Strategic Program Manager - BMDC ENDURE

Position Overview

The Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Center (BMDC) facilitates moving healthcare technology from idea to commercialization. Stakeholders from around the University including M Health Fairview clinicians, research faculty, research staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students come to BMDC for guidance and resources on solving healthcare needs. Some ideas are vague, some are well-formed, some are advanced, and some are in the early stages of development.

Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Center program name: Bakken ENDURE Program E.N.D.U.R.E - Entrepreneurs Needing Development with University Resources and Experts. This position aims to expand the IEM and BMDC research and technology portfolio, and to build a diverse and equitable culture that connects biomedical engineering ecosystems across communities and society. In particular, ENDURE will expand BMDC's capabilities of docking entrepreneurs and companies from outside of the university into the university to leverage its broad resources to accelerating these innovators to success.

This position is a hybrid working format. Per UMN policy, work may be done remotely when appropriate and approved by your manager. All UMN employees are expected to follow applicable public health and safety procedures.

Duties/Responsibilities

50%: Program Administration and Company Mentoring

• Serve as the key person to operationalize and manage the program for entrepreneurs, including internal faculty/staff and outside innovators.
• Directly manage logistically the company docking program and working with TechComm to get a wide range of contracts going, including with preferred vendors/partners, start-up companies who will dock into Bakken, IP/revenue agreements and plans, and SOPs.
• Work closely with BMDC staff to develop tools, Gannt timelines, and documents for project management of the docking program and for Bakken activities in general together with support from other staff.
• Work closely with BMDC Director and entrepreneurs to provide high-touch mentoring and guidance in their day-to-day activities, as well as help them raise outside money.
• Network with all the major medtech players at UMN as well as numerous administrative and clinical experts to bridge entrepreneurs with their needed experts for their activities.

50%: Grant Writing/Support and Fundraising

• Serve as the key person to coordinate the grant writing, submission and execution processes with the entrepreneurs and/or BMDC, along with training and educational support for them, including managing relationships, documents, budgets, and tasks across entities within the university and necessary outside partners.
• Work with the entrepreneurs and/or BMDC to develop pitch decks, strategies, critical tasks and milestones for also pursuing dilutive funding and other types of sources of funds or revenues.
• Identify other non-dilutive technology or business grants (e.g., through ARPA-H, DOD, NIH, NSF) that can support entrepreneurs and/or BMDC and contribute detailed writing of those grants together with entrepreneurs to advance their technology and success towards commercialization.
• Develop templates and processes for scaling up the grant writing and fundraising support capabilities for multiple companies and/or BMDC in parallel.
• Develop a library of templates, awarded proposals and strategy documents for successfully seeking non-dilutive funding through various federal, state, and local grant and foundation opportunities.
• Present progress reports and develop presentations for internal and external use.

Required Qualifications

• BA/BS with at least eight years of experience in the areas of mechanical engineering or electrical engineering
• Extensive experience writing, submitting and managing different types of technology and commercialization grants (e.g., SBIR, STTR) submitted to NIH, DoD, NSF, ARPA-H, industry, and/or foundations
• Must be available to work 40 hours per week on an agreed upon schedule
• Mature judgment and demonstrated ability to work independently or with a team, exercise discretion, and manage multiple priorities at once
• Strong leadership, communication and interpersonal skills
• Project management experience with grant proposals, publications, and/or complex documents/series of documents
• Strong interpersonal, organizational, and critical thinking skills; adaptability to meet changing demands.
• Ability to identify, analyze, and address a wide variety of issues and problems in a high-intensity environment.
• Collegiality, approachability, and diplomacy at all levels of an organization.

Preferred Qualifications

• HIPAA Training (can be performed after hire date)
• Familiar with U of MN policies and procedures
• Experience functioning at a senior research level within an academic institution, and also have some business experience with start-up companies.
• Experience serving on SBIR/STTR and other technology grant review panels is helpful for this position.

The Bakken Medical Devices Center (BMDC), a unit of the Institute for Engineering in Medicine and part of the College of Science and Engineering and the Medical School, facilitates moving novel medical technologies from ideas to commercialization. BMDC research and development projects originate from clinical faculty with ideas for a new medical device, or from engineering faculty with a new technology, or both.

Pay Range: $120,000 - $135,000; depending on education/qualifications/experience

Time Appointment Category: 100% Appointment

Work Location: Hybrid. Per UMN policy, work may be done remotely when appropriate and approved by your manager.

Position Type: Faculty and P&A Staff

Please visit the Office of Human Resources website for more information regarding benefit eligibility.

The University offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Competitive wages, paid holidays, and generous time off
• Continuous learning opportunities through professional training and degree-seeking programs supported by the Regents Tuition Benefit Program
• Low-cost medical, dental, and pharmacy plans
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• University HSA contributions
• Disability and employer-paid life insurance
• Employee wellbeing program
• Excellent retirement plans with employer contribution
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) opportunity
• Financial counseling services
• Employee Assistance Program with eight sessions of counseling at no cost
• Employee Transit Pass with free or reduced rates in the Twin Cities metro area

Applications must be submitted online. To be considered for this position, please click the Apply button and follow the instructions. You will be given the opportunity to complete an online application for the position and attach a cover letter and resume.

Additional documents may be attached after application by accessing your "My Job Applications" page and uploading documents in the "My Cover Letters and Attachments" section.

To request an accommodation during the application process, please e-mail employ@umn.edu or call (612) 624-8647.

The University recognizes and values the importance of diversity and inclusion in enriching the employment experience of its employees and in supporting the academic mission. The University is committed to attracting and retaining employees with varying identities and backgrounds.

The University of Minnesota provides equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. To learn more about diversity at the U: http://diversity.umn.edu

Any offer of employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a background check. Our presumption is that prospective employees are eligible to work here. Criminal convictions do not automatically disqualify finalists from employment.

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC)

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC), is among the largest public research universities in the country, offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional students a multitude of opportunities for study and research. Located at the heart of one of the nation's most vibrant, diverse metropolitan communities, students on the campuses in Minneapolis and St. Paul benefit from extensive partnerships with world-renowned health centers, international corporations, government agencies, and arts, nonprofit, and public service organizations.

At the University of Minnesota, we are proud to be recognized by the Star Tribune as a Top Workplace for 2021, as well as by Forbes as Best Employers for Women and one of America's Best Employers (2015, 2018, 2019, 2023), Best Employer for Diversity (2019, 2020), Best Employer for New Grads (2018, 2019), and Best Employer by State (2019, 2022).