LabStart Communications and Operations Manager

Company Overview:

LabStart is a pioneering nonprofit organization dedicated to unlocking climate innovations from premier research laboratories and empowering underrepresented entrepreneurs to bring these technologies from lab-to-market. The LabStart Fellowship is a full-time, one year, cohort-based program, where fellows are supported in launching new climate startups built around intellectual property licensed from U.S. national labs and universities. The fellowship is tailored to reduce common systemic barriers to entrepreneurship such as access to funding, access to networks, and capacity building. Accessibility and inclusion are the core of our mission, program, and partner network.

 

Job Summary:

LabStart is seeking an enthusiastic and versatile person to join our team as a Communications and Operations Manager. As we expand our team from three (CEO, COO, Program Director) to four, we seek someone who is ambitious, adaptable, and energized by entrepreneurship and climate solutions. You'll play a pivotal role in amplifying our mission, managing day-to-day operations, and fostering community engagement. This is an opportunity to significantly impact our organization, our entrepreneurs, and the planet. Specific job functions may flex with the needs of the program throughout the year and with program scale from year to year. 

We're very excited to meet with people with exceptional written and oral communication skills, who are energized by the execution of administrative/operational tasks and motivated by the opportunity to manage evolving projects and programs as the organization grows.

 

Responsibilities:

Time is roughly estimated at: 50% Content and Marketing Lead and 50% Operations Coordinator.

Content and Marketing Lead

• Content Strategy and Generation: Develop compelling content to showcase LabStart's impact and initiatives.
• Development of Communication Materials: Create engaging collateral, including blogs, presentations, reports, and promotional materials.
• Social Media Management: Plan, create, and schedule content for social media channels, fostering community engagement and brand awareness.
• Creative Initiatives: Contribute innovative ideas to enhance LabStart's branding, storytelling, and outreach efforts.
• Newsletter Creation: Curate and distribute newsletters to stakeholders, highlighting key updates, achievements, and opportunities.
• Community Engagement: Identify partnership opportunities and share relevant resources with LabStart's cohort and broader community.
• Website Management: Update and maintain LabStart's website content to reflect the latest initiatives, resources, and achievements (currently wix; transitioning to webflow).

Operations Coordinator

• Event Planning and Organization: Coordinate seamless logistics for speaking engagements, networking events, and demo days
• CRM Organizing: Maintain and update customer relationship management systems to streamline communication and track interactions.
• Logistics Support: Assist fellows with travel arrangements, event coordination, and program logistics.
• Recruitment Support: Collaborate with team members to recruit and onboard the next cohort of entrepreneurs, supporting outreach and application processes.
• Grant Proposal Drafting: Assist in the development of grant proposals, providing research, writing, and coordination support.
• Tech Vetting Process: Facilitate the logistics around evaluation and selection process for climate technologies, coordinating stakeholder feedback and communications,
• Task Management: Help drive organizational efficiency by proactively monitoring and following-up on team deadlines.

 

Candidate Preferences:

• Based in Colorado (preferred but flexible for the right candidate)
• Excitement for and alignment with LabStart's mission and values
• Overflowing passion for climate action and clean energy transitions
• Excellent communication, leadership, and organizational skills
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Comfort in a fast-moving startup environment
• Comfortable working with web tools such as slack, asana, Streak (crm), mailchimp, notion
• Strong understanding and awareness of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) principles and how to apply them
  
  

Work Environment:

This position offers a hybrid work environment, with team members based in California and Colorado. Collaboration with contractors and partners may occur across various locations and time zones.

 

Compensation Philosophy:

LabStart offers competitive base compensation, robust benefits and quarterly performance bonuses (determined by personal and company performance) to attract and celebrate people aligned with our mission and values. Our compensation program reflects our commitment to fairness, transparency, and excellence in nonprofit management.

• An annual base salary of $65,000
• Employer covered health benefits through a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA) (about)
• Retirement: Simple IRA with up to 5% company match
• Quarterly performance incentives
• Non-accrued sick and personal time - if you need it, use it

 

Application Process:

We require the following in order to consider your application:

• Email info@labstart.xyz with the subject line “Communications and Operations Manager - [Your Name]"
• Attach Resume
• In lieu of a cover letter, we ask that all candidates share in their email:
  • Why are you interested in LabStart?
  • Attachments or links to three portfolio materials (previous written, video, or voice content) that demonstrate your communication style. Please briefly explain the intended audience of these materials.