Program Coordinator, Healthcare, Venture Lab

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn's distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America's Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Wharton School Overview

Founded in 1881 as the world's first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is shaping the future of business by incubating ideas, driving insights, and creating leaders who change the world. With campuses in Philadelphia and San Francisco, Wharton has over 850 staff, a faculty population of more than 235 renowned professors, and 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students. Each year, 13,000 professionals worldwide advance their careers through Wharton Executive Education's individual, company-customized, and online programs. More than 104,000 Wharton alumni form a powerful global network of leaders who transform business every day. Wharton is home to a dynamic staff population representing a rich array of backgrounds, expertise, and cultures. To learn more, visit www.wharton.upenn.edu.

Venture Lab Overview

Venture Lab is the student entrepreneurship center at the University of Pennsylvania, supporting students, founders, and innovators across all twelve schools. Venture Lab delivers educational programming, support, and University-wide initiatives that help students launch and grow new ventures.

Job Description

The Program Coordinator supports the execution of healthcare-focused entrepreneurship programming at Venture Lab, including the Penn ELITE Fellowship and the Clinical Connect Program, and provides foundational coordination, tracking, and communications support that enables effective collaboration with Venture Labs founder-facing teams. The role is responsible for managing program logistics, managing participant and advisor records, coordinating communications, and supporting engagement with healthcare mentors, clinicians, alumni, and partners.

The Program Coordinator works closely with the Senior Director of Healthcare Strategy and Venture Lab staff to ensure healthcare programs run smoothly, are well-coordinated across campus, and provide a consistent, high-quality experience for students, advisors, and partners. This position plays a key operational role in supporting healthcare entrepreneurship programming and strengthening Venture Labs healthcare ecosystem.

Job Responsibilities

• Manage and execute on program logistics for healthcare programming, including the Penn ELITE Fellowship and the Clinical Connect Program. Responsibilities include scheduling meetings and events, onboarding participants, preparing materials, managing program records, room reservations, and compliance requirements (e.g., COIs, security, facilities) with the Venture Lab Operations team, and tracking budgets, timelines, milestones, as well as participation and engagement data to support internal reporting and donor stewardship.
• Manage healthcare entrepreneurship program communication, content, and information resources. Responsibilities include drafting and maintaining operational materials, organizing and managing shared files and student-facing materials across Venture Lab platforms, overseeing routine program communications (including announcements, reminders, follow-ups, and content updates), and assisting with maintaining the website, newsletter, and other written materials.
• Advance the sustainability of healthcare programming through community building and partnership with Venture Lab program teams to embed healthcare-focused content, mentors, and resources across Venture Lab programs, strengthening support for student ventures. Manage development timelines, align resources, and build processes that effectively support healthcare ventures from concept through growth.
• Support the Senior Director of Healthcare Strategy by coordinating entrepreneurship initiatives and events, preparing materials, scheduling meetings, and tracking follow-up actions with Venture Lab staff and Penn partners to ensure seamless execution and long-term program sustainability.
• Prepare and coordinate data management for the Healthcare Entrepreneurship vertical by collecting, validating, and synthesizing program data to inform KPIs, reports, and presentations. Monitor trends across student ventures and healthcare programming and ensure timely, accurate insights are delivered to the Senior Director and leadership.
• Manage materials and data requests that support strategic decision-making and donor relationship management.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for healthcare entrepreneurship programs, responding to questions from students, faculty, advisors, and partners and ensuring timely follow-up and coordination.
• Develop and manage contact lists, records, and shared resources in Venture Lab systems for healthcare advisors, alumni, clinicians, subject matter experts, investors, students, and partners to ensure accurate recordkeeping and easy access to support.
• Support general Venture Lab operations and events as needed, including monitoring shared Venture Lab inboxes and supporting Start Here Mondays.
• Perform additional duties as assigned in support of Venture Lab priorities.

Qualifications

• Required Qualifications:
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., public health, business, life sciences, healthcare management, or related) and 3-5 years of experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Strong organizational and project coordination skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with demonstrated ability to communicate professionally with students, faculty, senior leaders, and external partners.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to maintain accurate records and documentation.
• High proficiency with Microsoft Office or Google Workspace; willingness to learn additional systems (e.g., Monday.com, Airtable, CRM systems).
• Interest in healthcare innovation, entrepreneurship, or academic program administration.
• Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience working in higher education, program operations, entrepreneurship centers, accelerators, or healthcare innovation programs.
• Familiarity with clinical environments or health technology commercialization pathways.
• Experience coordinating multi-stakeholder programs involving faculty, students, alumni, and external experts.
• Experience supporting evaluation, reporting, or data tracking for programs.

Working Conditions & Additional Information

• Position is based on-site in Philadelphia with hybrid flexibility, consistent with Wharton and Venture Lab policies.
• Occasional early morning, evening, or weekend hours may be required for events.
• Some light physical activity involved in event setup or materials preparation.
• Duties may change as programs grow or new healthcare entrepreneurship initiatives are launched.
• This position is contingent upon funding.

University Benefits

The University of Pennsylvania offers a comprehensive benefits package to its employees, including:

• Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts: Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family's health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.
• Tuition: Take advantage of Penns exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.
• Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn's Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.
• Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family-whatever your personal needs may be.
• Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility.
• Wellness and Work-life Resources: Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That's why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.
• Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.
• University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University's libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries.
• Discounts and Special Services: From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, youll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.
• Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.
• Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.
• Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.

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