Arizona SciTech and the Arizona Technology Council Foundation are seeking a full time Partnership Development and Grants Director.
As the foundation enters its next phase of growth, this position will be an integral team member to cultivate the necessary business relationships and secure investments to build capacity for new, emerging and existing Foundation programs including the Arizona SciTech Festival (Existing), Arizona Science Bowl (Existing), Chief Science Officers (Emerging), Return Home Arizona (New) and Science for All (New); each described at end of announcement. Given the fast paced, publicly visible, dynamic nature of our organization, a successful candidate will have strong networking, fundraising, communication, collaboration and planning skills. Specific roles include the following:
Partnership Development (40%)
- Develop strategies and opportunities to grow and retain the network of business partners
- Educate the business community about the importance and opportunities with Foundation programs and initiatives;
- Increase the participation of the business community in Foundation programs (ex. hosting tours, tableting at Arizona SciTech Festival events, serving as “SciTech Jedi” for Chief Science Officers, Judging at the Science Bowl);
- Increase the strategic engagement of the business community in the design and development of Foundation programs and activities;
- Increase the engagement of the Arizona Technology Council members in Foundation opportunities
- Build database of company partners seeking jobs with STEM based training.
Build Investment Portfolio (50%)
- Increase and diversify Foundation investments through grants, sponsorships, programs and events;
- Increase the number of local and national organizations sponsoring in Foundation initiatives;
- Increase the amount of sponsorship existing organizations invest in Foundation initiatives;
- Research and draft local, regional and national corporate and foundation grants;
- Assist in the identification and drafting of federal grants (ex. National Science Foundation and the Department of Education);
- Develop events and other opportunities to grow investments;
- Oversee sponsorship fulfillment.
Other (10%)
- Assist the team with key events and activities;
- Write blog posts and post social media about key business partners;
- Assist in the strategic development of Foundation programs and activities;
- Support existing and new communities to build regional STEM collaboratives.
Special qualifications:
- Ability to grow and retain partnerships with diverse organizations in business, community, government and education (required);
- Established network of Arizona businesses (preferred);
- Strong communication skills in writing, networking and public speaking (required);
- Experienced in writing grants (required);
- Experience raising investments from business, community and government organizations (required);
- Ability to multitask, work efficiently, independently and project proper time to complete assigned tasks (required);
- Demonstrated ability to problem solve and think on one’s feet (required);
- Demonstrated knowledge of strategic planning principles and practices (required);
- Ability to plan small to large scale events (preferred);
- Ability to manage staff and volunteers, 3-5 years of supervisory experience (preferred);
- Demonstrated knowledge of budget management methods (preferred);
Experience:
- Prior experience in business development (required);
- Prior experience in raising investments for events, programs and other opportunities (required)
- Prior experience in writing corporate and/or foundation grants (required)
- Track record of partnership development (required)
Success Criteria
- Increase the number of business partners engaged by 30% annually;
- Grow investment in Foundation programs by 30% annually.
Education: Bachelor’s degree (required)
Core competencies: partnership development, sponsorships, grant writing, communication
Work conditions: telecommuting option with the ability to attend community meetings and regular staff functions at Arizona Technology Council Foundation.
Arizona SciTech Festival – the Arizona SciTech Festival has grown into one of the state’s largest collaborative around STEM. To this end we have over 800 collaborating organizations around business, education, government and community collaborating to put forth STEM based celebrations in their communities. There are now over 1000 events in more than 40 Arizona cities and towns. What has made the effort so unique is the festival’s ability to serve as common ground for communities to come together around STEM and innovation. As a result, it now serves many regions through community, education and economic development efforts. To this end, we are now anchored at the Arizona Commerce Authority with Arizona Board of Regions, ASU, UA, Arizona Science Center and the Arizona Technology Council Foundation as Foundational Partners.
Arizona Science Bowl – The Arizona Middle and High School Science Bowls are state wide Jeopardy style competitions focused on STEM related topics. The event is open to all Arizona middle and high school students organized in teams of 4 to 5 and usually draws 30 teams (~250 students). The Bowl for the past three seasons was held at the ASU West Campus on a Saturday towards the end of February and promoted as an Arizona SciTech Festival event. The rules of the competition are set by the US Dept. of Energy and winners of state competitions progress to a national competition.
Chief Science Officers – A Chief Science Officer or “CSO” is a 6th to 12th grade student elected by their peers to represent their school in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) and innovation. The 2015-16 year marks the inaugural year with 80 schools throughout Arizona having elected 120 CSOs. A core component of the CSO concept is to increase student “voice” in the local, state and national conversation about STEM. All too often discussions about education and the workforce take place without potentially the most important stakeholder…students! What adults view about the future workforce may not be aligned with what students want. To address this, CSOs are selected through a general election and in hopes to capture the voice of their student population. In addition, CSOS will be organized into a statewide cabinet to collaborate with one another and address larger, high impact opportunities as a collective group.
Return Home Arizona (NEW) – Arizona educates a set of world renowned talent through our PK-20 continuum. This talent will often go outside of Arizona to continue their education in undergraduate and graduate school. Once their studies are complete, these talented graduates will take the next steps in their career path and land their first job. Often, this first job is in the same location as their last place of study, thus setting a trajectory for this student to plant their future seeds in a community other than Arizona. Return Home Arizona is campaign to bring our best and brightest back home, targeting these talented Arizonans to consider careers in Arizona.