HudsonAlpha - Economic Development Support Specialist

Location

Huntsville, AL | United States

Job description

Position: Economic Development Support Specialist

Position Type: Full-time - 30 hours, on-site

Pay: $18.82 - $19.53/hr

INSTITUTE OVERVIEW

HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology is a non-profit institute dedicated to innovative genomic technology and sciences across a spectrum of biological problems. Its mission is to use biotechnology to spark scientific discoveries that can impact human health and well-being; to foster biotech entrepreneurship and life science economic development, and to encourage the creation of a genomics-literate workforce and society. Located in Cummings Research Park in Huntsville, Alabama, the nation's second-largest research park, the 152-acre HudsonAlpha biotechnology campus is home to more than 45 resident life science companies. Designed to be a catalyst for biotechnology economic development, HudsonAlpha's state-of-the-art facilities co-locate scientific researchers with entrepreneurs and educators.

DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW

The members of HudsonAlpha's Economic Development Department strive to advance the collaborative spirit of the Institute's founders and their passion to speed the transition of discoveries made in the research labs to the marketplace. The Department's mission is driven by the overarching goals of growing the biotech presence on the Institute's campus and throughout North Alabama; promoting an environment conducive for start-up businesses to succeed; and generating economic impact for local, state, regional and national stakeholders.

The Department contributes to the long-term success of HudsonAlpha by recruiting and relocating start-up, early-stage and established bioscience companies. Additionally, the Department provides the resident associate companies support and mentorship to enable business growth and expansion.

HudsonAlpha's 152-acre campus, which includes over 500,000 square feet of laboratory and office space and McMillian Park, with the signature Double Helix pathway, are operated and managed through this Department. Lastly, the Economic Development Department is responsible for the local, state and national relationships with the Institute's governmental and community leaders.

POSITION SUMMARY

The purpose of this position as with all positions in the department is to advance the Economic Development Mission and HudsonAlpha as a whole.

The selected applicant will report to the Vice President for Economic Development but work closely with the Director of Entrepreneurship and Senior Director of Operations.

JOB-SPECIFIC TASKS

The Economic Development Support Specialist will work to:

• Assist in maintaining and updating meaningful metrics that support the efforts of the Economic Development Team.
• Interact in a professional manner with HudsonAlpha associate companies, domestic and international life science companies, economic developers/consultants and government officials.
• Create, file, and consolidate reports, briefings, meeting agendas, and other documents.
• Prepare and send correspondence on behalf of the Economic Development team and others as directed.
• Enter, extract and/or load data pertinent to the Economic Development Mission.
• Conduct research, compile profiles and manage information on individuals, government entities and corporations.
• Generate reports for targeted outreach and to measure progress and success of the Department's efforts .
• Create dashboards and prepare lists for Economic Development team members to ensure ongoing optimization of all software systems.
• Work within G-Suite applications, including Sheets and Docs, to integrate, extract, and upload data into Salesforce.
• Set database cleansing and validation schedules, and develop and maintain policies and procedures for the Department's use.
• Preserve data integrity and data security.
• Coordinate with and support other Economic Development efforts as needed.
• Support Department and Institute events as needed.

EDUCATION AND REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree in business related discipline preferred.
• Minimum of two years of related experience or an equivalent combination of training and experience.
• Experience in the biosciences industry is preferred.

QUALITIES AND SKILLS

The successful candidate:

• Service-oriented with exceptional attention to detail and well-developed written and oral communication skills .
• Possesses personal and professional characteristics, including but not limited to integrity, creativity, confidence, self-motivation, passion, drive and optimism.
• Projects a courteous demeanor to each person he or she encounters.
• Ability to excel within a fast-paced, highly collaborative team structure.
• Ability to interact professionally with economic development leaders, life science industry representatives, governmental officials and the general public.
• Manages numerous priorities simultaneously and is dedicated to generating quality results for each priority.
• Is committed to the protection of confidential information and discretion with information flow.
• Is diligent and meticulous in his or her attention to detail.
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical and critical-thinking skills
• Demonstrates exceptional communication skills, including the ability to translate ideas into written form and the ability to present with a polished, engaging speaking style.
• Is proficient with Mac, Google Suite (e.g., Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Calendar, Gmail), Microsoft Products (e.g., Word, Excel, Powerpoint), Slack, Trello and Salesforce.

Physical Demands/Environmental Factors/Mental Functions

ADA Requirements - The physical demands, work environment factors, and mental functions described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential function of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Disclaimer - All job requirements are subject to possible revision to reflect changes in the position requirements or to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a threat or risk to the health and safety of themselves or other employees. This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties which will be required in this position. Employees will be required to follow other job-related duties as requested by their supervisor/manager (within guidelines and compliance with Federal and State Laws). Continued employment remains on an "at-will" basis.

Physical Demands

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position (sit or stand) for prolonged periods (50% of the time).
• Constant moving during hosted events.
• Frequently position self (e.g. stoop, crouch, crawl, bend) and pull and push to maintain computers and audio/visual equipment in the classroom/laboratory.
• Must be able to transport materials required for various experiences. This includes lifting and moving up to 25 pounds of materials (e.g. small stacks of textbooks, media equipment, desks, and other classroom equipment) between classrooms/laboratories and to and from parking lots and buildings.
• Frequent operation of common office equipment (e.g. computers, mobile devices, calculators, copiers, scanners).
• Occasional air/car travel for meetings, conferences, or other activities which may require overnight stay(s).
• Vision abilities - close vision, distance vision, and ability to adjust/focus.
• Evening and extended hours may periodically be required as projects dictate.

Environmental Factors

• Moderate noise level (i.e. business office with computers, phone, and printers, light traffic).
• Workspace is generally an indoor office setting and in other common and education spaces throughout HudsonAlpha with controlled temperature conditions.
• Occasional exposure to outdoor environment during portions of the workday including extreme cold or hot temperatures, or inclement weather conditions.
• Prolonged and irregular working hours, which include early morning and/or evening hours, as business dictates.

Mental Functions

• Maintain emotional control under stress.
• Ability to understand complex problems and to collaborate and explore alternative solutions.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, in the English language.
• Convey genomic science information in a clear, concise, and easily understandable manner.
• Use interpersonal skills to foster a stimulating, accepting learning environment.

It is the policy of HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, in accordance with all applicable laws, to recruit, hire, train, and promote persons in all job titles without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

Job tags

Salary

$18.82 - $19.53 per hour