Director, Accelerators

Target hiring for Director, Accelerators jobs in Minneapolis, MN, US

Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position. These include labor markets and in some instances may include education, work experience and certifications. In addition to your pay, Target cares about and invests in you as a team member, so that you can take care of yourself and your family. Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more, to help you and your family take care of your whole selves. Other benefits for eligible team members include 401(k), employee discount, short term disability, long term disability, paid sick leave, paid national holidays, and paid vacation. Find competitive benefits from financial and education to well-being and beyond at https://corporate.target.com/careers/benefits.

About Us:

Working at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture. Learn more about Target here.

By any measure, Target is one of the most successful and dynamic retailers in the US today. Long an iconic brand, guests are increasingly choosing Target to meet even more of their omni-channel, cross-category needs. That success has been fueled by a best-in-class guest experience brought to life by the best team in retail guided by Target’s purpose of “Helping all families discover the joy of everyday life.”

A core pillar of Target’s winning strategy has been a deep and sustained investment in Differentiating with Brands. Our robust and growing portfolio of owned, national and emerging brands continues to be a core driver of Target’s success – both in terms of profitable growth and guest loyalty. Leading the roadmap to growth across the portfolio is the Brand and Portfolio Management Team. This talented team skillfully blends the Art + Science of brand building to deliver iconic owned, national and emerging brands, that will drive an enviable growth trajectory into the future and that our guests will love. 

About the Role:

The Director of Accelerators is responsible for the success of a portfolio of accelerator programs including but not limited to, Takeoff, Forward Founders, as well as external startup engagement that supports the development of a strong pipeline of future candidates and the supplier diversity retail strategy. You will lead a team that fosters internal and external relationships, builds robust programing and strategy, cultivates an inclusive pipeline of relevant startups and works with partner teams to achieve program success. You will own the relationship with Merchandising and cross-functional leaders and build collaborative partners across the enterprise to support startup engagement and success. You will partner and influence other internal leaders across marketing, strategy, digital, space and insights to determine operational and capability efficiencies and enterprise alignment. You relentlessly champion the accelerator programs internally and externally and work to align people and resources to the program to ensure success. You will also engage and partner across the enterprise to identify other methods to accelerate innovation at Target.

Core Responsibilities include:

• Lead and manage a team to drive robust outcomes for Target through startup engagement, pipeline development, programming and alumni success.

• Partners with Sr Director on strategic direction for accelerator programs at Target including team structure, roles & responsibilities and operational routines

• Responsible for directing the planning and strategy execution, including overall priorities, budget and annual milestones to support long-term vision.

• Institute governance procedures and tracking of all companies that come through our accelerators and other startup engagement

• Partner with key merchandising teams including localization & vendor support and non-merch teams including supplier diversity with the common goal of making Target a preferred partner for startups and emerging brands

• Leverages a robust mentor network in support of accelerator programs

• Develops ongoing connections and relationships with senior leaders and chiefs of staff across Target to have visibility to and discussion around priority areas of focus for future programs.

• Cultivates relevant external network with peers in other corporate accelerator programs and broader ecosystem partners in support of overall programing as well as opportunities to leverage collaboration and create value exchange between organizations.

• Provide work direction, mentoring, coaching and ongoing leadership development to team members

• Represent Accelerators to various enterprise partners including PR/Communications, Marketing and Corporate Responsibility to align efforts and communicate needs.

Core responsibilities of this job are described within this job description.  Job duties may change at any time due to business needs.

About You:

• Four-year degree required or equivalent experience

• A minimum of 10 years’ experience in the industry in a program management, community-building or pipeline development type role, start-ups preferred; core merchandising/planning experience a plus.

• At least 5 years’ prior experience working on projects across merchandising business units and a demonstrated success interfacing across multiple divisions of the organization

• Demonstrated ability to make difficult decisions, prioritize strategically and manage multiple concurrent workstreams 

• Demonstrated success working with startups and/or emerging brands

• Demonstrated success working closely with and influencing senior executive leadership

• Demonstrated success working with Target’s merchandising organization

• Proven, demonstrated and consistent success leading and developing teams

• Champions and prioritizes of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion across the team and the work.

This position will operate as a Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement based on Target’s needs. A Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement means the team member’s core role will need to be performedboth onsite at the Target HQ MN location the role is assigned to and virtually, depending upon what your role, team and tasks require for that day. Work duties cannot be performed outside of the country of the primary work location, unless otherwise prescribed by Target. Click here if you are curious to learn more about Minnesota.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Target will provide reasonable accommodations with the application process upon your request as required to comply with applicable laws. If you have a disability and require assistance in this application process, please visit your nearest Target store or Supply Chain Facility or reach out to Guest Services at 1-800-440-0680 for additional information.