Venture Partner Full Time

ARK SCHOOLS

Venture Partner

Reports to: Deputy Chief Executive

Location: London W11

Remote working until restrictions are lifted

After this, option to work from home 2+ days per week

Contract: Permanent

Pattern: Full and part time considered, at least 22.5 hours per week (0.6 FTE)

Closing date: 6 April 2021

Interviews: First round during the week of 12 April 2021

Salary: £60,000 – £80,000 per annum (pro-rated if part time)

About the role:

We are looking for a Venture Partner to join the Ark Ventures team. This role includes working directly with our ventures through short-term projects and medium-term secondments to ensure they are successful and sustainable, growing the portfolio through building our pipeline of future ventures and further developing the ways in which Ark Ventures supports our group of ventures.

We want someone who is excited to work with entrepreneurs and educators alike, who can use both strategic and operational knowledge and experience to build mission-driven start-ups, and who will help to deliver huge social impact.

Key Responsibilities and Duties:

• Leading projects that develop ventures’ strategic and operational capabilities as they grow and work towards financial sustainability
• Providing direct strategic, operational or business development support through medium-term secondments to ventures
• Building Ark Ventures in order to deliver our longer-term strategy

Key Requirements:

• Demonstrable experience in strategic or analytical roles, e.g. project management roles in a strategy consultancy, or leadership roles in a social enterprise
• Be flexible, highly organised, and able to multi-task and prioritise work to meet deadlines
• Be eager and able to work in an agile environment with multiple start-ups, and comfortable with the ambiguity that may come with this
• Be passionate about transforming the life chances of children through entrepreneurship and innovation in education and related fields

Benefits:

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service
• We are committed to providing high-quality professional learning throughout your career with us and offer a variety of training sessions and experiences designed to meet your needs
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bicycle and gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym

About Ark:

Ark is a charity that aims to transform children’s lives through education. Our network of 38 schools in the UK achieves great results for young people, and some of our schools are among the best in the country. The ventures that we develop and support are tackling some of the most challenging problems facing young people, both in the UK and around the world.

Many of these ideas started in Ark schools. Others have come from innovators and partners outside of Ark. But they all share the ambition to address some of the most intractable issues in education and society and they all have the potential to deliver widespread system change.

Ark Ventures works to overcome the some of the barriers which prevent social issues being addressed at real scale. We provide ventures with bespoke support which includes expertise, funding (grant and loan), back-office and operational support, office space and networks. The ventures we support are not-for-profit, but develop business models which are financially sustainable in the long term.

Our present group of ventures are broad in their ambition. They include Ark Curriculum Plus, which seeks to transform student achievement through unique curriculum and teacher development programmes; EdCity, an innovative education hub where we will bring together mission-aligned organisations in shared office space alongside a school and other child and adult education provision; and Ark Start, which aims to prove that a small additional investment in early years education can lead to much better outcomes.

How to Apply:

Apply with a CV and cover letter on our online recruitment portal. Your cover letter should address the following areas:

• Summarise your experience to date in strategic and/or analytical roles
• Outline how your skills and experience will enable you to excel in this role
• Describe what motivated you apply for the role

Applications to be submitted by 6 April 2021 but please note: we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this advert may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response.

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people; all successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Ark is committed to attracting, developing and retaining a diverse workforce, with a broad range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.