Outreach and Community Growth Officer at the Office of Innovation and Transformation

American University of Beirut•Lebanon, PA

About The Position

The Outreach and Community Growth Manager leads the growth, activation, and stewardship of AUB iPark’s community and ecosystem network as a strategic institutional asset supporting startup growth, market access, investment, partnerships, financial sustainability, global reach, and iPark’s positioning. The Manager develops and executes outreach and ecosystem engagement plans aligned with iPark’s annual priorities and strategic goals; builds relationships across students, faculty, startups, alumni founders, investors, mentors, corporate and institutional partners, ecosystem organizations, consortiums, experts, and service providers; and converts these relationships into opportunities and value for startups and iPark programs. The Manager originates and manages partnerships within delegated authority, supports and executes strategic relationships led by the Director, represents iPark externally, oversees community engagement quality and events, and coordinates communications planning with MarCom. The role maintains ecosystem intelligence, identifies market, industry, innovation, funding, and revenue opportunities, ensures adherence to applicable AUB policies and approved institutional requirements, and continuously benchmarks and improves the function. The position reports directly to the Director of the Zein AUB iPark and works under general direction with a high degree of independence. It provides functional supervision and work direction to assigned support resources, including coordinators, Graduate Assistants, interns, and student workers. The role is externally facing and involves regular office-based work, event and external engagement activity, local, regional, and international travel, and flexibility to attend meetings and events outside regular working hours when necessary.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, International Relations, Management, or another relevant discipline.
5–7 years of relevant experience in ecosystem development, partnerships, business development, community building, investor relations, entrepreneurship, innovation, or a related field.
Strong existing network across the entrepreneurial and investment ecosystem, with demonstrated success building, activating, and sustaining communities and professional relationships across founders, alumni, investors, mentors, corporates, and institutional partners.
Solid business and investment background, with strong understanding of entrepreneurship, startup ecosystems, Angel and VC investment, investor engagement, funding mechanisms, business models, and business-support environments.
Strong strategic thinking, stakeholder research, networking, negotiation, relationship-management, and execution capabilities.
Strong project-management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and cross-functional initiatives.
Strong analytical ability to interpret ecosystem, industry, market, and funding intelligence and translate it into relevant opportunities and actions.
Experience using CRM, relationship-management, and digital productivity tools, including MS Office, and using data to monitor performance and improve outcomes.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Arabic.
Sound judgment and discretion, with the ability to operate within institutional policies, delegated authorities, and approval requirements.
Professional presence and ability to represent an institution credibly with senior executives, investors, partners, and international stakeholders.
Proactive, resourceful, and accountable, with demonstrated curiosity, learning agility, and commitment to continuous improvement.
Willingness and ability to travel locally, regionally, and internationally and accommodate occasional work outside regular working hours.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree.
Relevant experience preferably within a startup, accelerator, investment organization, university innovation platform, or comparable ecosystem.
Additional languages are an asset.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute annual community growth, outreach, and ecosystem engagement plans aligned with iPark’s strategy, operational roadmap, priorities, target markets, and approved performance indicators.
Grow, activate, and maintain iPark’s network across students, faculty, startups and alumni founders, investors, mentors, corporate and institutional partners, ecosystem organizations, consortiums, experts, and service providers, with particular focus on AUB alumni and global Angel and VC communities.
Strengthen iPark’s positioning and visibility in priority local, regional, and international ecosystems, and represent iPark in relevant meetings, networks, consortiums, conferences, roadshows, and ecosystem engagements.
Maintain mutually valuable relationships with priority stakeholders through structured relationship plans, regular touchpoints, engagement activities, and appropriate courtesy gifts within approved budgets and AUB policies; monitor relationship health and identify gaps, emerging players, and opportunities.
Originate, assess, develop, and manage ecosystem, corporate, institutional, revenue-generating, soft-landing, and service-provider partnerships within delegated authority, including priority pathways in Cyprus, the EU, the GCC, and other approved markets.
Support the Director in strategic, institutional, high-value, and international partnerships and drive their execution, activation, follow-through, and ongoing relationship management as assigned.
Translate partnerships and relationships into tangible value for startups and programs, including access to expertise, capital, customers, markets, technology, talent, and other resources; define and monitor partnership scope, commitments, deliverables, and performance indicators in the CRM.
Work closely with Programs and the Entrepreneur in Residence to understand startup needs and facilitate targeted connections to investors, mentors, corporate leaders, potential customers, experts, service providers, markets, and ecosystem partners.
Build and activate the AUB Angel Investor Network, iPark Investors Hub, and broader Angel, VC, alumni mentor, and expert networks; lead investor education and engagement activities, including masterclasses, meetups, deal rooms, and roadshows.
Manage and develop the Skills Match Hub and related matching mechanisms, and coordinate with Programs to assign suitable lead mentors and subject-matter experts to startups.
Source, assess, onboard, activate, review, and renew mentors, investors, and business service providers; maintain a curated service-provider network and secure relevant credits, preferential rates, tools, memberships, and other startup perks.
Plan and own the annual community engagement calendar and the purpose, audience, quality, budget requirements, and outcomes of iPark community events, coordinating with Operations on budgets, procurement, and logistics.
Lead stakeholder targeting, invitations, hosting, and engagement of VIPs, partners, investors, mentors, speakers, and guests, and ensure systematic follow-up that converts relationships and leads into opportunities.
Work with MarCom on communications and outreach planning by defining target audiences, stakeholder priorities, objectives, timing, and calls to action; MarCom retains responsibility for creative, content, digital channels, media relations, and communications execution.
Monitor industry, market, investment, funding, technology, and innovation trends; identify funding, grant, challenge, corporate, market-access, soft-landing, and revenue opportunities for iPark and its startups; and benchmark leading practices across accelerators, innovation hubs, and universities.
Maintain accurate stakeholder, partnership, mentor, investor, service-provider, event, and opportunity information in iPark’s CRM; apply approved workflows and ensure timely follow-up, renewal, and reporting.
Adhere to applicable AUB policies, procedures, delegated authorities, and approval processes; use approved AUB and iPark agreements, MOUs, and legal templates; and ensure commitments undergo required review and approval before signature.
Monitor the effectiveness of community growth, partnerships, and ecosystem engagement against the Strategic Plan, Operational Roadmap, and approved indicators; provide management with actionable insights and continuously improve the function.
Perform other related duties as requested.
Provide functional supervision and work direction to assigned Outreach and Community Growth support resources, including coordinators, Graduate Assistants, interns, and student workers.
Coordinate cross-functional contributions from Programs, Operations, MarCom, and other functions without assuming responsibility for their respective functional mandates.