Ecosystem Community and Research Manager

Position Description

InnovatePGH seeks an energetic Ecosystem Community and Research manager to support the Ecosystem and Research Director in building connectivity throughout Pittsburgh’s innovation ecosystem, developing strategic partnerships, and producing insightful research on entrepreneurship in the city.

InnovatePGH is a next-generation public-private partnership accelerating Pittsburgh’s status as a global innovation city. The partnership is powered by a coalition of civic leaders representing Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, UPMC, the Allegheny Conference, and regional philanthropies.

Overview

The Manager will work with the Ecosystem and Research Director to support InnovatePGH’s efforts to coordinate Pittsburgh’s innovation ecosystem, with a special focus on the partners inside the Pittsburgh Innovation District. They will be expected to connect with entrepreneurs, entrepreneur support organizations (ESO), university staff/faculty, and corporate partners to develop programming that supports the commercialization of technology and growth of technology startups. The Manager will also assist with maintaining and leveraging existing data assets to produce insightful research for executive and public audiences. The ECR Manager reports to the Ecosystem and Research Director.  

Responsibilities

Community Management and Partnerships

  • Regularly attend events hosted by strategic partners, including evening and morning events

  • Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with university staff and faculty, local ESOs, and corporate partners

  • Develop and implement programming/events with strategic partners, for the purpose of building an innovation-focused community in the Pittsburgh Innovation District

  • Build and maintain a database of relevant community members to serve InnovatePGH’s strategic goals and the Pittsburgh Innovation Districts communications and marketing efforts

  • Develop relationships with members of Avenu Workspaces to support the growth of Avenu’s community programming

  • Create and track key performance metrics related to Pittsburgh’s innovation community, which may include new company formations, research commercialization metrics, and community engagement metrics

Research and Analysis

As part of InnovatePGH’s broader efforts to be a central pillar of Pittsburgh’s innovation community, the ECR Manager will also support the development of insightful research, which may include blog posts, op-eds, research briefs, and recurring reports.

  • Build fluency with Innovate PGH’s existing data assets (ASTRI) and third-party data aggregators such as Pitchbook, Crunchbase, Dealroom.

  • Maintain and regularly update ASTRI database to reflect an accurate and comprehensive picture of Pittsburgh’s startup and innovation ecosystem

  • Scope and propose research projects with the Ecosystem and Research Director to serve InnovatePGH’s strategic communications needs

  • Outline and draft research pieces for public and executive audiences, which may include op-eds, blog posts, oral presentations, and long form research reports

  • Support the Pittsburgh Innovation District’s communication efforts by providing metrics for use in marketing and promotional materials

  • Develop and regularly report on metrics related to the innovation community to track InnovatePGH’s progress toward strategic goals

Experience, Skills + Personal Attributes

A successful candidate brings a positive attitude, keen interest in supporting small businesses, and a willingness to make an immediate impact to a nimble, highly motivated team.

  • Bachelor’s Degree or 2 years of equivalent experience. A secondary degree (Associate or bachelor’s degree) is not required.

  • Experience being a small business owner/entrepreneur or having entrepreneurial endeavors is favorable

  • Outgoing and willing to meet new people and build strong personal connections

  • Availability to attend regular evening and morning events

  • Experience in community building/management

  • Robust understanding of the challenges and opportunities of the tech/innovation economy as a driver of 21st century economic opportunity

  • Proficiency with data analysis and visualization tools such as Microsoft Excel, R, Python, and Microsoft PowerBI is favorable

  • Experience scoping and writing research projects of various lengths

  • Effective communicator with exceptional verbal, written, and presentation skills

  • High level of self-motivation with drive to take initiative; including willingness to develop independent goals and tasks

  • Passion for Pittsburgh.

General Information

  • This position will be based at InnovatePGH’s offices in the Pittsburgh Innovation District with a flex-work pattern available.

  • A flexible schedule, including some evening hours, is required

  • Salary: $55,250 - $57,250 with competitive benefits

Apply

  • Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to jg@innovatepgh.com

  • InnovatePGH strives to create a diverse, inclusive, and safe work environment. We highly encourage qualified applicants regardless of age, color, creed, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, military or veteran status (or any combination of these or related factors) to submit an application for consideration.