Ecosystems & Community Manager

AHA - American Heart Association - Dallas, TX

Full-time - Senior

Dallas, TX

About the position

The Ecosystems & Community Manager at the American Heart Association Ventures will play a pivotal role in supporting new programs that leverage the Association's scientific and medical expertise. This senior executive position focuses on enhancing the Association's mission through strategic partnerships, community relations, and capacity-building initiatives. The role involves building a robust internal and external network to optimize outcomes across various funds and programs, while fostering innovation and collaboration within the healthcare venture capital landscape.

Responsibilities

• Support establishment and operation of the Associations Ventures Community Relations/Portfolio Relations Program.
• Support execution of strategy for ongoing portfolio company value-add programs and develop programs that support engagement with these programs across all Association Ventures investment funds.
• Execute and support capacity-building educational programs for deployment across the Associations funds and accelerator programs, including repurposing existing programs for the broader organization.
• Engage with the network throughout the Association and Volunteer community, as well as other potential external collaborations, to deliver value-added programs for portfolio companies with the goal of capacity-building and knowledge development.
• Support the establishment and operation of new programs that contribute to optimizing portfolio company outcomes to the benefit of the Associations Ventures and Mission.
• Support the Associations Ventures leadership and the teams investment professionals to develop and foster strategic innovation collaborations and related business development activities to advance the Associations Ventures portfolio.
• Create opportunities for cross-portfolio company collaborations.
• Help keep track of the external venture capital and funding universe and create relationships with the venture capital community that assist portfolio companies to identify potential targets for their venture fundraising needs; assist portfolio companies to help evaluate and improve their pitch to the external venture marketplace.
• Help manage and coordinate engagement with select the Associations Venture Accelerator Programs (sponsored and/or partnered).
• Support and contribute to development of strategy, including strategic partnerships for select programs.
• Actively raise money to support programs where needed.
• Support selection of portfolio companies for relevant programs.
• Develop or coordinate content development for these programs, including defined education and participation programs for startup founders and their teams.
• Understand and work within the complex structures of the Association to ensure the programs are optimally implemented and compliant with organizational requirements.
• Serve as a model for a high-performance culture by fostering innovation, personal accountability, and dedication to results.
• Support efforts to achieve Association mission and financial goals and objectives.

Requirements

• Minimum of ten (10) years of corporate venture/business development/startup engagement/venture platform experience with a solid understanding of new financial models.
• Minimum of ten (10) years of experience building and negotiating partnerships and alliances and/or developing collaborative programs between startups and the venture community.
• Good solid understanding of healthcare venture capital and an established network of professionals from this community.
• Minimum of ten (10) years of experience collaborating with executives, clinicians, scientists, payers, employers across all key sectors of healthcare (digital health, health services, biopharma, medtech).
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage with high-level leaders, stakeholders, and media.
• Supervisory experience managing direct reports and/or external consultants, with a successful track record in a matrix management environment.
• Highly organized leader with excellent interpersonal skills, project management skills, and data analytics and writing skills.
• Ability to travel as necessary depending on business demand.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary with regular market reviews.
• Merit increases and incentive programs based on performance.
• Wide array of benefits including medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance.
• Robust retirement program with employer match and automatic contribution.
• Employee assistance program and wellness program.
• Telemedicine and medical consultation services.
• Professional development opportunities through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and mentoring programs.
• Access to HeartU, the Association's online university with extensive resources.
• Paid Time Off (PTO) starting at a minimum of 16 days per year, increasing with seniority.
• 12 paid holidays off each year.
• Tuition assistance for further education and career development.