Fellowship Manager, New York

Activate Global, Inc • New York, NY

9d • Onsite

About The Position

The Fellowship Manager, New York, is the strategic and operational program lead for Activate's New York community, supporting a cohort of scientist-entrepreneurs as they build hard-tech companies in areas such as climate tech, new materials, biomanufacturing, and aerospace. The role is responsible for delivering an exceptional two-year fellowship experience and cultivating a leading hard-tech founder community through founder support, community building, operational excellence, ecosystem engagement, and team leadership.

Each Activate community supports about 20 fellows and is run by a three-person team. The Fellowship Manager leads the local community and reports to the Fellowship Director, who oversees all five U.S. communities. The Fellowship Associate reports to the Fellowship Manager and handles daily community operations. The Managing Director mentors fellows and leads external ecosystem efforts. Fellowship Managers also work with peers in other communities as part of the broader Fellowship team.

Requirements

• At least 4 years of professional experience, including at least 1 year supporting scientists, research, hard tech, or entrepreneurship.
• Passion for and experience with community building.
• Experience facilitating personal connections, collaborations, and mutual support within a community.
• Strong organization and preparation skills, with attention to detail.
• Ability to manage a complex program through changing external circumstances.
• Ability to proactively collect and analyze data to drive continuous improvement and anticipate problems.
• Ability to gather entrepreneurs' shared challenges and translate them into programming.
• Ability to communicate nuanced information clearly in varied contexts, including presentations and personal conversations.
• Passion for building entrepreneurial ecosystems and supporting hard-tech founders tackling society's hardest challenges.
• Interest in science and willingness to learn about it.

Nice To Haves

• Excitement about growing management skills and helping others reach their full potential.
• Ability to switch effectively between collaboration and independent work, qualitative and quantitative tasks, and strategic and detailed work.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end fellow experience, including the strategy and health of the Activate New York community, and continuously improve the fellowship through programming, partnerships, operational improvements, and community-building initiatives.
• Direct New York community programming, including bi-weekly in-person programming and quarterly virtual programming.
• Manage local program operations, including fellow selection, onboarding, fellow data, and fellow benefits.
• Manage the Fellowship Associate, ensuring strong execution of local community operations and supporting their professional development.
• Partner with the Managing Director to provide targeted support to New York fellows.
• Oversee community budgeting, strategy, team meetings, and team-wide coordination.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate fellowship insights and stories into strategies that amplify organizational impact.
• Contribute to broader Fellowship team initiatives, operations, and cross-functional working groups.
• Oversee and coordinate ecosystem events hosted by Activate in New York.
• Represent Activate across New York's hard-tech innovation ecosystem by cultivating partnerships, engaging alumni, and participating in conferences, recruitment events, and industry convenings.
• Champion a positive, welcoming environment and contribute to the wider Activate culture.

Benefits

• Professional development
• $2,000 in annual wellness funds
• Flexible paid time off
• Healthcare coverage for employees and dependents, with 90–100% of premiums covered
• Retirement plan with a 3% match beginning after 3 months at Activate

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed