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The American Heart Association has an excellent opportunity for a Head of Ecosystem & Portfolio Development, American Heart Association Ventures!

This position can be home-based.

The Association offers many resources to help you maintain work-life harmonization through your changing needs and life situations. To help you be successful, you will have access to Heart U, our award-winning corporate university, as well as additional training and support, locally.

#TheAHALife is our company culture, our way of life, reflecting our diversity, equity & inclusion, our focus on work-life harmonization and our Guiding Values. Discover why you will Be Seen. Be Heard. Be Valued™ at the American Heart Association by following us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and at heart.jobs.

The American Heart Association Ventures Head of Ecosystem and Portfolio Development will be a senior executive leader within the Association’s Ventures. 

This role will facilitate new programs that capitalize on the Association’s scientific and medical intellectual capital, amplify advancement of the Association's mission through the Association’s Ventures, and enable the Association’s  Ventures to optimize its outcomes across all of its funds and programs.  The role reports to the Managing Partner, Association Ventures.

The responsibilities will include creation/management of a vital, high value internal and external network ecosystem and capacity-building program that provides support to the Association’s  Ventures and its portfolio.

• Establish and lead Association Ventures Community Relations/Portfolio Relations Program
• Create strategy for ongoing portfolio company value-add programs and provide leadership for these programs across all Association Ventures investment funds, including oversight of staff who deliver them.
• Create capacity-building educational programs for deployment across the Association’s funds and accelerator programs, including repurposing existing programs for the broader organization.
• Establish network throughout the Association and Volunteer community, as well as other potential external collaborations, to deliver value-added programs for portfolio companies with the goal of capacity-building and knowledge development.
• Identify internal teams and resources that can be effectively leveraged to build capacity and capability at portfolio companies, and design and implement programs to enable positive outcomes for the Association’s  and the portfolio around these efforts where business synergy exists (this includes knowing the Association’s  various programs and finding points of mutual advantage, as well as mapping targeted connections across operational units, customers, collaborators, members and volunteers as appropriate, on the one hand, and the portfolio on the other hand).
• Establish and operate new programs that contribute to optimizing portfolio company outcomes to the benefit of the Association’s Ventures and Mission.
• Work with the Association’s  Ventures leadership and the team’s investment professionals to develop and foster strategic innovation collaborations and related business development activities to advance the Association’s Ventures portfolio.
• Create opportunities for cross - portfolio company collaborations
• Keep track of the external venture capital and funding universe and create relationships with the venture capital community that assist portfolio companies to identify potential targets for their venture fundraising needs;  assist portfolio companies to help evaluate and improve their pitch to the external venture marketplace

• Help establish and oversee select Accelerator Programs (sponsored and/or partnered)
• Determine strategy, including strategic partnerships for select programs.
• Lead/coordinate selection of portfolio companies for relevant programs.
• Establish, update and oversee content development for these programs, including defined education and participation programs for startup founders and their teams.

• Establishes ongoing, collaborative relationships and works in partnership with other Association Leadership and Key Volunteers to optimize success of complementary. Association initiatives (e.g., Mission Aligned Business, Mission Advancement, Operations, Finance, Health Equity, Center for Health Technology, and Innovation, etc.).
• Understand and work within the complex structures of the Association to ensure the programs are successfully executed and compliant with organizational requirements.
• Acts as an ambassador and spokesperson for the Association around innovation and investment initiatives
• Serves as a model for a high-performance culture by fostering innovation, personal accountability, and commitment to results.
• Delivers mission and financial objectives to support Association goals and objectives.

• Must possess a minimum of ten (10) years of corporate venture/business development/startup engagement/venture platform experience with a working knowledge of new financial models.
• Must have a minimum of ten (10) years of experience building and negotiating partnerships and alliances and/or developing collaborative programs between startups and the venture community.
• Must have a good working knowledge of healthcare venture capital and an established network of professionals from this community.
• Must have a minimum of ten (10) years of experience collaborating with executives, clinicians, scientists, payers, employers across all key sectors of healthcare (digital health, health services, biopharma, medtech).
• Excellent communication skills: must have the ability and savvy to successfully engage with high level leaders, stakeholders and media.
• Supervisory experience managing direct reports and/or external consultants. In addition, must have successful track record working in a “matrix” management environment.
• Highly organized leader with excellent interpersonal skills, project management skills and data analytics and writing skills.
• Travel is required (at least 20%) and may be more depending on business demand.

The American Heart Association invests in its people. Here are the main components of our total rewards package.  Visit Rewards & Benefits to see more details.

• Compensation – Our goal is to ensure you have a competitive base salary.  That’s why we regularly review the market value of jobs and make adjustments, as needed.
  
  
• Performance and Recognition – You are rewarded for achieving success by merit increases and incentive programs, based on the type of position.  
  
  
• Benefits – We offer a wide array of benefits including medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance, along with a robust retirement program that includes an employer match and automatic contribution.  As a mark of our commitment to employee well-being, we also offer an employee assistance program, employee wellness program and telemedicine, and medical consultation.
  
  
• Professional Development – You can join one of our many Employee Resource Groups (ERG) or be a mentor/mentee in our professional mentoring program.  HeartU is the Association’s national online university, with more than 100,000 resources designed to meet your needs and busy schedule.
  
  
• Work-Life Harmonization – The Association offers Paid Time Off (PTO) at a minimum of 16 days per year for new employees.  The number of days will increase based on seniority level.  You will also have a total of 12 paid holidays off each year, which includes several days off at the end of the year.
  
  
• Tuition Assistance - We support the career development of all employees.  This program provides financial assistance to employees who wish to further their education and career in relation to their current duties and responsibilities, or for potential future positions in the organization.

The American Heart Association’s 2028 Goal: Building on over 100 years of trusted leadership in cardiovascular and brain health, by 2028 the AHA will drive breakthroughs and implement proven solutions in science, policy, and care for healthier people and communities. The greatest discoveries in health must reach everyone where they are.

At American Heart Association | American Stroke Association, our mission is to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, religion, age, language, sexual orientation, national origin and physical or cognitive abilities. We're committed to ensuring our workforce, workplace culture and mission have a shared impact across a diverse set of backgrounds.

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In accordance with local and state laws where applicable, qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment.

EOE/Protected Veterans/Persons with Disabilities