Program Manager - Moonshot Accelerator

The ASU Foundation (ASUF) fosters partnerships between ASU and like-minded individuals, corporations and foundations who believe in ASU’s mission and provide resources for ASU to manifest its charter into meaningful impact.

The ASU Foundation Moonshot Accelerator supports ASU teams in securing philanthropic investments of $10M or more to advance their moonshots: ambitious ideas that have the potential to transform society by tackling our greatest challenges. Currently in our second year of operations, the team is expanding to include a focus on building the upstream pipeline of ASU faculty and staff who are confident and skilled in development work, bolstering ASU’s overall success in securing philanthropic investment of any amount and increasing the number of ASU faculty and staff who are prepared for larger investments downstream.

This Program Manager position will play a key and primary role in developing and implementing a new “Philanthropy 101” program for ASU faculty and staff. With the guidance of the Director, Moonshot Accelerator, this position will coordinate the development of training content (collaborating with subject matter experts from across the ASU Foundation), execute a workplan to pilot content, and lead ongoing recruitment, support, and coordination among the participants of continuous programming. Initial audiences for the training will include senior-level faculty and leaders from across all of ASU. Given the diversity of ideas and philanthropic needs across these audiences, the Program Manager must possess a love of learning about and supporting many topics. The Moonshot Accelerator team maintains a strong culture of curiosity and mutual, continuous learning.

In addition to responsibilities related to the philanthropy training, this Program Manager will also play a key role in expanding the capacity of the Moonshot Accelerator team to support the ideas of faculty and staff at various stages of development (from new ideas to proven, scalable concepts), and in various domain areas (from scientific research to student support, and beyond). The Moonshot Accelerator has defined various processes and practices for engaging with ASU faculty and staff—the training program and this Program Manager will draw from and help continuously improve those processes and practices, including for philanthropic competitions, workshops, and events.

Future evolutions of this role may include support for relationship management of funders within the Moonshot Accelerator team’s portfolio, and/or program management of existing and other emerging programs hosted by the Accelerator, such as our annual cohort program for “future moonshots.”

Reporting to the Director, Moonshot Accelerator, this role will serve as a critical member of our growing team, especially as the ASU Foundation launches our campaign, Changing Futures

• Build and execute a workplan to implement the existing designs for ASU Foundation’s new “Philanthropy 101” training. Refine design in a cyclical manner based on learnings from workplan implementation.

• Coordinate the development of training content (collaborating with subject matter experts from across the ASU Foundation).

• Design and build an internal process to identify and invite participation in the training. Assist with researching and building an inventory of ASU faculty and staff who could benefit from participation.

• Support and coordinate among ASU faculty and staff training participants by:

• Serving as a liaison to set timelines and ensure progress on deliverables.

• Managing communications via email, Slack, Zoom, and other channels.

• Assessing services and resources needed and working with the Director to ensure proper service delivery.

• Provide recommendations on training content, pedagogy, design, impact evaluation, and development strategy based on research such as landscape analyses, philanthropic and news trends, and policy or issue-based research.

• Develop and/or refine your own subject matter expertise in the world of philanthropy. Build and/or evolve your abilities as an educator in this realm, yourself.

  ·       Prior knowledge or expertise in philanthropy is not required.

• Drive the evaluation process of the training experience by conducting surveys and interviews with participants to provide insights for iteration of design.

• Participate in team meetings, professional development, and learning activities, including reading and discussing relevant articles and books as a team.

• Support, on an as needed basis, the events and workshops of the Moonshot Accelerator team, broadly.

• Support, on an as needed basis, the research and outreach needs of the Moonshot Accelerator team, broadly.

• Interest and ability in designing and delivering educational content in any setting.

• Dedicated to ongoing learning and possessing curiosity about varied topics and ideas.

• Strong and collegial interpersonal skills and an ability to listen and communicate effectively in person, in writing, and by phone.

• Experience in communicating with a variety of audiences, including sensitivity to the formalities and expectations involved in communicating with senior-level university leaders.

• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.

• Adept at navigating complex environments with evolving priorities and communication plans.

• Highly skilled in tracking and ensuring success on a number of simultaneous projects.

• Thoughtful planner and flexible implementer (can translate ideas into actionable steps and iterate quickly based on changing dynamics).

• Detail-oriented, with excellent organizational skills and rigor in completing tasks.

• Takes responsibility for following through and following up with our internal and external partners.

• Reflective leader who prioritizes after-action-review and continuous improvement (for self, for the team, and for the program).

• Ability to maintain a high degree of confidentiality and responsibility regarding information related to Enterprise Partners, its subsidiaries and University business and confidential prospect information.

• Ability to represent the institution well.

• An advocate’s belief in the vision of ASU as the New American University.

• A bachelor’s degree in a related field and at least two years’ experience in project management or a related field.

• Hybrid work schedule. We work from home two days a week!

• Comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance 

• 401(k) plan with matching employer contribution 

• 22 days of vacation time 

• 11 holidays, including your birthday 

• Parental leave 

• Significant tuition reductions 

• Professional development is highly valued at ASU Enterprise Partners, where employees are encouraged to look across the organization and nurture new areas of interest 

• $30 bi-weekly cell phone reimbursement 

We serve the faculty and staff of ASU to bring them resources so they can do all the great things that they do. 

We’re always looking for new ideas, new solutions, new approaches and new ways to address the challenges facing ASU. 

We engage our donors, philanthropists, investors and partners, connecting them to ASU and helping them share their time, talent and treasure. 

When we serve, innovate and engage, it shows that we care — about faculty, staff, donors, fellow employees and other partners as we bring resources to ASU. 

ASU Enterprise Partners and its subsidiaries is an equal opportunity employer that is firmly committed to promoting justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion within our organization and throughout our sphere of influence. Because we embrace a spirit of innovation and achievement, we will endeavor to maximize the talent and potential of all employees, directors, and volunteers through bold and strategic action aimed at building success and a sense of belonging. All employees are expected to act in good faith to support these actions and to not impede the efforts of others to build a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive organization.