Work With Chicago Innovation

Chicago Innovation Interim Program and Events Coordinator

DATES & STRUCTURE: February 1 st , 2024 – May 18 th , 2024
Monday-Friday, both in-person and remote
Contracted position

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW:
Chicago Innovation is the largest organization in the Chicago region that educates, connects and celebrates all innovators. Our vision is to ensure that innovation is for everyone, which we carry out through a year-round series of events and programs that engage large corporations, startups, for-profits and non-profits, across industries.

JOB DESCRIPTION:
The Interim Program and Events Coordinator will support Chicago Innovation’s monthly events from Februarythrough mid-May, along with supporting the following programs:
1. Women’s Mentoring Co-op to help women connect, innovate and grow
2. The Ladder to support Black and Latine innovators in advancing their careers
3. Ageless Innovators to foster intergenerational relationships and combat ageism
4. The Illinois Student Invention Convention to teach creativity and problem-solving to K-8th grade students

PRIMARY JOB DUTIES:
Event planning and execution
Support the VP of Events & Marketing in carrying out key activities
Be involved in the coordination and execution of events (2x per month) from February – May 2024
Identify and work with venues and vendors
Help recruit and coordinate the roles of volunteers at events, when needed
Liaison with key event partners to ensure their needs are met
Coordinate Members table and guest registration activities for larger Chicago Innovation events
Develop communications that are used to invite and correspond with attendees leading up to eventsCollaboratively create event agendas and talking points scripts

Program planning and implementation:
Mentoring Programs (Women’s Mentoring Co-op, The Ladder, Ageless Innovators)
o Support the Manager of Mentoring and Inclusion Programs in carrying out key activities
o Create program applications for recruitment of mentors and mentees
o Evaluate applications and support Program Manager in matching mentees with mentors
o Communicate with mentors and mentees throughout the course of each cohort cycle
o Generate post-event surveys and evaluate key lessons learned from attendee feedback
o Participate in the planning of July-December event topics, venues, speakers
 Illinois Student Invention Convention
o Support the Manager of the Illinois Student Invention Convention in carrying out key activities
o Attendee IDEAcon in February and help run our exhibitor table
o Oversee creation and management of virtual judging circles on Zoom in April
o Create award certificates for students
o Seek in-kind donations for prizes for May 18 th showcase event
o Coordinate and communicate with vendors in preparation for showcase event
o Create slides for showcase event and handle other multimedia event elements

Sponsorship and fundraising
Write and submit grant proposals to aid the financial sustainability of our programs

DESIRABLE TRAITS:
 Passion for innovation, mentoring, inclusion and events
 Good communication, writing and interpersonal skills
 Creative problem solver, efficient work-flow manager, and strong attention to detail
 Ability to manage multiple tasks in a highly organized and timely manner
 Strong teamwork and consensus-building skills; effective in group decision-making
 Positive attitude, entrepreneurial and a passion for building Chicago’s innovation community
 Ability to navigate Google Docs, Google Sheets, Powerpoint, Excel, Google Mail Merge, etc.

EXPERIENCE LEVEL:
This is an entry level position. We are seeking a candidate with 1-3 years of work experience in relevant fields, which can include relevant internship experience.

HOW TO APPLY:
If interested, please email your resume and cover letter to Luke Tanen at [email protected]