Jobs search

Managing Director - Ascend Rural

Sourcewell • Staples, TX, United States • $200k - $250k / year • 1m ago

Position Title:

Salary Range:

Grade 21, exempt, $160,011.66 - $224,016.34 per fiscal year, commensurate with experience.

Job Description Summary:

This position will be instrumental in bringing to life the vision for Ascend Rural, serving as the most senior staff leader, taking on a key role in strategic planning and process development for the innovation community Sourcewell has started developing and partnering with the Sourcewell team and its advisors. This position will provide management direction and oversight to the team and projects, establish operational processes, support, develop and catalyze a national network of partners across the investor community (i.e.: VCs & PE) as well as in-state leadership and thought drivers, hiring and mentorship, always driving towards the ultimate purpose of co-creating and piloting solutions that scale.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Execute the agreed upon vision and activities to build a robust organization around the Region Five pilot community – its team, community, partners, and programming.
- Assume responsibility for the overall administrative management and operation of Ascend Rural.
- Oversee the development, alignment and delivery of programming that meets impact goals and metrics.
- Participate with Sourcewell Leadership to chart the course in anticipating, addressing, and responding to the developing needs of the Region Five pilot community.
Demonstrate overall responsibility for achieving the impact goals of the initiative.
- Lead the development of strategic and long-range goals for Ascend Rural as well as planning and alignment within each of the target sectors/initiatives.
- Establish comprehensive metrics to monitor performance and impact of each element of the program and its initiatives.
- Lead, define and maintain forecasts, budgets, funding strategies, and resources aligned to Ascend Rural’s strategic initiatives and overall business plans.
- Convene and leverage resources and strategies across Ascend Rural as well as proactive engagement within the broader ecosystem to create and enhance economic development for Region Five.
- Ensure quality and effectiveness of programs by defining program goals objectively and realistically and aligning vision, mission, and strategy with the needs and expectations of stakeholders.
Cultivate an advanced network of private, philanthropic, and other stakeholders for the purposes of engaging industry, identifying partnerships, and building momentum for wellbeing impact in Region Five.
- Be a critical partner bridging Sourcewell, Region Five leadership and local community partners.
- Foster collaborations with regional economic development organizations, civic organizations, grassroots organizations, neighboring colleges and universities, and community development networks in pursuit of transformative opportunities for Ascend Rural and the region.
- Apply for grants and spearhead fundraising initiatives.
- Stay abreast of market and industry trends.
Build and direct the activities of the team.
- Create strategic staffing plans to address needs in both capability and capacity needed to achieve business objectives.
- Recruit, develop, and mentor the talent and subject matter expertise needed to execute the plans and outcomes of Ascend Rural’s initiatives and programs.
- Provide leadership to the team to ensure operational effectiveness and support of the overall mission, applying our values in all interactions.
- Direct the development of processes to develop and maintain strong relationships with our partners and internal stakeholders.
- Ensure access to and compliant use of outside resources (including consultants and data providers) to increase impact.
- Develop and lead the team to become open, transparent, innovative, and collaborative with the Sourcewell team and external partners.
- Partner with teams across Sourcewell such as Marketing, Finance, IT as they strive to deliver much needed support to enable Ascend Rural’s success.
Direct the establishment of strategic partnerships and outside consulting engagements.
- Identify needs and roles for strategic partnerships or outside consulting support as required.
- Identify, engage, and negotiate with strategic partners or outside consultants to provide the greatest value to Ascend Rural.
- Collaborate with Legal to develop standardized agreements to engage with strategic partners or outside consultants.
Represent Ascend Rural within Sourcewell.
- Represent Ascend Rural at internal events, board meetings and retreats.
- Represent Ascend Rural at civic and social functions by attending local, regional, state, and national meetings, and conferences.
- Attend and present at conferences, trade shows, supplier meetings, client meetings and other public events.
Other related areas and duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree preferably in business, technology, public administration, non-profit administration or related field.
Fifteen (15)+ years minimum of demonstrated experience and leadership in technology accelerators, innovation, pilot communities, economic development and/or community development.
Deep understanding of the startup landscape and a genuine passion for guiding their growth.
Experience and strong competency related to business planning and forecasting strategies, utilizing qualitative and quantitative research and data analysis.
Demonstrated success in securing partnerships, sourcing external funding, developing broad-based partnerships, and building sustainable programs/initiatives.
Public speaking and presentation experience.
Budget design and management experience.
Ten (10) years minimum demonstrated supervisory/leadership experience.
Valid driver’s license.
Fluency in English is a must.

Preferred Qualifications

Ten (10) years of demonstrated experience in health technology.
Seven (7) years of demonstrated supervisory/leadership experience.
Experience running a pilot community.
Experience working through the unique challenges of rural and remote communities.
Experience working with private and public sector entities as well as academia.
Experience working in and across entrepreneurial networks including the VC and PE communities.
Familiarity with Region Five and Minnesota’s innovation ecosystem.

Application Instructions

Your application for this position must be submitted by end of day August 26th, to be considered. If interested, please submit your application prior to this date.

We have acquired a recruitment company for this specific hire. CohenTaylor will be reviewing all applications and facilitating the recruitment for this process. All applications that are submitted within our Applicant Tracking system will be shared with CohenTaylor for review.

Location:

This is a remote position, and is subject to Sourcewell's telecommuting policies and procedures.
On occasion may be expected to attend meetings or trainings at Sourcewell's headquarters in Staples, MN; advance notice would be given to team member.

*Sourcewell is currently accepting applications from all states, except the following: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. Applicants living in or planning to relocate to a state not on this list are encouraged to apply.*

Sourcewell exists to empower community success. We stand with our partners in government and education striving to recognize and honor the differences in each of our community members. We are committed to removing barriers to equity.