Showcase (with SEBA), several entrepreneurship clubs, and the MentorConnect program.
Fellowships include full-time summer positions in social entrepreneurship, technology commercialization, and venture capital, as well as the Gates Foundation’s Global Innovation Fellowships, which are 3 to 9 months long.
Coordinates with career advisors to recruit and fill 50+ paid internships annually in early-stage companies in the Northwest.
Reviews all programs, competitions, and activities to continuously improve quality, structure, deliverables, and content.
Raises external funding for the Center, including endowments, donations, sponsorships, and grants:
Develops a fund-raising strategy for the Center, in collaboration with the Foster School’s Advancement Office, to cultivate connections for potential endowments and annual corporate donations. Writes grant proposals and provides donors with quarterly updates as requested. Major endowments have come from Artie and Sue Buerk, Leonard Lavin, and Wayne Perry.
Raises $800k+ a year in sponsorships in support of the competitions to provide funding for staff time, prototype funding, prize money, and the costs of the producing the event. Maintains detailed donor records.
Ensures that advisory board members make annual contributions and are engaged in Center activities.
Writes grant proposals to entrepreneurship-focused organizations in support of specific activities and provides annual summary reports. Multi-year grants have come from the Herbert Jones Foundation and the Wells Fargo Foundation.
Develops (in concert with the dean, department chairs, and faculty) the entrepreneurship curriculum, bringing in outside instructors as needed, and evaluating content and relevancy:
Directs curriculum program activities for undergraduates and graduate students, including the ENTRE Minor and the Technology Entrepreneurship Certificate (TEC).
Works with faculty and department chairs to ensure that new trends/knowledge in entrepreneurship education are reflected in the curriculum, follows entrepreneurial thought leaders outside academia, and works with other colleges on campus to develop courses specific to science and engineering disciplines. Examples include Software Entrepreneurship, Medical Device Entrepreneurship, and Business Models in Global Health.
Recruits qualified and skilled instructors from the entrepreneurial and venture capital community to teach classes as needed. More than 60 percent of courses are taught by outside experts.
Supervises logistics and budget of yearly international research conference in technology entrepreneurship, which attracts 75-90 faculty to Seattle.
Administrative Responsibilities:
Hires, supervises, and develops staff (currently at 6 FTE).
Recruits, hires, and mentors center staff to ensure their best performance, their ability to set and meet annual goals, and continuously improve the programs they manage.
Manages $1.8m annual budget.
Develops center’s annual budget and manages to expectations.
REQUIREMENTS
Bachelor's Degree in business, liberal arts, economics.
Six years of work experience including:
Strong and abiding interest in working with students, from undergraduates to doctoral students.
Commitment to interdisciplinary mission, vision, and deliverables.
Experience in collaborative, multidisciplinary projects.
Knowledge and good understanding of higher education.
Exceptional communication and public speaking skills.
Understanding of technical entrepreneurship (research and development, the legal aspects of intellectual property, commercialization).
A history of success in creating, managing, and evaluating entrepreneurship-related activities.
Demonstrated commitment to learning, diversity, and the range of student needs in higher education.
Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except where there are legal requirements such as license/certification/registration.
DESIRED
MBA or master's degree in relevant field.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
Evenings, national (and some international) travel.
Application Process:
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.
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