What are the responsibilities and job description for the Program Manager, Entrepreneurship & New Ventures: Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development - UTK position at The SMILE Fund?
The Program Manager will provide operational and communications support for a growing portfolio of initiatives focused on entrepreneurship, commercialization, and new venture creation across UT's research enterprise. Under the guidance of the Director, this position will plan and coordinate initiatives within UT and across the regional innovation ecosystem to develop, implement, and increase industry engagement in entrepreneurial programs, technology commercialization, venture development, and mentorship opportunities. The Program Manager will support the recruitment of academic innovators for regional and national training programs, identify instructors and mentors for related entrepreneurship, incubator, and accelerator programs, and support communications, data sharing, and evaluation of metrics to track program performance. This individual will identify and facilitate collaboration for new technologies that broaden participation of underrepresented groups. The Program Manager may lead or support initiatives such as the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program, the university's Chancellor's Innovation Fund (CIF), SBIR/STTR programs & proposals, and other strategic initiatives identified by the Director. The incumbent will build relationships with regional entrepreneurial resources such as Launch Tennessee, Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, Innov865 Alliance, and others to connect UT academic innovators, the UT Research Foundation (UTRF), the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ACEI), the SPARK Innovation Center, and other resources within the UT innovation network. This position will also foster collaboration opportunities with upper-tier corporate partners to connect research-related R&D needs to UT commercialization opportunities.
