Position Summary

Activate is looking for a Managing Director to mentor a community of Activate Fellows in the New York area by serving as their primary entrepreneurial advisor.

In this role, you will drive key fellowship programmatic efforts, lead the selection of new fellows each year, and connect your community of fellows with resources, support, and each other to enable their entrepreneurial success.

This role will be responsible for representing the New York fellow community to the larger Activate Global team and to external stakeholders across academia, industry, finance and government. The Managing Director will report to Activate’s Interim Chief of Science Strategy. Join us as we work to create the world’s leading platform supporting the earlier stages of science entrepreneurship!

Primary Responsibilities

• Serve as Managing Director and primary advisor for a cross-disciplinary community of entrepreneurial fellows.
• Drive successful outcomes for each individual fellow, providing mentorship, support, network connectivity, and resources.
• Oversee core elements of the fellowship, including review and selection of fellows, and bi-weekly in-person and virtual educational programming.
• Build and maintain relationships with universities, research institutions, and other talent pipelines to attract strong applicants to future fellowship cohorts.
• Establish and/or manage partnerships with relevant supporters, stakeholders, and members of the ecosystem to help support fellows, such as stewarding the NYSERDA relationship, participating in monthly leadership calls, and building relationships with other NYSERDA programs.
• Lead ecosystem engagement efforts for the New York region, including strengthening relationships with key innovation partners, supporting visibility for Activate and its fellows, and co-leading the annual Activate New York Climate Week events with the Fellowship Manager.
• Build collaborative, cross-functional relationships with staff and partners to ensure the program operates effectively and efficiently.
• Represent Activate at an executive level with public- and private-sector stakeholders from across the technology innovation ecosystem.
• Engage with current and potential government and philanthropic sponsors.
• Lead and develop their program team to provide best-in-class support to the fellows.

The Ideal Candidate

• Has an advanced degree in the physical or biological sciences and a minimum of 10 years experience in research, development, management, and commercialization of science-driven technologies.
• Has entrepreneurial experience as the leader of a new company or business unit.
• Has led high-performance technical teams and has demonstrated a commitment to nurturing talent through mentorship.
• Has a strong network and reputation among stakeholders from across the innovation ecosystem (academia, industry, finance, and government) and in the New York area.
• Strongly exhibits objectivity, empathy, and inclusiveness in leadership.
• Is an excellent communicator and collaborator.
• Can manage a complex, dynamic portfolio of projects and stakeholders.
• Believes that groundbreaking science has the power to change the world—but only if it reaches the people and places that need it most.
• Is supportive of a broad range of finance and business models for advancing hard-tech to market.
• Would be excited to wake up each day asking the question, “what can I do to make our fellows successful?”

About The Role

This is a full-time position with a competitive starting base of $230,000 with a generous benefits package that includes professional development, $2,000 in annual wellness funds, flexible paid time off, healthcare coverage for employees and dependents, with 90–100% of premiums covered, and the opportunity to join a retirement plan with a 3% match beginning after 3 months at Activate.

This position is based in New York City. Because we operate an in-person community, our team typically works from the office Tuesday through Thursday each week.