CITY/CBEY Community Entrepreneurship Fellow

Key Skills

Digital Innovation, Effective communication skills, Enterprise Architect, Environmental, Writing

Job Description

Position Focus:

The Environmental Innovation Fellow plays a central role in advancing environmental entrepreneurship. The Fellow will have a range of responsibilities including program management, venture development, communication, collaboration, and student support. The person in this position has the opportunity to build their own body of work, in addition to driving forward existing initiatives. We are looking for an energetic, inspiring, and innovative problem solver to lead environmental entrepreneurship and innovation activities at both CBEY and the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale. The Innovation Fellow will act as a liaison and collaborator, reporting both to the Executive Director at CBEY and to the Managing Director at Tsai CITY. The position is designed for a young professional at a pivotal stage in their career.

Responsibilities will include: 

Program Management: Design and execute programming for CBEY and CITY focused on environmental innovation for all levels of student engagement.

Planetary Solutions Generator: Work with a student team to organize the next iteration of this program, through which interdisciplinary teams develop practical environmental solutions, aligned with the Yale Planetary Solutions Project. Coordinate speaker events that showcase topics and people in environmental innovation (see the Planetary Innovator Spotlight Series for examples of past events). 

Green Innovation Lunch Deep Dives: Work with student coordinators to host an informal bi-weekly discussion group on emerging innovation within ClimateTech. Develop and lead new programs as appropriate (see the Climate Innovation Intensive, Global Innovators intensive and the Storytelling with Spreadsheets for an example of programming developed by a CBEY/CITY innovation fellow). 

Beyond the Buzzwords: Lead a team of student producers in advancing and growing a site that breaks down critical buzzwords in sustainable innovation.

Venture Development: Work with environmental innovators to advance their businesses, organizations and projects: Oversee the CBEY funding cycle for environmental innovation, including the Climate Innovation Grants, the Sobotka Prize, and the Sustainable Venture Prize during Startup Yale. Tsai CITY venture development programs: Help the Tsai CITY team to assess applications, plan programming, and advise ventures as part of the Launch Pad, Accelerator, and Summer Fellowship. Hold regular office hours with student innovators to help them devise, refine, test, iterate, build, and launch their ideas. Lead and develop new areas of venture support as appropriate.

Communication and Collaboration: Represent both centers and share their work including: Facilitate connections among student, alumni, and community via the Yale & Friends Green Innovator Community by managing the LinkedIn group and newsletter and coordinating community events. Facilitate the update of environmental innovation database that includes list of active student, alumni and faculty ventures as well as our larger network of supporters working on environmental innovation. Share thoughts and learnings about environmental innovation through the CBEY and CITY blogs and social media, as well as other relevant channels internal or external to Yale. Work with other teams and staff at Tsai CITY and CBEY to support programs, such as managing entrepreneurial skill-building workshops like the Tsai CITY Innovator’s Toolkit series. Serve as a CBEY/CITY representative at events and conferences on and off-campus. Develop strategies for CBEY and CITY in continuing to build Yale’s environmental entrepreneurship ecosystem, working closely with a wide array of campus partners.

Student Support: Manage a CBEY/CITY team of student employees who support social/environmental entrepreneurship on campus. Meet with students to help them learn more about environmental innovation, make the most of campus resources, and build their careers.

Essential Duties

The Fellow will have a range of responsibilities across the following areas: 

• Program Design and Management: Provide programming and activities for CBEY and CITY focused on environmental entrepreneurship for all levels of student engagement including: 
• Workshops/Courses 
• Develop and manage Professional Skills Workshop series 
• Develop and manage Innovative Mindset Series 
• Supervise Sustainable Entrepreneurship Consultancy course 
• Intensives 
• Coordinate NetZero Action Group 
• Take lead on Data Science Initiative 
• Prizes 
• Oversee Climate Change Seed Stage Awards 
• Manage Sobotka and Sabin Prize processes 
• &Hackathons & Events 
• Manage Environmental Solutions Accelerator 
• Contribute to Climate Change Hackathon 
• Act as CITY/CBEY representatives at other on campus Hackathons 
• Re-imagine Bright Lights Green Sights speaker series 
• Mentorship 
• Oversee Experts in Residence 
• Other Programs as appropriate. 
• Strategy & Cross Campus Collaboration: 
• Lead strategy development for CBEY’s role in the entrepreneurship ecosystem, and expand CBEY’s offerings around environmental entrepreneurship 
• Work closely with campus partners and leaders to elevate and improve student engagement in meaningful innovation and entrepreneurship programs 
• Work closely with campus partners to elevate offerings and resources around environmental entrepreneurship * i.e. - Work closely with Yale Center for Collaborative Arts and Media to identify potential areas of collaboration 
• Student Support: a. Manage CBEY student team that supports social/environmental entrepreneurship on campus 
• Be a liaison to Yale College and graduate student organizations related to environment, business and social entrepreneurship and innovation 
• Work with students and student teams to devise, refine, test, iterate, build, and launch startup business, nonprofit, civic, community, social mission, faith-based, and other endeavor ideas. 
• Personal Development/Projects: 
• Identify and attend education opportunities/areas for growth as part of personal and professional development 
• Serve as a CBEY/CITY representative at events and conferences on and off campus. 
• Create one new, bold, innovative student-centric initiative OR have the opportunity to work on own start-up, project, or initiative.

Required Education and Experience

• Master’s Degree in Environmental Science or Business Administration.

Required Skill/Ability 1:

• A self-starter who’s able to manage a body of work. Proven ability to organize and prioritize multiple projects. Strong time management capability and proven ability to work as part of a team as well as independently.

Required Skill/Ability 2:

• Passion for environmental innovation and entrepreneurship.

Required Skill/Ability 3:

• Outstanding writing and communication abilities.

Required Skill/Ability 4:

• Demonstrated ability to work with a diverse constituency, including staff, students, faculty, and other community members.

Preferred Education, Experience and Skills:

• Master’s degree in an environment-related and/or business-related field. 2-5 years of professional and/or academic experience in roles relevant to environmental innovation.