VentureWell is growing and is seeking a Senior Program Officer who is interested in working with emerging programmatic opportunities in the healthcare field, with a focus on the development of new breakthrough capabilities, technologies, systems, and platforms to accelerate innovation in health and medicine. We value staff members who are curious, committed to environmental sustainability, and have experience (either through work or personal life) working with marginalized groups affected by racism, sexism, or classism.

VentureWell serves as the Consortium Management Firm for the ARPA-H Investor Catalyst Hub, a groundbreaking health innovation network. The Investor Catalyst Hub scales health research and venture investment ecosystem capabilities, disrupt traditional care models, create new delivery pathways, and help performers bring game-changing solutions to market to solve big problems in health. Specifically, our role in this new collaboration will include (1) helping to grow a network of biotech-related commercialization partners, (2) working with staff and program managers to create, design and implement new projects and ideas and (3) working to successfully execute the projects as designed.

The ideal candidate for this role has experience in diagnostic and/or medical device design, development, or commercialization and is an experienced outward-facing relationship manager. The person in this role will take a programmatic leadership position in VentureWell’s ARPA-H Program and will also support strategic development and the pursuit of new project opportunities for the Investor Catalyst Hub. If you are someone with at least seven years of highly related experience, including relationship and network building, this may be a great role for you.

The Senior Program Officer can be remote or be based out of our Cambridge office.

Responsibilities:

Program Management

• Act independently as program liaison with the partner organizations in the Healthcare Commercialization program; tactfully deliver timely information between partner organizations and staff; represent organization and program interests during meetings, events, and conversations with partners, consultants, and vendors.
• Translate high-level proposals and awards into tangible and practical work plans.
• Manage activities, contracts, and sub-contracts to ensure compliance with award deliverables, rules, and obligations.
• Support new award opportunities and develop new programming for VentureWell and contribute leadership to health commercialization strategy development, working closely with the Growth Strategy and Development Team and Program staff. 
• Manage internal cross-functional projects to enable program outcomes
• Act as a problem solver, identifying internal inefficiencies and pain points and communicate them to relevant partner teams; partner with relevant teams on problem solving; operationalizing system improvements on a proactive and reactive basis
• Work closely with the Learning and Evaluation team to ensure relevant assessment metrics are used for evaluating programs and documenting learning, knowledge, and impact.

Relationship Management

• Source and manage professional services consultants and vendors assigned to the program and provide leadership to cross-organizational colleagues partnering on programs.
• Serve as a liaison between multiple VentureWell departments, modeling the Core Values while navigating fast-paced work in the midst of multiple, vying priorities
• Play a leadership role in the fundraising, branding, promotion, and marketing of programs as well as the reporting of program outcomes. Prepare and synthesize written material for proposals and reports to funders.

Thought Leadership 

• Contribute relevant expertise to the program area, leverage domain knowledge to develop content for new offerings, synthesize lessons learned into program design evolution, and provide thought leadership across the Program team.
• Work towards effectively advancing equity in the scope of individual performance goals, and broader contributions to VentureWell’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Purposefully participate in internal collaboration and communication to ensure program success through the use of project management tools and practices including project kick-off and ongoing management.

What You Bring:

• MS or equivalent in relevant discipline required
• Minimum 7 years of related experience including program design and administration, with domain experience in fields related to VentureWell program areas (healthcare commercialization, diagnostic and medical device development and commercialization, science and technology innovation, entrepreneurship, or related fields) 
• Significant experience in collaborating with government agency funding staff and/or delivering on federal contracts a plus
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills with an ability to articulate and synthesize information in a compelling and organized manner; Effective and skilled presenter
• Ability to extract key information and data to solve problems and inform decision making
• Experience (work or lived) with groups identifying as marginalized by racism, sexism, or classism
• Demonstrated history of success utilizing project management skills, including the ability to meet deadlines and coordinate multiple tasks with a wide range of stakeholders
• Comfort and experience representing an organization in partner leadership meetings online and in person
• Ability to understand and apply appropriate tools and technologies used in the workplace; ease with adapting new technologies as needed
• High degree of digital fluency using cloud-based office tools such as GSuite, CRMs, team collaboration tools, and other web-based applications; ability to incorporate these tools into day-to-day work

Across the Board, VentureWell Staff:

• Are able to succeed and thrive in an environment with competing and changing priorities and tight deadlines
• Have track records of and ability to build solid collaborative working relationships, and are proven team players who enjoy a “customer service” orientation to collaboration
• Are committed to embedding equity in our internal practices and culture and in our programs in order to live and achieve our mission
• Bring openness and engagement to personal, professional, and organization-wide learning on race, class, gender, justice, and equity
• Are curious and committed to issues of environmental sustainability
• Are self-starters with excellent attention to detail and a commitment to delivering high-quality work 
• Are active learners who independently learn new tools and work processes quickly
• Have excellent written and oral communication skills

Our Benefits:

• An attractive and equitable compensation package, including: 
  • a salary range of $90-$110k commensurate with experience and internal equity
  • 401(k) with 200% match up to a maximum contribution from VentureWell of 10% when the employee puts it 5% (eligible after one year of service for the match)
  • Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance
  • $1,000 home office stipend upon hire

• A true focus on work-life balance with work weeks that reflect that
• It’s our aim for our employees in this position to work on average a 40 hour work week with some flex up and down
• 20 paid vacation days PLUS the week off between Christmas and New Years
• 12 paid wellness days 

What We Offer:

• A culture where people work intentionally and collaboratively in pursuit of our mission
• VentureWell helps individuals transform into innovators and ideas into impactful innovations.
• Values we believe in
• A commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 
• We are deeply committed to diversity and to supporting a healthy work/life balance

About VentureWell: 

VentureWell supports the cultivation of an emerging generation of science and technology inventors and the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems that are critical to their success. Since its founding in 1995, VentureWell has funded or trained over 16,000 science and technology inventors and innovators, resulting in the emergence of over 3,000 ventures with groundbreaking technological advancements in fields like biomedicine and healthcare, sustainable energy and materials, and solutions for low-resource settings. The startups they have supported have raised subsequent funds totaling close to 5.3 billion and are reaching millions of people in nearly 50 countries.

Visit venturewell.org to learn more.