Fellowship Manager, Boston
Activate
About Activate Global
Activate empowers scientists and engineers to reinvent our world by bringing their research to market. We partner with leading funders and research institutions to offer the Activate Fellowship, providing the funding, community, mentorship, network, and time that scientists need to become entrepreneurs.
The results are game changing: Activate Fellows have launched 196 new companies since 2015. These companies have raised $3.5B in follow-on funding, created more than 2,800 U.S.-based jobs, and defined several new market categories. Activate supports fellows in Berkeley, CA; Cambridge, MA; New York, NY; Houston, TX; and across the U.S. through Activate Anywhere.
Activate exists to create a better future for all. In service of this purpose, we center equity and inclusivity in all aspects of our work.
Position Summary:
Our Boston team is looking for a new Fellowship Manager.
As Activate Boston’s Fellowship Manager, you will oversee customization and execution of our fellowship including fellow selection, educational programming, and program operations and evaluation. You will work closely with deep-tech science entrepreneurs throughout their two-year Activate fellowship as they build world-changing technologies in fields like climate tech, biomanufacturing, and aerospace.
Each Activate community supports about 20 fellows and is run by a three-person team.
- The Fellowship Manager (this role) reports to the community’s Managing Director and is responsible for the community’s program and operations.
- The Managing Director is an experienced entrepreneur who leads the community and mentors the fellows.
- The Fellowship Associate reports to the Fellowship Manager and is responsible for the community’s daily operations.
All three roles benefit from Activate’s national peer group of individuals performing similar work in other communities. For the Fellowship Manager this means working closely with the Chief Fellowship Officer, Head of Fellowship Program Optimization, and Fellowship Managers across our 5 communities.
The Job:
- Cultivate a supportive, tight-knit community among the Boston fellows while forming deep relationships with each fellow to provide customized support and resources
- Serve as the key lieutenant to the Boston Managing Director, refining and executing their vision for the Activate Boston community
- Own educational programming including all aspects of a biweekly live speaker series for fellows and larger events occurring roughly quarterly
- Fellow selection is an intensive 6-month process with an acceptance rate of roughly 5%. You’ll act as guide, facilitator, and data analyst for the 3-person Boston selection committee while advocating for Activate’s goal of selecting for diversity in both technology and demographics
- Manage the Boston Fellowship Associate, focusing on high performance and professional development
- Engage Activate Boston alumni and connect them to current fellows
- Represent Activate Boston externally to build an extended network that supports current fellows and refers qualified applicants
- Manage all aspects of Boston fellowship operations from the day-to-day program calendar and meetings to annual milestones like fellow onboarding and graduation
- Make Activate better by collecting, analyzing, and acting on data about the fellowship program, the fellows, and the fellows’ companies
- Contribute to Activate’s national education and fellowship experience work by organizing virtual programming for all fellows, providing feedback to national teams, or improving a standard national process
You:
- Feel a passion for community building and can show a track record of amplifying personal connections, collaborations, and mutual support
- Get the details right and take pride in being organized and prepared
- Can smoothly manage a complex program through changing external circumstances
- Proactively collect and analyze the data you need to drive continuous improvement and be two steps ahead of any problem
- Communicate nuanced information clearly in any context including on a stage, in a heartfelt conversation, or with a graph-filled presentation
- Are excited to grow your skill as a manager and help others reach their full potential
- Switch smoothly between collaboration and individual work, between words and numbers, and between strategic and nitty-gritty tasks
- Can commit to supporting our fellows relentlessly because the technologies needed to solve global challenges depend on them
- Love science and are ready to learn a lot of it
About the Role:
This is a full-time position with a competitive salary range of $95,000-105,000 with a generous benefits package that includes professional development, $2,000 in annual wellness funds, unlimited paid time off, healthcare premiums covered for employees and dependents at 90%, and the opportunity to join a retirement plan with a 3% match beginning after 3 months at Activate. This position will be located in Cambridge, MA. We operate an in-person community and so work from our office more than 80% of the time while remaining as flexible as is practical.
Values
Activate’s culture is built around the following values:
- We put people first through mutual support, respect, and continuous improvement
- We live in trust, acting with authenticity, integrity, and a presumption of good intention
- We appreciate experimentation, using data to improve, and accepting that failure and discomfort are necessary for growth
- We create value through connection and building community
- We are guided by intention and are purpose-driven to improve society
We’ve intentionally written job requirements based on skills and personal characteristics rather than qualifications or experience to encourage applicants from all backgrounds. Even if you don't check every box, but see yourself contributing, please apply.
Encouraging Applications from All Backgrounds
We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status. We will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. Activate Global, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.