HOW YOU’LL HELP CREATE A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS
- This role will lead our Accelerator program, develop new ways to engage with startups, and drive strategic partnerships across the pet care industry. In addition, you will be advising the Companion Funds on the startups ecosystem and market.
- Develop and refine our accelerator and partner of choice strategy especially with early-stage startups and founders within the pet care industry.
- Perform market scouting activities, interacting with early-stage companies and corporates, to identify new areas of innovation and development as well as potential partners to enable continued rapid growth of Mars Petcare
- Responsible for the successful execution of the accelerator programs with our partners to drive impact for the startups and Mars Petcare including sourcing, assessment, negotiations, due diligence, and ongoing collaboration with startups in the program.
- Engage with startups and connect them with Mars Petcare network of industry experts, mentors, partners, investors and facilitate/establish internal business development to deliver collaborations and partnerships between Mars Petcare and portfolio companies
- Create and execute programmings such as Bootcamps, Pitch Competitions, educational webinars, and other activities to build and engage with the pet care startup community.
- Be an evangelist in the petcare industry on behalf of Mars Petcare and startups in our portfolio.
- Share new best practices with Mars Petcare globally as you identify areas of innovation and key market trends
- Be the connector between Companion Fund and Petcare to (1) help Companion Fund to perform diligence of VC opportunities, (2) identify, if required, who can support CF portfolio companies
- Conduct research to identify new markets and industry sectors, including in-depth business analysis to identifying new competitive and adjacent opportunities
- Post-program support and guidance for portfolio companies including serving as the key point of contact with portfolio companies
- Build innovative ways to establish Mars Petcare as the partner of choice through collaborative relationships with external partners, including universities, innovation centers, start-ups, incubators, mentors, investors, and other industry professionals to strengthen the petcare ecosystem
- Develop and execute new business opportunities with existing partners, independently managing the negotiation process from exploration, discussion, term sheet, contract, execution, and launch.
- Create repeatable and scalable programs and assets for new partners to support Mars Petcare’s ongoing partnership strategy.
THE PRO WE’RE LOOKING FOR –
- The predecessor of this role was successful because of their living 3 cultural traits. Optimistic – with a belief of what’s possible. Purposefully Inquisitive – with a high level of curiosity. And Open to All – actively engaging founders and start-ups of all types, and actively building a pipeline of diverse founders. In this role, you’ll know if out of the dog park if:
LEADERSHIP/BEHAVIORAL COMPETENCIES:
- Required to demonstrate:
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, comfort with ambiguity, and excellent interpersonal skills with an entrepreneurial spirit and sense of humor.
- Experience working with various business models, understanding the various inputs that influence ROI, and incorporating those insights into deal planning and management.
- Strong Stakeholder Management: you have comfort around top management and can engage divisional leaders in the possibility of partnerships.
- Passion and understanding of startups, entrepreneurs and a desire to help them to succeed
- Deep interest and/or experience in technology, startup, and venture capital ecosystem especially a desire to help entrepreneurs succeed.
- Ability to create and execute online and in-person startup programming with a strong desire to support women and BIPOC pet care founders.
Advantageous to demonstrate:- Builds and maintains exceptionally strong relationships with the Petcare segments, with the true ability to ‘influence without authority’.
- Highly analytical with the ability to consume, process, and transform large amounts of information into actionable insights.
- Ability to understand, review and analyze complex contracts and familiarity with standard deal structures.
- Exceptional presentation and communication skills and ability to distill complex issues into structured frameworks and concrete plans.
- Strong organizational, time management, and prioritization skills with great attention to detail; flexibility to accommodate global partners in different time zones.
- Strong passion for the petcare industry
- You Have Courage: a willingness to bring forth a new idea, engaging others across Mars to support you, and taking risks and action will full accountability. This is initially an individual contributor role, self starting and initiative are key to courage.
- You Learn at Pace: a consistent and fast work ethic to meet growth goals, and the ability to evolve and pivot quickly from what you’ve learned
- You Value Difference: a genuine belief in inclusion and diversity is in your DNA, and it shows up in your work, and how you work.
TECHNICAL SKILLS:
- Must-Have
- Experience managing or working in a start-up environment, especially through the utilization of partnerships with other organizations (large or small)
- Nice to Have
- 9+ years of experience in business development, corporate development, startups, or management consulting driving user and revenue growth via partnerships to have built a depth of such competence.
- MBA or advanced technical degree a plus.
- Experience in proven brand growth
WHY JOIN US?
- Unique opportunities for a customizable career within pet care
- A collaborative environment with direct access to our senior leadership team
- Dog-friendly workplaces
- An industry competitive compensation package including generous benefits
- Commitment to our Purpose and our Five Principles
- Flexible work opportunities
- 10-20% travel to conferences post-covid
- Parental leave for the birth or adoption of your new human child (and fur baby)
If interested, please apply here.
