New Jersey Economic Development Authority

Job Description

Job Title:           Intern                                                                Date:    February 11, 2021

Division:           Office of Economic Growth

Department:      Economic Growth Products

Reports To:       Director, Venture Programs (or delegate)

FLSA Status:    Exempt ¨     Non-Exempt  ¨     Hourly  þ

Employment Status:      Full Time ¨    Part Time ¨    Temporary þ

Position ID:       A00023

Job Summary

Collaborate with a team of highly motivated financial professionals, who are passionate about advancing New Jersey’s innovation economy to support build-out and activation of the recently approved New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund (NJIEF) legislation.   

Innovation can occur anywhere, but it may have the greatest chance of success when born and fostered with the collaboration of interested partners. The successful candidate will assist in design, development and stakeholder engagement to support the build-out of the newly legislated $500 Million early-stage investment program. The NJIEF program will bring together the pieces to engage New Jersey’s large corporate citizens, early-stage businesses and qualified venture capital investors to support a virtuous cycle of innovation in the State. Successful candidates with a focus on investment or policy will interact directly with these stakeholders to gather intelligence and build relationships to support a sustainable economic development investment program.

The applicant will have a first-hand insight of policy creation, business development, government operations and venture capital fund investment analysis. This internship is designed to prepare students for a fast-paced business environment. The experience also includes interaction with a peer mentor, workshops, and networking events.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the Director, Venture Programs to develop and implement the business process associated with NJIEF program build-out
• Liaise across departments within EDA and external government stakeholders to maintain forward progress on mechanics associated with accounting, compliance, information technology, legal, marketing, policy, tax
• Participate in the development of program regulations from the approved legislation with an acute attention to detail leading to practical long-term implementation
• Develop methods and tools to evaluate corporate tax auction bidding process, investment manager qualification and investment eligibility, execution and monitoring
• Coordinate planning, development and pursue outreach to establish and maintain relationships with potential corporate partners, investors and early-stage businesses
• Learn and utilize the EDA’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) database per departmental standards including populating key application data in various CRM records
• Reports progress in weekly team meetings
• Participates in business development meetings and or industry events as assigned/applicable
• Promotes teamwork and communication to encourage an interactive, cooperative, collaborative, and customer focused work environment among division, EDA staff, and external customers.
• Performs other duties as may be assigned

Required Skills and Abilities

• Advanced skills in research
• Ability to work with various excel spreadsheets and software applications
• Initiative and creativity
• Interest in policy and legal framework development / investment analysis and execution
• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing; proficient in grammar, spelling and editing; and foster communications with business professionals and EDA staff
• Ability to prioritize workload, be highly organized, detail-oriented, handle various tasks simultaneously, and work independently within limited time constraints with little or no supervision
• Must be able to maintain confidentiality and deal effectively and diplomatically with business professionals and EDA staff
• Demonstrate respectful behavior and promote teamwork and communication to encourage an interactive, cooperative, collaborative and customer focused work environment among division, EDA staff and external customers
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and the ability to learn new software packages

Required Qualifications

• Must reside in New Jersey for the summer
• Preference for a graduate student who attends a New Jersey domiciled College/University
• Must be available to work full time starting on June 1st and with very limited time off through August 10^th
• Student in a graduate degree program in accounting, business administration, finance, economics, economic development, and/or related field; Minimum GPA 3.0 with some course work in capital formation/venture capital
• Strong analytical and research skills
• Ability to think and work independently
• Capable of handling a large workload
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Proficiency in Word and Excel for Windows
• Must be detail oriented and a team player

Work Location: Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies (CCIT) in North Brunswick/Remote

Physical Demands

• Minimal

Certificates and Licenses Required

• None

Travel

• Minimal

Note

The examples of work for this title are for illustrative purposes only. A particular position using this title may not perform all duties listed in this job description. Conversely, all duties performed on the job may not be listed. This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope, general nature and level of work performed by job holders within this job.  This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of qualifications, skills, efforts, duties, responsibilities or working conditions associated with the position.

Your employment at NJEDA is voluntary and subject to termination by you or NJEDA at will, with or without cause, or with or without notice, at any time.  Nothing in this job description shall be interpreted to conflict, eliminate or modify the employment-at-will status of NJEDA employees. 

NJEDA reserves the right to amend/revise this job description as necessary to meet current and changing business needs.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Position Requirements

• Must comply with the “New Jersey First Act” which requires employees hired after September 1, 2011 to reside in New Jersey. Non-New Jersey resident employees must relocate to New Jersey within one year of their date of hire and provide proof of residency to Human Resources.
• Must complete an Outside Activity Questionnaire (disclosure of outside office or employment) on an annual basis.