Easter Seals Jobs

Director, Innovation & Partnership

School of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford, California, United States

New

Administration

Post Date 4 hours ago

Requisition # 105337

About Stanford Impact Labs

The world’s biggest social problems are complex, multi-faceted, and pervasive. No academic center, company, or organization can solve systemic issues – such as economic inequality, inequitable access to health care and education, and racial discrimination – alone. We need leaders with different skills and experiences to come together to generate fresh insights, evidence, and action to make progress.

Stanford Impact Labs – a major initiative at Stanford University – invests in mission-driven teams of researchers and practitioners from government, business, nonprofit organizations, and philanthropy. These teams – or impact labs – work together on social problems they choose and where practical progress is possible. With our support, they rapidly develop, test, and scale new solutions to social problems that affect millions of people worldwide. Learn more at our work and impact at https://impact.stanford.edu/.

Stanford Impact Labs (SIL) is an equal opportunity organization and is strongly committed to racial and social justice. To that end, we particularly encourage people from underrepresented backgrounds to apply for open positions. Please submit your resume and a cover letter through the Stanford Career Portal.

About the Role

The Director of Innovation & Partnerships leads the team at SIL that is dedicated to strengthening the capacity of SIL-funded labs and faculty to take on the world’s most complex challenges. This position plays a critical role in unlocking opportunities to scale research insights by 1) guiding operational and strategic support to SIL-funded research teams on accelerating the impact of their work through thriving, scalable, and equitable partnerships; and 2) prototyping a framework aimed at identifying and testing strategic partnerships to activate higher education institutions to advance transformative social impact.

The Director of Innovation & Partnerships also serves as a core member of the SIL leadership team, collaborating on organizational strategy, i.e., strengthening SIL investment selection processes, cultivating a welcoming institutional environment to advance social impact through social science, and building relationships with innovative collaborators inside and beyond Stanford.

Specifically, you will:

Lead the “acceleration” arm of SIL’s investments strategy.

○ Continuously improve SIL’s acceleration framework and strategy to strengthen the capacity and depth of impact for SIL-funded labs and faculty fellows to scale their research insights.

○ Manage the development and execution of coaching, technical assistance, and other capacity building tools and resources for SIL-funded faculty fellows and research teams.

○ Build and manage relationships with individuals, organizations, and resources in the broader higher education innovation ecosystem, including, but not limited to other incubators and accelerators, government agencies, community power-building organizations, and other advisors in service of advancing higher education’s actionable pathways from science to impact.

○ Work closely with the SIL People, Finance, and Administration team and related Stanford University units to strengthen welcoming institutional conditions for partnership-based social science research and innovation within the university.

○ Collaborate with the Investments & Accountability team to triage SIL-funded lab support needs, to strengthen the investments selection process, and to build the reporting infrastructure to track labs’ progress towards impact through their award - and post-award - periods.

Lead strategic partnerships from ideation through execution for SIL, in support of activating innovation for social impact in higher education.

○ Support the participation of Stanford University in the Equity Forward Anchor Network — an R&D prototype of cultivating a culture of public impact within and beyond the university with a place-based and racial equity framework.

○ Develop new partnerships, establishing trusting relationships with key Stanford individuals and units as well as key public, private, civic, and social organizations to test SIL’s model in new landscapes.

○ Design, deliver, and evaluate targeted programming to seed the “enabling environment” for social science research implementation in practitioner ecosystems, and for campus engagement with practice-focused research

Cultivate and lead a high-impact Innovation & Partnerships team.

○ Directly manage the Innovation & Partnerships team, covering key strategic areas of acceleration - partnerships and scaling support, institutional advocacy, etc

○ Mentor and develop team members, while ensuring the successful execution of programming

○ Develop and manage periodic opportunities for student engagement that supports the Innovation & Partnerships team’s strategic goals.

○ Lead annual strategic planning process, setting goals collaboratively and ensuring team is meeting its learning and doing goals

○ Oversee and monitor the unit’s budget

Participate in SIL’s organizational leadership and development strategy.

○ Facilitate the ideation and integration of new ideas across different teams, driving brainstorming or design-thinking sessions in service of SIL’s mission and vision.

○ Work closely with SIL’s Executive Director, Faculty Director, and programmatic senior leadership to design and execute organizational strategy.

○ Foster organizational culture of collaboration, learning, and belonging where all staff feel safe, seen, and supported.

About You

● You are a creative and collaborative strategic leader. You have proven experience leading on crafting and executing strategies for impact, guiding a think tank or organization to identify gaps in the field, generate bold new ideas, and drive impact through those ideas; you have the ability and interest in creating new initiatives and comfort with the ambiguity that stems from starting new bodies of work; and the ability to work in partnership with researchers, community leaders, and policy decision makers to co-create and achieve shared goals and concrete outcomes; you are a hands-on strategic leader who balances a sense of urgency with empathy and humility when building and maintaining relationships with new and existing colleagues and partners.

● You’re experienced at elevating research to advance social impact. You bring demonstrated experience in strategically positioning rigorous research to advance social change and understand the pivotal role that knowledge production plays in transformative systems change. You also have experience supporting research-practice partnerships to build and maintain equitable partnerships that accelerate the generation and scaling of insights/solutions to social problems.

● You have at least 10 years of practitioner experience working in the field of research for impact, policy, or one of SIL’s impact areas. Through this experience, you have a strong understanding of how to apply intersectional analyses to the strategy, including gender, disability and racial justice.

