Role Description

Are you looking for an opportunity to work with some of the most innovative and ambitious founders in the country? Do you want to play a key role in transforming Australia's economy by helping early-stage startups grow and succeed? Are you a master of connection, keen to create impact, and want variety in your day-to-day role?

If so, we have the perfect opportunity for you! At Stone & Chalk, we're on a mission to help startups and founders achieve their goals and make a real impact to transform Australia into a sustainable technology-driven economy.

As Startup Success & Community Manager, you'll be at the forefront of this movement, working with our ecosystem team to support founders on their growth journeys.

This is a unique and exciting opportunity to be part of an organisation that is making a real difference in the world of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Location:

Adelaide, SA Australia

Key accountabilities

• Our current and prospective residents (startups and scaleups within the hub) will be your highest priority - you will have a passion for delivering exceptional and proactive customer service and communication skills. You’ll be someone who enjoys liaising with customers in a proactive way, and resolve issues as quickly as possible
  
• Owning the delivery of the resident journey - this includes anything from helping them understand the basics of the infrastructure we provide, to supporting them to participate in our programs to help them grow and commercialise, including:
  Customers - managing requests for introduction to corporate partners and vice versa (managing corporate partners’ requests for introductions to/pitches from our residents) in close consultation with our partnerships and advisory team
  Capital - managing requests for assistance with capital raising by facilitating entry into our investor program. Similarly, facilitating introductions from VCs or other investors who want to meet specific S&C startups in close consultation with Directors of Ecosystems. Organising all ‘on the ground’ activities such as events and interviews to support our investor program
  Expertise - facilitating the recruitment of mentees into our mentor program as well as mentor relationships. As with our other programs, organising all ‘on the ground’ activities such as events and interviews to support our mentor program. Creating and curating expert sessions - based on residents’ professional development needs you will create startup success programs and other sessions that support resident’s growth working alongside the ecosystems team
  
• Documenting each resident’s bespoke journey - creating and reviewing each resident’s Engagement Plan to make sure we are tracking against the activities planned. And of course, you will be updating our CRM with all your interactions with our startups/scaleups. You will spend time with our residents through all stages of the journey/resident lifecycle to gain a thorough knowledge of their business and develop the ability to identify relevant and timely commercial opportunities, programs, and valuable connections to help them scale
• Communicating residents’ success - both internally at S&C and to the broader ecosystem, by submitting content for our EDM “Stonepress”, on our Slack community, at community rituals like Sweetspot, and through social media
• Ecosystem connections - playing a critically important role of joining the dots and forming new connections amongst S&C residents, corporate partners, mentors and our investor network
• Ecosystem engagement - delivering tours of Stone & Chalk for prospective startups, special visitors, corporate partners, trade delegations and Government officials
• Pipeline management - always scanning the ecosystem for suitable startups/scaleups to join S&C, and interviewing prospective residents to assess their suitability
• Community activation - through owning and leading our established rituals including managing the logistics to make them happen
• Creating and sustaining a supportive and inclusive environment and culture for founders and their teams to develop and grow

Key skills / experience

• Experience in community building - helping to manage physical communities and relationships
• Outstanding customer service - experience in delivering exceptional and proactive customer service. You enjoy liaising with customers to provide proactive assistance and resolve issues
  
• Commercial acumen - an ability to think commercially, connect the dots to identify business opportunities, and provide valuable connections that have the potential to lead to business partnerships
• Relationship / account management and/or business development experience with SMEs
• Confident public speaking and networking skills – you will be communicating with over 120+ startup companies based at Stone & Chalk and stimulating conversations every day within the entire ecosystem
• Excellent time management and organisational skills - you can ruthlessly prioritise to achieve founder first outcomes
  

Desired skills / experience

• Experience working in an emerging tech or a related sector
• Experience working in or closely with the public sector
  
• Experience working with the startup ecosystem
  
• Passion for entrepreneurial communities
  

What success looks like

• High resident occupancy and retention rates
• World class Net Promoter Score (NPS) of Adelaide residents
• Achievement of residents’ access to customers, capital, talent, expertise & community collaboration opportunities based on set targets

Employee benefits

• 2 x Paid volunteer days per year
• Support with hybrid working (office/home/remote)
• 20 days of leave / annum
• Complimentary paid time off during Christmas and New Year
• Paid parental leave
• Paid personal/carers leave
• Employee Assistance Program

About us

Stone & Chalk’s mission is to transform Australia into a sustainable technology-driven economy. Together with our resident founders, mentors, investors, and industry and government partners, we have a proven track record of providing growth and commercialisation support for startups and scale-ups. Residencies in our innovation hubs in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide provide access to customers, capital, people, expertise, and community collaboration opportunities. Stone & Chalk has been operating in three states since 2015 and has grown into Australia’s largest innovation community.