Who We Are:

System Administration, which also houses the Office of the President, is located in the uptown neighborhood of Denver with a few smaller offices located on the campuses. Many of our departments support the educational and research missions of the four University of Colorado campuses, but System Administration is not considered a campus. We provide diverse opportunities for professional development, innovation, and collaboration with talented staff and faculty. Learn more about CU System Administration.

Academic Affairs: The Office of Academic Affairs performs university-wide leadership and coordination of CU’s academic and research programs. In collaboration with campus executives, the office coordinates the development and review of academic programs for board and state agency approval and serves as liaison to faculty governance groups. The office also oversees the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities whose mission is to catalyze and integrate advances in science, engineering and technology to promote the quality of life and independent living of people with cognitive disabilities.

Position Summary:

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E) Initiative is a part of the CU System Office of Academic Affairs, supported by President’s Initiative funds and executing Phase II of the I&E initiative begun 18 months ago. The I&E Initiative Lead will work with the CU System Office, CU community, and other business leaders to execute the three key goals of the initiative: 1) organize and run a systemwide I&E Showcase in the Spring of 2024; 2) build a Community of Practice (CoP) of I&E faculty and staff across the system supporting the evolution of I&E on each campus and across our campuses; and 3) encourage the development and distribution of Open Education Resources for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

The second stage of a President’s Initiative on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E) is seeking an individual with experience in university and/or industry I&E activities to both lead and execute the programs associated with the second stage. This role will need to be able to work independently but escalate questions and reach out to campus and system leaders and the Vice President of Academic Affairs when needed. This role will also spend time cultivating and developing relationships across the CU I&E community and will need to have the ability to create and support networks of high performing busy individuals.

There will be no set day-to-day activities. Rather, the three main goals of the initiative will intersect, with some goals taking prime attention on a given day or week but requiring constant vigilance for synergies that will increase the overall impact of the project. This fluid set of goals requires an individual well-versed in the I&E space, comfortable working with faculty, staff, and perhaps some students, as well as able to represent CU with the I&E community in the Front Range from high profile venture funders to initial start-up teams. In short, the person in this role will need to have the capability of working at both an executive level, building coalitions and interacting with the business community as well as capable of executing as staff support for the three main initiatives.

This is a project-funded, part-time position expected to work 20 hours per week, a 0.5 FTE. This position is funded through May 2024. This position is exempt from the State of Colorado Classified Staff System and reports to the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Where You Will Work:

This position is located in Denver at 1800 Grant Street and is approved for a remote work arrangement.

Diversity and Equity:

The University of Colorado System Administration Office is committed to recruiting and supporting a diverse workforce. The university strives to promote a culture of inclusiveness, respect, communication and understanding. We encourage applications from women, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, persons within the LGBTQ+ community and all veterans.

Duties & Responsibilities:

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative Lead has both a high level, ‘executive’ set of responsibilities, as well as clear deliverables on events and systems. Further, while System has resources that the Lead can call upon, they will need to be able to effectively operate with a high degree of independence. Duties and responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to:

Organize and execute a systemwide I&E Showcase in the Spring of 2024:

• Planning and executing the Showcase of Entrepreneurial activities across the CU system with audiences including the CU community, Colorado Business leaders, the Colorado I&E community, and state legislative and government leaders.
• Meeting with start-up companies, the venture community, high profile faculty and staff in supporting the Showcase.
• Organizing the Showcase, scheduling the Showcase program and participants, finding venue space, planning catering, AV requirements, etc.

Build a Community of Practice (CoP) of I&E faculty and staff across the system supporting the evolution of I&E on each campus and across our campus:

• Providing the affordances and support to build a community of practice (CoP).
• Introducing the second phase of the I&E project to faculty and staff I&E leaders across the system, gaining their trust, understanding specific needs to be served by a CoP, and then executing.
• Determining software platforms to support the CoP, arranging access, and licenses if needed.
• Working with System University Information Services on support infrastructure.
• Planning and staffing regular meetings to build momentum and real support for the CoP.
• Collaborating and working across all CU campuses.
• Identifying and enabling CU faculty and staff leaders in CoP.

Encourage the development and distribution of CU Open Education Resources for Innovation and Entrepreneurship:

• Working with CU faculty who are teaching I&E to encourage and support Open Educational Resources (at least open in the CU community) for I&E.
• Understanding the OER space in general is expected.
• Working with faculty teaching I&E to learn and take inventory of what education materials they have created, versus what existing materials (e.g., textbooks) they actually use.
• Based on the inventory, the Lead will analyze what educational materials can best support the sustainability of I&E education across the system and work to convince the faculty who created that material of the value to them and CU or building an OER repository for I&E.

