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Assistant Director, Pava Center

Johns Hopkins University
United States, Maryland, Baltimore
Feb 07, 2025

We are seeking an Assistant Director, Pava Center. The strategic priorities of the Assistant Director, Pava Center, are to sustain growth for the Pava Center, continue to expand engagement and collaboration across all ten Johns Hopkins schools, and empower more successful ventures. This position will help create capacity for expanding programming, deepening co-development of initiatives to create a cohesive, cooperative ecosystem across campus through a high degree of enthusiasm, energy, and creativity for entrepreneurship. This leadership role will build on prior experience mentoring young organizations and/or working with students and universities and a demonstrated ability to work with partners from multiple sectors.

The Pava Center is the Johns Hopkins University center for student entrepreneurship and innovation. Uniquely housed in the University's Tech Ventures division, the Pava Center collaborates with stakeholders across campus to support undergrads to post-docs. Programming facilitates dynamic experiential-learning, designed to expand opportunities for all, with long-term career relevance. The Pava Center is grounded in Baltimore, with an eye toward the world, seeking to build the teams of tomorrow by empowering creators and change-makers, entrepreneurs and innovators, doers and go-getters.

The Assistant Director supports commercialization activities by helping to ensure that students, alumni, and community changemakers have access to appropriate resources to support them in various capacities. As part of the startup ecosystem at JHTV, the Pava Center operates out of an open-office and co-working space in Remington, on the edge of the JHU Homewood campus. While a mix of in-person and online programming is offered by the office, due to the highly collaborative nature of the job and the support offered to students, this role is primarily in-person.

The Assistant Director will be an entry point of contact for students interested in startup development and will play a critical role in administering funding awards, managing programs, providing project counseling, and direct introductions to JHU faculty staff, and other appropriate resources to help student and community ventures progress from concept to company formation. The Assistant Director role will work on facilitating student venture accelerator programming throughout the year, including a lead role in piloting new programming at the Carey Business School and their locations, to empower student entrepreneurs in that department.

The Assistant Director reports to the Director of the Pava Center. For further information on the Pava Center, visit https://pavacenter.jhu.edu/

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

Student accelerator management and programming support

  • Manages participant selection and administers all programming for an upper-level accelerator each semester, including:

Supervising 4-6 student-staff peer advisors.

Leading and managing processes for grant funding.

Planning and executing the demo day showcase for up to fifteen teams.

  • Collaborates on the entry-level Spark and community-based Social Innovation Lab accelerators, as needed and/or as strategic to synchronize with other programming.
  • Provides direct mentoring and general advising to student entrepreneurs regarding their ideas and ventures.
  • Helps to identify and curate relevant funding opportunities for student entrepreneurs.
  • Writes letters of support/recommendation, as needed, for grants or other opportunities.
  • Provides support and mentorship to all Pava Center accelerator alumni, as needed.
  • Supports the Summer Incubator, including assisting in advertising, selecting participants, and developing programming.
  • Supports collaborative programming around fall orientation activities and/or January intersession activities, including developing programming and hosting responsibilities.
  • Supports the Director of the Pava Center and other parties on software platforms, including evaluation, implementation, and user feedback.

Other Center support

  • Helps coordinate resources and plans for community events, in coordination with the Pava Center staff.
  • Collaborates on program-focused marketing collateral and newsletter content.
  • Drafts proposals for strategic initiatives related to student entrepreneurship.
  • Leads presentations to student groups, classes, JHU offices, community events and prospective students through the Admissions department to inform them about the resources provided by the Pava Center for Entrepreneurship.
  • Works with the other professional staff to serve as a first point of contact and liaison for new opportunities and initiatives.
  • Measures accelerator impact through data collection and analysis, followed by reporting up and out to the Director of the Pava Center on improving programmatic design and implementation.
  • Makes further recommendations to the Director of the Pava Center.

Special Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

  • Experience working in or with startups.
  • Demonstrated understanding of a wide breadth of technologies, from software to life sciences.
  • Ability to work as a team member. Detail oriented and highly organized.
  • Ability to work through obstacles/hard problems.
  • Strong written and oral communication/reporting skills.
  • People skills across a wide spectrum of backgrounds, the role is outwardly facing, including working with JHU faculty/staff (academic and non-academic), entrepreneurs, mentors, ecosystem subject matter experts, industry leaders, and investors.
  • Experience working in or with startups.
  • Demonstrated understanding of a wide breadth of technologies, from software to life sciences.
  • Ability to work as a team member.
  • Detail oriented and highly organized.
  • Ability to work through obstacles/hard problems.
  • Strong written and oral communication/reporting skills.
  • People skills across a wide spectrum of backgrounds: the role is outwardly facing, including working with JHU faculty/staff (academic and non-academic), entrepreneurs, mentors, ecosystem subject matter experts, industry leaders, and investors.
  • Ability to multitask and meet deadlines.


