Director of Innovation, 707 Hub

Position Overview

Be The Difference Begins with Great People.

Are you looking for a new opportunity where you can make the difference in the lives of students and faculty? We’re always looking for highly talented individuals to join our team – people who think big, care deeply, and believe in being the difference in their work and community.

We prioritize student success, access to education, and service in our work to educate well-rounded servant leaders who transform their fields, our society and the world. Our Catholic, Jesuit approach emphasizes student engagement with the world around them and formation of the heart and mind. 

We believe in our mission: The search for truth, the discovery and sharing of knowledge, the fostering of personal and professional excellence, the promotion of a life of faith, and the development of leadership expressed in service to others. These core values guide our relationships with our students, each other, and our community.

Marquette University offers a rich and competitive Total Rewards package including medical, dental, vision, 403(b) with up to 8% company match, 5 weeks of time off to start, and tuition benefits for employees, spouses, and dependents with no payback requirement! View details of our total rewards package here.

This is your next opportunity to join an organization that invests in their employees’ career journey by diversifying their skills, deepening their expert knowledge, encouraging a healthy work-life balance, focusing on personal wellbeing, providing leadership training, and sustaining a culture of respect and inclusion.

The Director of Innovation, 707 Hub, is a full-time staff position responsible for providing strategic vision, operational leadership, and programmatic execution for all aspects of the 707 Hub. This includes overseeing the endowed Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship and the Social Innovation Initiative, both located in the 707 Hub. The Director of Innovation, 707 Hub enhances the co-curricular experience for the campus community by supporting 800+ students on an annual basis start business, develop an entrepreneurial mindset, or chart a path of changemaking. The Director of Innovation, 707 Hub also serves as a valuable resource for the local Milwaukee community, supporting economic development and small business support in the Near West Side and supporting social entrepreneurs scale enterprises, making a significant impact in southeastern Wisconsin. Finally, this role is responsible for fundraising activity and high-level donor engagement that supports ongoing operations of the 707 Hub space.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Provide daily oversight of operations for the 707 Hub.
2. Develop and execute the strategic plan of the 707 Hub. Measure progress towards that plan and adapt to changing needs and goals of the university.
3. Develop 707 programming and oversee execution of each event or ongoing project.
4. Develop and steward private and corporate relationships and donations in partnership with University Advancement and University Relations offices. Expenditure control and reporting back to stakeholders.
5. Create and execute a communication strategy to disseminate 707 Hub stories and student successes for mixed audiences using mixtures of media and personal communication.
6. Position Marquette as a leader in the innovation space by participating in community programming as a speaker or pitch competition judge, building partnerships and awareness.
7. Serve as PI or co-PI on grants that support the 707 Hub programming and mission.
8. Engage external entrepreneurs via programming to grow community businesses that hire locally.
9. Manage a team of student interns.
10. Foster a culture of innovation on campus and collaborate with other university innovation and entrepreneurship leaders.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 5 years of relevant experience with at least 3 years of experience in entrepreneurship activities or innovation thinking instruction.
• Requires advanced knowledge of program development and evaluation, work with start-ups, consulting, entrepreneurship, innovation, and higher education.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and programs at the same time.
• Excellent communication skills including public speaking.
• Required to build strong work related inter-personal relationships and partnerships with stakeholders and students.
• Requires the ability to work independently.
• Primary office is in a student facing collaborative event, work, and maker space.
• Must be comfortable working with and around maker equipment.
• Both local (frequent) and domestic (infrequent) travel may be required.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Master’s degree preferred
• Experience working at an institution of higher education
• Experience fundraising
• Experience managing a team
• Supervisory experience preferred.

It is the policy of Marquette University to provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other applicable federal or state-protected classification.