The last phase in the President’s Initiative on I&E will be generating a report associated with the three primary activities.

What We Offer:

Salary: The anticipated hiring range has been established at $67,500-$72,500

This is a part-time position expected to work 20 hours per week, a 0.5 FTE.

The salary of the finalist(s) selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, internal equity, experience, education, specialty and training.

The above salary range (or hiring range) represents the University’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.

Benefits: The University of Colorado offers an excellent benefits package including:

• Medical: Multiple plan options
• Dental: Multiple plan options
• Additional Insurance: Disability, Life, Vision and Wellness
• Retirement 401(a) Plan: Employer contributes 10% of your gross pay
• Paid Time Off: Accruals over the year
  • Vacation Days: 22
  • Sick Days: 15
  • Holiday Days: 10
  • Time accruals listed are based on a full-time, 1.0 FTE schedule
• Tuition Benefit: System employees have the benefit on all campuses
• ECO Pass: RTD Bus and light rail service
• Additional Perks & Programs: Click here to access a few more Perks and Programs

Click here to access our Total Compensation Calculator to see what your total rewards could be at CU. This position is a University Staff position.

Additional taxable fringe benefits may be available.

More information on benefits programs, including eligibility, is available at www.cu.edu/employee-services/.

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications:

Please ensure your resume includes any and all relevant experience to be accurately assessed against these qualifications. You must meet all minimum requirements listed at the time of application to be considered for this role.

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education, or equivalent professional experience (professional experience may be substituted for the educational requirement on a year-for-year basis)
• Five (5) years’ professional experience leading and executing projects and programs in an academic setting, which may also include facilitating interactions that build relationships between a large variety of stakeholders.
• One (1) year of experience in a team lead or supervisory role, which may include assigning and reviewing the work of others, providing guidance to internal and external team members, and/or assisting management with performance reviews (this requirement may be substituted by formal leadership training)

Preferred Qualifications::

• Bachelor’s or post-baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution of higher education. While the specific degree is not a determining factor, degrees in business, law, economics, political science and perhaps STEM fields will be useful.
• Seven (7) years’ professional experience, as stated above.
• Two (2) years’ experience in a team lead or supervisory role, as indicated above
• Experience in higher education with I&E projects
• Experience building teams across independent units
• Experience with the range of communities interested in, participating in, and supporting I&E
• Experience or familiarity with the OER space
• Experience producing measurable results related to projects and initiatives, while working independently
• Experience working with teams
• Experience in managing budgets and working within an organization’s budget and finance system
• Experience working with the Microsoft Office suite
• Experience with community/team support software tools, such as TEAMS, Google, Slack, or similar.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

To be successful in this position, employees will need to know the following:

• Oral, written, and listening communication skills, including the ability to accurately interpret what others are saying and convey messages, information, concepts, and details accurately and clearly
• Organizational skills, including the ability to set and meet goals and deadlines, manage appointments, create schedules, coordinate and facilitate meetings, and make decisions
• Ability to work with and build communities of high performing individuals
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and reliable professional judgment, as well as collaboratively with a team to achieve desired results
• Ability to establish and maintain partnerships with a variety of internal and external constituencies
• Ability to communicate and work effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and ages
• Ability to build and foster relationships with students and key campus student services
• Ability to build support networks within existing organizations
• Ability to flex time to meet varying project needs

How to Apply:

For full consideration, please attach the following as separate documents to your application:

Please ensure you check the “Job Specific Attachments” box next to each document on the “Required Documents” page of the application for the appropriate documents to be attached.

When to Apply:

For full consideration completed applications must be submitted by Sunday, April 2nd, 2023. Reference checking is a standard step in our hiring process. You may be asked to provide contact information, including email addresses, for up to five references as part of the search process for this position. *Please note: All application materials must be submitted through CU Careers; emailed materials will not be considered.*

Background Check Statement:

The University of Colorado is committed to providing a safe and productive learning and living community. To achieve that goal, we conduct background investigations for all final applicants being considered for employment. Background investigations include a criminal history record check, and when appropriate, a financial and/or motor vehicle history. The Immigration Reform and Control Act requires that a verification of employment eligibility be documented for all new employees by the end of the third day of work. The University of Colorado is committed to diversity and equality in education and employment.

ADA Statement:

We are committed to an inclusive and barrier-free search process. We provide accommodations for applicants requesting accommodation through the search process such as alternative formats of this posting. Individuals with disabilities in need of accommodations throughout the search process should contact the ADA Coordinator at: systemhr@cu.edu.