● You bring exceptional management skills. You have proven experience leading people, building cohesive teams, coaching and developing staff, and empowering managers to own their functional areas; you have proven project management experience that includes scoping, planning, and integration of people and resources, managing risk, prioritizing activities, and planning for contingencies; you have the ability to manage multiple, complex priorities within demanding timeframes; you have successful experience leading a multidisciplinary team and working effectively with persons from diverse cultural, social and ethnic backgrounds; you have a highly developed emotional intelligence and active listening skills; you have experience leading and managing without direct supervisory authority.

● You are a facilitator, instructor, and coach. You bring skills in facilitation, holding space amidst complex group dynamics and discussions, and managing/facilitating through conflict and tension; you have demonstrated expertise teaching complex subjects to non-experts while cutting through jargon and making technical concepts accessible; you have experience in navigating the challenges of coaching others to success while maintaining their boundaries of independence and intellectual freedom.

● You are a thoughtful relationship builder, engaging communicator, and people connector. You have a demonstrated ability to bring, build, and maintain networks and working relationships with partners and key stakeholders from a diversity of lived experiences and types of entities, including: nonprofit and community-based organizations, government, and public and private higher education institutions.

● You thrive in a dynamic, open, and collaborative work environment. You are at home in a lean start-up environment with the ability to stay focused and nimble in the face of rapid change. You believe in collaboration and including a diversity of views, experiences, and perspectives.

● You have a passion for Stanford Impact Labs’ mission and fluency within the higher education sector. You have the desire to advance higher education’s ability to flourish in putting research to work for society with a deep valuing of partnership-based strategies.

The most competitive candidates will also demonstrate several of the following skills and experience that are strongly preferred:

● Knowledge of Stanford University’s sponsored research systems and its evolving infrastructure to accelerate social impact.

● Experience in coalition building and strategic long-term partnerships to advance social change, ideally within higher education.

● Experience working in or with a local, state, or federal government agency.

● Fundraising experience, including direct experience cultivating multi-year grants or gifts with philanthropic organizations.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Education & Experience:

Advanced degree and five years of relevant experience in area of specialization or combination of relevant education, training, and/or experience. For jobs with financial responsibilities, experience managing a budget and developing financial plans. Experience developing program partnerships and funding sources.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

● Ability to develop program partnerships and funding sources.

● Advanced oral, written, and analytical skills, exhibiting fluency in area of specialization.

● Ability to oversee and direct staff.

● Ability to manage budgets and develop financial plans.

How to Apply

We will review applications on a rolling basis and encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible. We plan to stop accepting applications Dec 8th, 2024. Please submit the following through Stanford’s online jobs portal.

● A 1-2 page resume highlighting examples of relevant skills and experiences

● A 1-page (maximum) cover letter

● In addition to a cover letter, please send us a response to the following question:

○ What do you see as the key obstacles to impact labs' ability to use research to address social change, and how would you address those obstacles? [300 words max]

The hiring process will involve:

● Two interviews for shortlisted candidates

● We will check references for final candidates only.

Why Stanford Impact Labs is for You

We’re a small and growing team working towards a game-changing mission, we bring thoughtful excellence to our work and to how we work together, seeing and valuing each other as more than just “people we work with”. Our team loves working here because of the meaning they derive from the work, the people they get to do the work with (colleagues, partners, stakeholders), the culture of collaboration and atmosphere of trust, openness and care, as well as the hybrid work environment.

Why Stanford is for You

Imagine a world without search engines or social platforms. Consider lives saved through first-ever organ transplants and research to cure illnesses. Stanford University has revolutionized the way we live and enrich the world. Supporting this mission is our diverse and dedicated 17,000 staff. We seek talent driven to impact the future of our legacy. Our culture and unique benefits empower you with:

● Freedom to grow. We offer career development programs, tuition reimbursement, or audit a course. Join a TedTalk, film screening, or listen to a renowned author or global leader speak.

● A caring culture. We provide superb retirement plans, generous time-off, and family care resources.

● A healthier you. Climb our rock wall, or choose from hundreds of health or fitness classes at our world-class exercise facilities. We also provide excellent health care benefits.

● Discovery and fun. Stroll through historic sculptures, trails, and museums.

● Enviable resources. Enjoy free commuter programs, ridesharing incentives, discounts and more

This position is classified by Stanford University as an Academic Program Professional, Job Code 4113, Grade K. Other duties may also be assigned, not all unique aspects of this job are covered by this job posting.

The expected pay range for this position is $140,184 - 175,260 per annum. Stanford University provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the university reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographic location, and external market pay for comparable jobs.

There is no visa sponsorship available for this position. Candidates who will now, or in the future, require visa sponsorship will not be considered for this role.

This is a 100% FTE, 1 year fixed term exempt position with the possibility of renewal. This position will be based on the Stanford campus and is a hybrid position, with 2-3 days of in-person work and 2-3 days of remote work per week.

The job duties listed are typical examples of work performed by positions in this job classifications and are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, tasks and responsibilities. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary depending on department or program needs without changing the general nature and scope of the job or level of responsibility. Employees may also perform other duties as assigned.

Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability who requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of their job.

Additional Information

• Schedule: Full-time

• Job Code: 4113

• Employee Status: Fixed-Term

• Grade: K

• Requisition ID: 105337

• Work Arrangement : Hybrid Eligible