Innovation Officer

Job title: Innovation Officer

Company: University of Kansas

Job description: DepartmentWonderful Inst fr Sustnbl EngrPrimary CampusUniversity of Kansas Lawrence CampusJob Description40% Identify, develop, and execute a high-impact EARTH innovation strategy and roadmap.

• Act as the innovation champion for the entire multi-campus organization. Promote an EARTH-wide culture of innovation and entrepreneurial mindset.
• Facilitate timely, successful commercialization of innovation initiatives.
• Monitor the EARTH project portfolio and how it spans near term sustaining and longer-term disruptive initiatives focused on HVACR product, service, process, and business model innovation across the HVACR supply chain.
• Track and report on innovation metrics and business impact on a regular basis.
• Develop strategy for, manage, and sustain the EARTH Acceleration Teams. This will include activities such as:

• Facilitate Acceleration Team meetings between industry leaders, campus entrepreneurship and tech transfer personnel and EARTH researchers.
• Assist EARTH faculty and students with connecting with resources for navigating intellectual property processes, startup roadmaps (e.g., opportunity scanning, customer discovery, competitive benchmarking, business modeling, attracting investment) and corporate licensing.

25% EARTH Collaboration and Engagement

• Work with campus entrepreneurship and technology transfer organizations to enhance their engagement with EARTH. Create a Cross EARTH Academic Partner Innovation Steering Committee that will drive activities to support an entrepreneurial mindset.
• In concert with the ILO and the EARTH Industry Advisory Board (IAB) bring industry guidance and recommendations into EARTH projects.
• Together with the EARTH ILO, serve as points of contact between EARTH partners institution’s entrepreneurship and technology transfer representatives and industry members.
• In collaboration with the ILO and the respective Technology Transfer Offices, engage with the IP Advisory Board, gaining market insights from EARTH’s Gold Members.

20% EARTH Innovation Outreach

• Participate in Outreach to the broader HVACR community through:

• Working with the ILO to develop and execute a Road Show Strategy that showcases EARTH innovations at national and international conferences and workshops.
• Co-author newsletters and promotional materials with other EARTH staff.
• Identify external assets and companies that may accelerate HVACR innovation and market access through partnerships and investments.
• Develop and execute external engagement strategies that expand EARTH innovation opportunities and potential partnerships.
• Establish EARTH as a recognized innovation leader among state and federal agencies, national societies, and industry groups to build the EARTH brand.

15% Education and Training

• Develop startup and commercialization process workshops as well as seminars on professional development topics such as teamwork, communication, IP, and others.
• Educate and train teams on innovation and commercialization processes.

DisclaimerThe University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university’s programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and is the Title IX coordinator for all KU and KUMC campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for Civil Rights and Title IX, civilrights@ku.edu, Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY.Work ScheduleMonday – Friday 8am-5pmFLSA StatusExecutiveConditions of EmploymentContingent on FundingContact Information to ApplicantsHeather Abernathy
habernathy@ku.edu
785-864-4512Required Qualifications

• B.S. in business, engineering or science related field.
• Minimum 6 years of relevant experience in innovation and technology commercialization, as evidenced by application materials.
• Demonstrated success in fostering a culture of innovation, attracting investment, and accelerating growth, as evidenced by employment history.
• Knowledge of commercialization in academic settings, of innovation processes in large companies, and of entrepreneurial startup challenges, as evidenced by application materials.
• Outstanding interpersonal and written communication skills, as evidenced by application materials.

Employee ClassU-Unclassified Professional StaffAdvertised Salary Range$100,000 – $130,000FTE1.0Preferred Qualifications

• Attainment of a senior leadership position related to innovation management, as evidenced by employment history.
• Broad network of personal contacts in entrepreneurship, venture capital, and technology sectors.
• Experience coaching and mentoring innovators and entrepreneurs and multidisciplinary teams, as evidenced by application materials.
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes, chemical process economics, technology strategies, and managerial procedures in startups and large commercial enterprises, as evidenced by application materials.
• Experience with successful scale-up or commercialization of new technology, as evidenced by application materials.
• Graduate degree or equivalent operational experience in business or innovation related field.

Position OverviewThe Innovation Officer (IO) is a strategic innovation thinker with an understanding of academic and business environments. Experienced in all facets of technology strategy, product development, startup culture, and business growth through innovation, they are a seasoned leader who has cultivated teams across multiple disciplines bridging industry and academia.The IO is responsible for developing a culture of innovation throughout EARTH, its member institutions, and laboratories that fosters and attracts successful innovators and entrepreneurs and that drives the translation to commercialization of technologies emerging from EARTH laboratories. THE IO works closely with the Industrial Liaison Officer and entrepreneurship and technology transfer personnel at EARTH member institutions.An ideal candidate for this position is someone eager to make a difference in academia by strengthening university entrepreneurial mindsets and mentoring research faculty and students.POSITION GOALS

• Drive new growth opportunities by identifying, prioritizing, developing, and helping to launch new HVACR products, services, and business models.
• Build and grow innovation capabilities across EARTH’s academic institutions and laboratories by enhancing organizational, technical and people-driven capabilities, that ensure a steady stream of innovations.
• Be the champion of innovation, evangelizing innovation internally and externally to enhance ERC EARTH’s ability to attract resources and creative talent to accelerate the commercialization of EARTH technologies.

About Engineering Research Center:
Heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) are essential to the quality of life for all humans. HVACR systems are widespread throughout society, enabling transportation and preservation of fresh foods, storage of medicines, and cooling of buildings. However, most refrigerants used today are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which have high global-warming potential (GWP), with 2000-4000 times the impact of CO2. Combined with high leak rates and high energy consumption, HFCs account for 7.8% of total greenhouse-gas emissions.To address this challenge, a new NSF Engineering Research Center (ERC): Environmentally Applied Refrigerant Technology Hub (EARTH) will create a “sustainable refrigerant lifecycle” to address technical, environmental, and societal challenges facing the HVACR industry. EARTH is a multi-institution, multi-disciplinary team from the University of Kansas, University of Notre Dame, University of Hawai’i, University of Maryland, University of South Dakota, and Lehigh University.Reg/TempRegularApplication Review Begins15-Nov-2024Anticipated Start Date15-Dec-2024Additional Candidate InstructionIn addition to the online application, the following documents are required to be considered for this position:

• Cover letter addressing how you meet the required and preferred qualifications
• Resume
• Contact information for three professional references

Application review begins Friday, November 15th, 2024. For consideration, please apply no later than Thursday, November 14th, 2024.Job FamilyResearch-KULPosition RequirementsThis position works primarily on-site at one or more of the partner institutions, but remote work may be considered per mutual agreement between the EARTH director and selected candidate. Travel will be required to partner institutions and other stakeholders.

Expected salary: $100000 – 130000 per year

Location: South Dakota – Lawrence, KS

Job date: Sat, 02 Nov 2024 00:42:29 GMT

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