Apr 17, 2018
Full time
Prospect Silicon Valley
Director of Client and Sponsor Services Job Description
Are you looking for a position that will provide an engaging and dynamic career
opportunity? As part of a nonprofit cleantech innovation hub, you will play a
pivotal role on our small but ambitious team. ProspectSV is leading smart city
innovation in the Bay Area and strives to advance the adoption of clean
technology in the fields of mobility, energy and the built environment. We’re
currently looking to expand our team as we grow our organization and partner
on more projects.
We are looking for mission-driven candidates who share our commitment to
smarter, sustainable communities. The position of Director of Client and Sponsor
Services reports to the CEO.
Background
The ProspectSV mission is to accelerate the adoption of clean technology for
smarter, more sustainable communities. Our work focuses on three key sectors:
Advanced Mobility, Energy and the Built Environment. ProspectSV is actively
engaged with sponsors, startup clients, academia, research labs, public
agencies, and local governments across these three sectors. Current efforts
include projects covering Autonomous and Connected Vehicles, EV and EV
charging systems, vehicle-to-grid integration, mobility on demand services, Zero
Net Energy buildings, and support for several clean tech procurement
opportunities. ProspectSV has an Intelligent Traffic Systems Lab for development
of vehicle-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies and a Data
Analytics Lab for development of applications that leverage multiple sources of
data and generates actionable information for drivers, city planners, etc. Our
start-up clients have solutions that range from hands-free, conductive EV
charging systems to hydrophobic coatings for cooling coils in refrigeration
systems, and that address requirements in mobility, energy and the built
environment. Strategic partners include the cities of San Jose, Palo Alto and San
Francisco, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, CalTrans, Lawrence
Berkeley National Lab, National Renewable Energy Lab, and the Metropolitan
Transportation Commission. Our sponsors include Microsoft, Ford, Cisco, Intel,
Sumitomo and many others who have offerings in our target markets.
ProspectSV Client and Sponsor Services Program Overview
The role of the Client and Sponsor Services program is to provide support to
ProspectSV’s start-up clients, sponsors and partners in line with our mission; to
recruit sponsors, startup clients, tenants and partners; and to manage grantfunded
projects that cut across our business sectors.
Responsibilities
This role has three areas of responsibility: 1) support services for sponsors, clients
and tenants, 2) client, tenant and sponsor business development, and 3) project
management.
Support Services for Sponsors, Clients and Tenants
The Director of Client and Sponsor Services (DCSS) provides assistance to
enable clients, tenants and sponsors to reach their full potential in
collaboration with ProspectSV and its partners. These services include
organizing “calls for innovation” seeking technologies to address specific
requirements in pilot projects, roundtables to discuss market trends and
emerging solutions, programs to facilitate introduction of emerging
technologists to potential distributors, investors and partners, coordinating
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to provide commercialization services,
providing funding opportunity alerts for pilot projects, and assistance in
linking sponsors, clients and partners to pilot and demonstration
opportunities. The DCSS is responsible for coordinating the start-up
prospect evaluation process with SMEs and maintaining relationships with
our network of incubator and accelerator partners. The DCSS is also
responsible for overseeing client, tenant and sponsor administration,
ensuring that invoices are properly generated, tracking receivables, and
addressing tactical needs of our tenants in the Demo Center.
Business Development
The DCSS will create programs to identify, qualify and recruit sponsors,
clients, tenants and partners in collaboration with ProspectSV SMEs and
support staff. This includes the development of proposal templates and
supporting the generation of specific sponsor, client or tenant proposals.
The DCSS works with the marketing team in the development of success
stories, presentations and other communications targeted at potential
sponsors, clients and partners.
The DCSS will also contribute to the development of projects, which may
include identifying, evaluating and inviting partners to participate in a
proposal as well as shaping appropriate roles for those partners. Project
development may require the DCSS to conduct background research of
markets or technologies for inclusion in proposals. The DCSS may also
support the scoping of work and the writing of proposals.
Project Management
ProspectSV has secured several grants that require us to identify, screen,
and counsel clean tech start-ups and other solutions suppliers to facilitate
pilot and demonstration projects, as well as broad-scale commercial
deployments. The DCSS is responsible for managing these grant-funded
projects, coordinating the project team meetings, ensuring that schedules
are met and deliverables generated, and overseeing the administration
of the grant invoices, payables and receivables. The DCSS will manage
communications with all relevant parties and track deliverables and
report progress on projects, incorporating both quantitative measures and
prose descriptions.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
The following are required knowledge, skills and abilities:
• Familiarity with clean tech solutions in advanced mobility, energy and the
built environment and knowledge of the competitive landscape for these
solutions and their providers.
• Basic understanding of the market dynamics impacting the adoption of
clean tech solutions in these target markets.
• Experience working with or for start-up companies.
• Network of connections among several of the following groups:
corporate end users of clean tech solutions, automotive OEMs,
automotive Tier 1 suppliers, Bay Area city officials in sustainability, public
transit agencies, the California Energy Commission, the federal
Department of Energy’s energy efficiency and renewable energy and
advanced vehicle technologies offices, clean tech solutions suppliers in
mobility, energy and the built environment, the Federal Transportation
Administration, as well as research institutions (e.g., academia, national
labs, private labs and testing facilities), etc.
• Strong organizational skills including ability to assess priorities,
dependencies, manage details, adhere to deadlines and follow up on
action items.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including ability to coordinate the activities of
partners over whom the DCSS has influence but not authority.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills,
• Research skills to discover studies and data sources to support
background information needed for proposals, projects, etc.
• Project management skills
Desired, but not required, knowledge, skills and abilities:
• Connections to investors, including seed stage investors, venture capital
or corporate investors
• Connections to other clean tech incubators and accelerators
• Familiarity with Smart City initiatives
• Basic understanding of revenue models and financial statements
Experience and Education
Required: Bachelors degree in business, a scientific or engineering discipline, or
urban planning. Minimum of 10 years of experience with at least 5 years
experience working with clean technologies and minimum 5 years experience
working directly with customers or clients. Experience writing reports or proposals,
managing projects to timely and successful completion, and leading project
teams. Highly desired: experience advising or coaching startups.
Required: Experienced user of productivity tools including spreadsheets (Excel)
and collaborative tools (CRM systems, Box, Dropbox, and the like).
To apply: send your cover letter and resume to info@prospectsv.org
When applying, please note that you saw the job posted on the NOVA Job Board. If you need help with your resumé, please see a NOVA Career Advisor.