At VCU, we exceed through learning, research, creativity, service and discovery - the hallmarks of the VCU experience. As a premier, urban, public research university nationally recognized as one of the best employers for diversity, VCU is a great place to work. VCU offers a generous leave package, career paths for advancement, competitive pay and mission-driven work. It’s a place of opportunity, where your success is supported and your career can thrive.

The da Vinci Center for Innovation at Virginia Commonwealth University is prototyping the future of higher education through cross-disciplinary academic, experiential, and experimental learning opportunities designed for creative thinkers and doers from a wide range of backgrounds. While students in our programs may come with design, engineering, psychology, business, and even social sciences and the arts, they all share common traits of unconventional thinking, a track record of producing highly creative work, and a collaborative and entrepreneurial spirit.

In support of its mission, the VCU da Vinci Center has launched the Shift Retail Lab, an award winning, and first of its kind, multifunctional retail space where VCU students and community innovators and entrepreneurs can showcase their work to gain insights and test their products, services, and ideas with real world customers. Shift Retail Lab, has been awarded honorable mention as part of the 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards for Fast Company.

Position Responsibilities:

The da Vinci Center for Innovation at Virginia Commonwealth University seeks a postdoctoral fellow to support campus and community based entrepreneurial efforts. Working with da Vinci Center faculty, staff, students and community leaders the fellow will contribute to the Richmond Region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem as well as provide direct mentorship and support to university-based startups and new ventures. Responsibilities may include undergraduate and graduate teaching, development and delivery of entrepreneurial workshops, and pre-accelerator and Demo Day program support. The postdoctoral fellow will also engage with the Shift Retail Lab and work on multiple grants for community-based entrepreneurship programming, and manage the VCU Student Venture Fund which provides internal seed funding to select student ventures.

There will be considerable opportunities for the postdoctoral fellow to participate in the development and implementation of several projects, project coordination, recruitment, data collection and analysis, scholarship, and grant writing. The postdoctoral fellowship is for a 12-month period, with the option to renew for additional years, contingent on performance and funding. The fellow will report to Dr. Garret Westlake, Associate Vice Provost for Innovation, Executive Director of the da Vinci Center for Innovation, and Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship in the VCU School of Business .

Required Qualifications:

• A Ph.D. in entrepreneurship, business, product innovation, or a related field
  
• Familiarity with entrepreneurial ecosystems
  
• Experience mentoring and supporting early stage companies
  
• Raising seed stage capital
  
• Business plan development
  
• Excellent oral communication and community engagement skills
  
• Builds strong relationships in a collaborative, fast-paced environment
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff and student environment or commitment to do so as a university employee at VCU
• Excellent project management skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience licensing and commercializing university IP
  
• Demonstrated experience leading and working with cross-disciplinary teams
  
• Experience supporting underrepresented founders
  
• Teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level
  
• A demonstrated record of conducting empirical research and working in a diverse faculty, staff and student environment
  
• Excellent writing skills as evidenced by publications or grant-writing experience

Other Information:

Explore our robust benefit package here: https://research.vcu.edu/resources/postdoctoral-services/postdoctoral-benefits/

We’re VCU - more than 300,000 strong. A mix of attitudes, styles and stories. There’s nowhere like this and no one like us.
This isn't business as usual. It's innovation at work. We are unlike any business school you've ever seen.

Join us. You can be unstoppable here.