About Alvernia University 

Alvernia University was founded in 1958 by the Bernardine Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis. Through its main campus in Reading and locations in Philadelphia and Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, the university serves 3,000 students of diverse backgrounds from around the country. 

Alvernia offers a unique blend of rigorous liberal arts core education for the development of the mind, strong technical training in many high-demand majors, experiential learning through study abroad and internship experiences, and engagement with the community through our Franciscan-based community service model. We call our model of transformational education the Alvernia Advantage, and we believe this style of education transforms students into ethical leaders with moral courage. 

Alvernia University ranks in the top 100 among 2021 Best Regional Universities in the North by U.S. News & World Report, and we are recognized as a College of Distinction for our commitment to engaged experiential education. 

Job Summary:

The Executive Director of Student and Client Services (EDSCS) will provide leadership, oversight, and direction for the O’Pake Student Fellows Program as well as for O’Pake client services within the Institute’s various incubators, technology transfer activities, projects, partnerships, and research. The EDSCS will be a member of the O’Pake Executive Leadership team and will be responsible, along with the other members, for setting the strategic and tactical direction of the O’Pake Institute. The EDSCS will be responsible for establishing and maintaining annual program budgets in coordination with the O’Pake Executive Leadership team.

Essential Functions:

1. Provide leadership, oversight, and direction for the O’Pake Student Fellows Program. This includes:

• Creating, maintaining, and managing a Fellow selection, retention, and succession planning process.
• Creating and maintaining documented operating procedure
• Creating and maintaining an annual Fellow evaluation process
• Overseeing relevant Fellow program HR activities.
• Coordinating Graduate Assistant activities related to the Fellows program.
• Creating and running Fellows program promotions (internally and externally).
• Establishing and maintaining a Fellows program budget.
• Coordinating research, as appropriate, with faculty.
• Gathering and analyzing data to support O’Pake’s annual report

2. Provide leadership, oversight, and direction for the O’Pake Client Services. This includes:

• Creating and maintaining documented client service operating procedures (including client fee schedules).
• Coordinating, scheduling and delivering exceptional student-based client services.
• Gathering, maintaining, and analyzing client data to support an annual O’Pake Economic Impact Report in conjunction with the Institute for Public Policy.
• Developing and maintaining Client/Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software (in conjunction with an external software developer and the AU IT team) with a goal of full electronic record keeping.
• Coordinating and maintaining facilities, resources, and tools required for Fellows to deliver services effectively.

3. Responsible for scheduling, creating, and delivering (personally or through others) Fellows training and professional development activities.

4. Participate in the development and delivery of courses (both continuing education and credit-bearing). The

• O’Pake Institute Business Incubator and other facilities will serve as practical labs for the business
• department. The EDSCS will likely serve as an adjunct professor, if possible.

5. Responsible for creating, tracking, and managing the Fellows and Client Services operating budgets. This

• also includes participating in regular O’Pake financial meetings and preparing appropriate financial reports.

6. Give direction and mentoring to O’Pake Graduate Assistants (O’Pake Graduate Fellows); the goal is to train them for future director-level activities.

7. Provide Franciscan ideals and adherence to the Mission of the University.

8. Other leadership duties as assigned.

 QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Requires the ability to lead multiple teams simultaneously to work proactively and effectively on multiple projects, including setting and meeting project goals, timelines, and budgets.

2. Requires in-depth knowledge of business development and the entrepreneurial process. This includes the ability to:

• quickly assess businesses and early-stage venture ideas.
• develop an in-depth and comprehensive plan to reach a clearly defined business exit.
• Must be well versed in business planning and writing process and knowledgeable of the technology transfer process.

3. Requires demonstrated in-depth knowledge in one or more of the critical disciplines typically required in the entrepreneurial process (such as marketing, communications, engineering, digital design, legal, finance, etc.).

4. Requires demonstrated exceptional written and verbal communication skills inclusive of public speaking, additionally some knowledge of marketing and public relations is preferred.

5. Requires the ability to identify, lead, train, advise, and motivate exceptional graduate and undergraduate, and non-traditional students (which we call Fellows), including helping them in personal and professional development.

6. Requires the ability to quickly gain in-depth knowledge of the University, including its critical systems, software, and culture; it also includes creating an Alvernia mission-minded culture including creativity, innovation, and inclusion.

7. Requires the ability to create, document, and implement processes, policies, and procedures that lead to highly effective, efficient, and creative business consulting processes to be implemented in business incubation and technology transfer activities.

8. Requires the ability to work effectively and coordinate service delivery with professional service providers who will also act as mentors to our Fellows.

9. Requires the ability to work effectively and coordinate interaction with faculty researchers, including the ability to actively participate in applied scholarly research, including delivery of research findings to related professional audiences.

10. Requires the demonstrated ability to create and deliver entrepreneurship-related curriculum.

11. Requires knowledge of grants, including identification, acquisition, and execution; this additionally includes effectively working within critical grant guidelines, timelines, and budgets.

12. Requires flexibility in work scheduling/hours because our events and activities routinely occur outside normal work hours: this also includes the ability to travel both nationally an internationally occasionally.

13. Requires exceptional organizational, project management, communications, and budgeting skills as well as basic marketing, entrepreneurial finance, and bookkeeping skills.

14. Requires exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to cultivate a positive team environment with staff, faculty, students, external partners, and mentors.

Qualifications/Education:

1. Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree required

2. Five to seven years of experience in business development or entrepreneurship-related activities required

3. Experience working in an academic setting is required

4. Requires in-depth knowledge of the business development and entrepreneurship, project management, organizational management, budgeting & tracking, event planning, use of computer/software applications

5. Requires working knowledge of entrepreneurial finance, critical University software programs, databases and related programs, social media

6. Requires exceptional level in the following:

• organizational and interpersonal skills
• project and time management
• ability to complete multiple tasks simultaneously
• professionalism
• verbal and written communication skills
• ability to work effectively in a dynamic team environment

Physical Requirements:

• Attendance is required in order to perform the duties of this job.
• Available to work evenings and weekends, participate in national and international travel
• Driver’s license required
• Available to work occasional evenings and weekends for special events