Head of Industry Engagement

About Pursuit

Our mission is to create economic transformation. By training low-income adults to launch and advance careers as software engineers, we help our Fellows go from earning $18,000 to over $90,000 starting salary on average, adding an estimated $2M in lifetime earnings. Pursuit partners with leading companies like Blackstone, USV, Citi, Peloton, and Uber to employ Fellows in career-defining engineering roles and supports them with on-the-job training to ensure potential translates to performance. Since 2013, Pursuit has created ~$1B in total lifetime wage gains, creating lasting economic mobility that spans generations. 

Pursuit’s proven solution is built on two interconnected components: training (which includes community development, Core pre-job training, and Commit on-the-job training) and a financial product (known as Bond). However, growing training alone will not meet the magnitude of need nor solve new societal challenges ahead. The typical expectation is to expand our training to other cities, but this will not come anywhere close to creating good jobs for millions of low-income Americans. Instead, our strategy for scaled impact is to evolve our financial product and create tools for other organizations, jobs, and places. We believe that this will not only create good jobs for millions of low-income Americans but will also generate a new trillion-dollar market directly tied to results in the long term.

Head of Industry Engagement 

The Pursuit Core Fellowship is a 4 year leadership training program focused on economic transformation that selects and trains high need New Yorkers to become software developers, at over 300 best-in-class companies, including Peloton, Blackstone, Uber, and Citi. On average, Pursuit Fellows go from making $18,000 pre-program to $90,000+ upon starting their first job, resulting in an estimated lifetime earnings increase of over $2,000,000. With a decade of proven success and a demonstrated proof of concept, Pursuit is expanding its Core leadership team to lead the organization into the next phase of growth and enable its vision for national scale.

We are hiring a Head of Industry Engagement to join our Core Leadership team at Pursuit. In this pivotal role, you will drive the strategy and execution of industry engagement and network building within our Core Fellowship program. This role will develop and execute engagement opportunities that both fulfill industry partner needs while also meeting the training needs of the Fellowship. The Core training program places an emphasis on the significance of social capital and networks in achieving our mission of facilitating job attainment and sustained career success for our Fellows. This role will be instrumental in two key areas of relationship cultivation within the Fellowship: (1) integrating industry volunteers and influential tech leaders from Pursuit’s network and partners, such as Chris Lyons (A16Z), Dara Khosrowshahi (Uber), and Andy Dunn (Bonobos) into our community through high quality programming, aimed at expanding Fellow networks and providing direct exposure to industry standards, and (2) enabling the development of deep relationships between Fellows and industry professionals to build confidence, persistence and network building, with a goal of landing a job. 

Reporting to the General Manager and collaborating closely with other Core leaders focused on delivery and product design, this role presents an unparalleled opportunity to directly impact the trajectories of Pursuit Fellows, their families, and their communities. 

As the Head of Industry Engagement you will: 

• Develop and oversee strategy and activities to cultivate strong relationships and networks among Fellows within the Core Fellowship and with external stakeholders in the tech industry.
• Lead the strategic approach to industry engagement, working with the partnerships team to identify and develop opportunities for engagement (e.g. employee engagement) with our Fellowship.
• Ensure meaningful and impactful experiences for industry leaders, volunteers through tailored volunteer opportunities such as Fireside Chats, Mentorships, and Demo Day Panels.
• Manage implementation of Pursuit’s industry integrated programming and milestone events, including Demo Days, Hackathons, Fireside chats).
• Ensure Fellows have strong relationships across the tech industry 
• Hire and manage a small team of 1-2, providing guidance and support to drive successful industry engagement initiatives.

What you need to be considered for the Head of Industry Engagement role: 

• 12+ years of professional experience at the strategic and operational level with demonstrated increase in responsibilities, including 3+ years of team management experience.
• Strong background in the tech industry, with an understanding of tech culture, networks, and key players (preferably within NYC ecosystem).
• High EQ, and an understanding of how to navigate networks and relationships
• Strong project management experience, with demonstrated experience building strategy and getting hands-on with the details.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively engage with stakeholders at all levels.
• Experience producing high quality and impactful events for small groups of senior leaders (e.g. panels, roundtables)
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to inspire and motivate teams towards achieving organizational goals.
• Ability to craft efficient and compelling communications for internal and external audiences
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and drive them to successful completion.
• Excitement for Pursuit’s mission and business model, and a belief in the potential of anyone to learn to code and become leaders in tech.

Where you’ll work: 

• On site in our Long Island City Office 4-5 days/week

Salary & Benefits:

The salary range for this role is $180k-$215k base + incentive compensation.

The compensation range above is for the expectations as laid out in the job description, however, we are often open to a wide variety of profiles and recognize that the person we hire may be less experienced (or more senior) than this job description as posted.  If that ends up being the case, the updated salary range will be communicated to you as a candidate.

Pursuit offers: 

• Great culture where transparency, respect, teamwork, and kindness are valued
• Competitive compensation in base, plus bonus and a full benefits package
• 401k Match
• Unlimited PTO and an all-Pursuit summer break the last week of August and a week-long holiday the last week of December
• Flexible, hybrid work schedule with catered lunches once a week and delicious snacks
• An opportunity to work at the intersection of tech and social impact, and make a direct impact on the communities of those we serve.

Pursuit values diversity: 

Our team has a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, and we value the richness that diversity brings to our organization. We welcome new perspectives and affirm that all employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, national origin, age, familial or marital status, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuit is an equal opportunity employer.