Director of Innovation & Impact

Belmont University • Belmont, CA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

We are now accepting applications for a qualified Director of Innovation & Impact at Belmont University. Employment Type Staff Internal Job Category Exempt (Staff) Full-Time Department Belmont Innovation Labs Hours Primary Duties and Responsibilities: Position purpose: The Director of Innovation & Impact serves as strategic lead for two to three concurrent Belmont Innovation Labs initiatives, each typically spanning 12 to 36 months, and is accountable for moving them from complex, ambiguous challenges to meaningful, measurable outcomes. Through strategic facilitation of the Labs' 3D Process (Assemble, Discover, Design, Deploy), the Director aligns the full project ecosystem (executive sponsors, project teams, students and faculty, community and industry partners, funders, and those most affected by the challenge) around direction and success criteria. The Director also strengthens how the Labs design, facilitate, measure, and learn from innovation, and ensures each project creates distinctive value for Belmont by opening pathways for student and faculty participation and informing curricular and co-curricular experience. Essential Functions: 1. Lead a portfolio of two to three concurrent Innovation Lab projects from Assemble through Deploy, setting clear objectives, milestones, and measures of success, and keeping the project ecosystem aligned on direction and intended impact in partnership with the project manager who oversees day-to-day operations. 2. Design and facilitate discovery sessions, workshops, working groups, and other critical moments in the innovation design process; conduct and synthesize in-depth stakeholder interviews; and help groups translate insight into strategy and action. 3. Serve as primary point of contact for funders and capital allocators throughout each project's lifecycle, reporting on progress and outcomes and maintaining high-level oversight of project budgets (without direct fundraising solicitation); build trusted ecosystem relationships and ensure the story of the work is clear and compelling. 4. Strengthen the Labs' innovation practice by capturing and refining tools, methods, and lessons from active projects, improving its impact, replicability, durability, and marketability so it can be adopted beyond the Director's own portfolio. 5. Create distinctive value for Belmont University by opening research, discovery, co-design, and implementation opportunities for students and faculty, and partnering with colleges, deans, and Educational Innovation to feed project insight into curricular and co-curricular experience. 6. Partner with the Executive Director to measure and communicate impact across the portfolio, and build feedback loops so learning from each project informs future work and sharpens how the Labs assess new opportunities. 7. The above statements describe the job’s essential responsibilities and requirements. They are not an exhaustive list of the duties that may be assigned to job incumbents.

Requirements

• Experience working in a fast-paced environment and the ability to respond to high-pressure situations.
• Ability to thrive in an environment of hard work.
• Ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community.
• Ability to identify issues through analytical thinking, obtain relevant information, relate and compare data from different sources, and identify alternative solutions.
• Interprets and seeks information through critical thinking, uses independent reasoning to diagnose the root cause of situations or issues, identifies and tests solutions and thinks beyond what is typical or customary.
• Uses information to determine benefits and impact in making decision and/or recommendations.
• Ability to coordinate and administer programs/project activities and protocols.
• Ability to manage resources, monitor activities, and assess risks and quality issues associated with the program/project.
• Ability to present information to individuals or groups; ability to deliver presentations suited to the characteristics and needs of the audience.
• Ability to convey information clearly and concisely to groups or individuals either verbally or in writing to ensure that they understand the information and the message.
• Ability to listen and respond appropriately to others.
• Ability to impact and influence others to further the institution’s strategic objectives.
• Ability to use Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) and basic databases and software.
• Facilitation: designs and leads rooms spanning executives to people with lived experience; synthesizes on the fly.
• Relationship stewardship & influence: builds trust across sectors and leads through influence, not authority.
• Bachelor's degree or the equivalent with extensive course work in related field; Master's degree strongly preferred. Related fields can include but are not limited to business, design, social sciences, social innovation, etc.
• 10-15 years of experience is required preferably in the field of social impact, innovation design, and/or higher education. Ten plus years should include significant leadership.
• The selected candidate will be required to complete a background check satisfactory to the University.
• Belmont University participates in E-Verify. Federal law requires all employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead a portfolio of two to three concurrent Innovation Lab projects from Assemble through Deploy, setting clear objectives, milestones, and measures of success, and keeping the project ecosystem aligned on direction and intended impact in partnership with the project manager who oversees day-to-day operations.
• Design and facilitate discovery sessions, workshops, working groups, and other critical moments in the innovation design process; conduct and synthesize in-depth stakeholder interviews; and help groups translate insight into strategy and action.
• Serve as primary point of contact for funders and capital allocators throughout each project's lifecycle, reporting on progress and outcomes and maintaining high-level oversight of project budgets (without direct fundraising solicitation); build trusted ecosystem relationships and ensure the story of the work is clear and compelling.
• Strengthen the Labs' innovation practice by capturing and refining tools, methods, and lessons from active projects, improving its impact, replicability, durability, and marketability so it can be adopted beyond the Director's own portfolio.
• Create distinctive value for Belmont University by opening research, discovery, co-design, and implementation opportunities for students and faculty, and partnering with colleges, deans, and Educational Innovation to feed project insight into curricular and co-curricular experience.
• Partner with the Executive Director to measure and communicate impact across the portfolio, and build feedback loops so learning from each project informs future work and sharpens how the Labs assess new opportunities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director