Minimum Qualifications
  • Bachelor's Degree.
  • Two year's related experience.
  • Additional education may substitute for required experience to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.


Preferred Qualifications
  • U.S. Citizen or legal permanent resident required due to Federal Export Controls.
  • Degree in STEM related field a plus.

Classified Title: Student Program Administrator
Job Posting Title (Working Title):Assistant Director, Pava Center
Role/Level/Range: ATP/03/PC
Starting Salary Range: $53,800-$74,100-$94,400 Annually (Commensurate with experience)
Employee group: Full Time
Schedule: M-F 8:3AM-5:00PM
Exempt Status:Exempt
Location:Hybrid/School of Medicine Campus
Department name: Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures
Personnel area: Academic and Business Centers

Total Rewards
The referenced base salary range represents the low and high end of Johns Hopkins University's salary range for this position. Not all candidates will be eligible for the upper end of the salary range. Exact salary will ultimately depend on multiple factors, which may include the successful candidate's geographic location, skills, work experience, market conditions, education/training and other qualifications. Johns Hopkins offers a total rewards package that supports our employees' health, life, career and retirement. More information can be found here: https://hr.jhu.edu/benefits-worklife/.

Education and Experience Equivalency
Please refer to the job description above to see which forms of equivalency are permitted for this position. If permitted, equivalencies will follow these guidelines: JHU Equivalency Formula: 30 undergraduate degree credits (semester hours) or 18 graduate degree credits may substitute for one year of experience. Additional related experience may substitute for required education on the same basis. For jobs where equivalency is permitted, up to two years of non-related college course work may be applied towards the total minimum education/experience required for the respective job.

Applicants Completing Studies
Applicants who do not meet the posted requirements but are completing their final academic semester/quarter will be considered eligible for employment and may be asked to provide additional information confirming their academic completion date.

Background Checks
The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check. Johns Hopkins is committed to hiring individuals with a justice-involved background, consistent with applicable policies and current practice. A prior criminal history does not automatically preclude candidates from employment at Johns Hopkins University. In accordance with applicable law, the university will review, on an individual basis, the date of a candidate's conviction, the nature of the conviction and how the conviction relates to an essential job-related qualification or function.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Johns Hopkins University values diversity, equity and inclusion and advances these through our key strategic framework, the JHU Roadmap on Diversity and Inclusion.

Equal Opportunity Employer
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

EEOis the Law
https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf

Accommodation Information
If you are interested in applying for employment with The Johns Hopkins University and require special assistance or accommodation during any part of the pre-employment process, please contact the Talent Acquisition Office at jhurecruitment@jhu.edu. For TTY users, call via Maryland Relay or dial 711. For more information about workplace accommodations or accessibility at Johns Hopkins University, please visit https://accessibility.jhu.edu/.

Vaccine Requirements
Johns Hopkins University strongly encourages, but no longer requires, at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.The COVID-19 vaccine does not apply to positions located in the State of Florida. We still require all faculty, staff, and students to receive the seasonal flu vaccine. Exceptions to the COVID and flu vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry.This change does not apply to the School of Medicine (SOM). SOM hires must be fully vaccinated with an FDA COVID-19 vaccination and provide proof of vaccination status. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/and all other JHU applicants should visit https://covidinfo.jhu.edu/health-safety/covid-vaccination-information/.

The following additional provisions may apply, depending upon campus. Your recruiter will advise accordingly.
The pre-employment physical for positions in clinical areas, laboratories, working with research subjects, or involving community contact requires documentation of immune status against Rubella (German measles), Rubeola (Measles), Mumps, Varicella (chickenpox), Hepatitis B and documentation of having received the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccination. This may include documentation of having two (2) MMR vaccines; two (2) Varicella vaccines; or antibody status to these diseases from laboratory testing. Blood tests for immunities to these diseases are ordinarily included in the pre-employment physical exam except for those employees who provide results of blood tests or immunization documentation from their own health care providers. Any vaccinations required for these diseases will be given at no cost in our Occupational Health office.

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