Posted on November 13, 2012

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Director, Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership

The Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership will be responsible for animating the vision behind the Center, for bringing together interdisciplinary contributions from across campus, and for building a vibrant academic ecosystem around entrepreneurship and innovation. The newly-established Center builds upon the strength of Gordon’s existing program in nonprofit management and will incorporate this program’s offerings into its portfolio.

The Center’s Director will focus on achieving the following objectives:

• Catalyze a commitment to entrepreneurial leadership among Gordon students through new and redesigned coursework and strategic opportunities that prepares them for a lifetime of entrepreneurial leadership informed by deep Christian commitment.
• Build a network of enthusiastic advocates and financial supporters among entrepreneurs (of all kinds) to sustain the growth of the Center beyond the initial gift commitment that is launching the Center.
• Actively identify and pursue opportunities for Gordon students and faculty to learn about and contribute to the fields of entrepreneurship and innovation by establishing structured mentorship/apprenticeship opportunities, by bringing successful entrepreneurs to campus for lectures and mentoring; by cultivating an entrepreneur-in-residence program; by creating new, and expanding upon existing, strategic relationships such as the Gordon-Praxis Fellows partnership; and by leading the College’s exploration of a continuing education curriculum that integrates Christian thought and entrepreneurial learning for mid-career entrepreneurs and leaders.
• Establish a successful business plan competition on campus cultivating resources to underwrite a competitive seedfunding program.
• Help faculty and students bring to market their intellectual property.
• Oversee the development of proprietary research reports, specialized white papers and presentations, as well as marketplace and cultural updates that can assist the Center’s corporate partners in strategic decision-making.
• Recruit and develop the Center’s inaugural advisory board of accomplished entrepreneurial leaders.

THE CANDIDATE

The newly-announced Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership is seeking a highly entrepreneurial leader who has the vision, drive and proven track record to establish a campus-wide initiative focused on entrepreneurship and innovation.

The ideal candidate is an experienced innovator who is passionate about developing new leaders and recruiting accomplished leaders in the vital work of integrating Christian faith and organizational development in solving problems and in identifying marketplace opportunities. The candidate should embrace and embody the idea of entrepreneurship (of all kinds) as a principal means for cultural improvement. The ideal candidate will also have significant nonprofit experience as founder, chair, or director, preferably with a start-up organization. The ideal candidate is an accomplished leader who has built at least one successful and profitable enterprise and who knows what it takes to build an organization from the ground up. He or she will develop, sell and carry out a strategy that establishes the Center within three years as the preeminent academic enterprise dedicated to entrepreneurship and innovation among Christian liberal arts colleges and the preeminent enterprise of its kind among U.S. liberal arts colleges within six years.

The Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, like all Gordon faculty and staff, will be expected to live in a vital relationship with Jesus Christ and be grounded in biblical principles. The selected candidate will have a record of active involvement in Christian ministry and local church life and can enthusiastically support the College’s Statement of Faith, Philosophy of Education, and the Statement of Life and Conduct. The candidate will reflect godly character, confident humility and impeccable integrity.

Application Instructions

Visit http://www.gordon.edu/entrepreneurialdirector for job profile and application instructions.