Careers | Internships | Volunteering | Benefits

Careers

If you possess a “can do” attitude and share our passion for inspiring the next generation of inventors, employment with Invent Now can open the door to opportunities for professional growth, advancement and the chance to be a part of a dynamic team.   

To apply, submit a cover letter and copy of your resume to careers@invent.org or mail to:

Invent Now
Attn: HR
3701 Highland Park NW
North Canton, OH, 44720

Should it be determined that your qualifications are among the best suited for the position, the Office of Human Resources will contact you.  No telephone calls, please.

COLLEGIATE INVENTORS COMPETITION PROGRAM MANAGER

The Position:
The Collegiate Inventors Competition Program Manager, will manage the ongoing annual operations of the Collegiate Inventors Competition (CIC), working in conjunction with the Executive Director, National Inventors Hall of Fame, and also provide support for annual fundraising opportunities related to CIC, working in conjunction with the VP, Development. This position will require excellent communications and networking skills, attention to detail, ability to multitask, and research and writing skills.  

Position Responsibilities:

Program Operations for CIC

  • Call for Entries – outreach to:
  • Professional associations, both existing and new
  • Faculty, staff, and students at colleges and universities
  • New judges; first line of contact with first round judges
  • Network of professional contacts who can provide ongoing value to the Competition
  • Processing of entries and distribution for judging, including research, establishment, and management of upgraded submission and judging process
  • Management of judging and research process for entries for determining both finalists and winners
  • Determination of awards ceremony details and planning for the actual event
  • Ongoing research and outreach related to other awards and recognition programs, including the potential of investigating partnerships
  • Continuously working with Executive Director, NIHF, to look at future program possibilities
  • Continuously working with Events planner to ensure the successful implementation of awards ceremony and related events

Development Support

  • Prospect funders with an interest in supporting collegiate competitions and promoting invention and entrepreneurship
  • Meet with prospective and current funders to showcase CIC and grow our base of support and engagement
  • In conjunction with the VP, Development, submit formal proposals and reporting for CIC donors

Knowledge , Skills, and Abilities:

  • Motivated individual with strong networking skills
  • Highly organized with ability to handle multiple projects; takes initiative and prioritizes activities
  • Able to take ownership of tasks that require research, planning, coordination and effective communication
  • Able to work independently and as part of a team
  • Must have excellent verbal and written communication skills and be comfortable  interacting with individuals at all levels

Credentials and Experience:

  • Bachelors Degree
  • 2-5 years fundraising, marketing, or operations experience 
  • Proficient in use of all MS Office and contact management systems
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills to compose high-level correspondence
  • Ability to handle confidential information with discretion

EVENT COORDINATOR

The Position:
The Event Coordinator will coordinate and maintain event details related to all aspects of Invent Now events including guest travel, scheduling of internal tasks, event staff assignments, pre-event details, and coordination of all on-site logistics. This position requires a self starter who understands the critical importance and necessity of being in front person for the event and behind the scenes handling the logistical details to ensure they are completed accurately, on schedule, and within budget.  The Event Coordinator will thrive in an environment that is fast-paced, dynamic, and fluid.  This individual will be exposed to all facets of the organization working with cross functional teams which includes the Executive Director of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, the Vice President of Development and the internal creative resources.

Position Responsibilities:

  • Manage event activities  through scheduling and working closely with internal team
  • Research venues, hotels, and caterers
  • Pre-event and on-site management at events to ensure the coordination of day-to-day logistics, inclusive of meals, rooming needs, AV requirements, and travel coordination
  • Coordinate invitation mailings, track RSVP’s, and maintain guest lists
  • Coordinate internal/external resources to ensure everyone has what is needed to complete their assignment
  • Work with internal purchasing agent to follow internal purchasing and finance procedures
  • Arrange travel for outside constituents (Inductees, Collegiate Inventors Competition Finalists, etc.) inclusive of air, car, rail and hotel accommodations
  • Ensure all travel for the event is completed accurately, on time, and within budget which may require working closely with internal travel coordinator
  • Effectively and concisely communicate travel confirmation information to all travelers

Knowledge , Skills, and Abilities:

  • Highly organized with ability to handle multiple projects; takes initiative and prioritizes activities
  • Able to take ownership of tasks that require research, planning, coordination and effective communication
  • Able to work independently and as part of a team
  • Must have excellent verbal and written communication skills and be comfortable  interacting with individuals at all levels

Credentials and Experience:

  • Bachelors degree and between 3 to 5 years of experience managing events and event related tasks from inception through completion
  • Proven ability to research and provide detailed information to purchasing agent for contract negotiation 
  • Exceptional organizational skills
  • Ability to effectively work in a creative environment
  • Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, with a demonstrated level of proficiency in Excel and Word

HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

The Opportunity:
Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, the Director of Human Resources (HR) is responsible for implementing HR policies & programs, and managing all aspects of employee relations and development. The Director of HR will manage staffing & recruiting, organizational development, performance management, training, compensation & benefits administration, and employee counseling services. The ideal candidate will be resourceful, and have excellent communication & leadership skills.

Essential Functions:

  • Development of an employee-oriented company culture that emphasizes quality, continuous improvement, team-work, and high performance.
  • Broad knowledge and experience in employment law, compensation, organizational planning, organization development, employee relations, safety, and training and development.
  • Demonstrated ability to serve as a successful participant on the executive management team that provides company leadership and direction.
  • Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with the company Board of Directors.
  • Excellent computer skills in a Microsoft Windows environment. Must include Excel and skills in database management and record keeping.
  • Implement HR policies & programs as required by the business and insure that the Employee Handbook is kept current and accurately reflects the policies.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead and develop Human Resources staff members.
  • Ensure job descriptions for all positions are accurate & up-to-date.
  • Create organizational development and employee training programs.
  • Conduct performance reviews with department managers & monitor employee productivity, attitudes, and performance results.
  • Provide assistance with implementing any HR related software systems.
  • Recruit and retain top quality staff for each department; conduct interviews.
  • Employee counseling services for personal issues & company complaints.
  • Build a Quality Assurance program that is tied to performance review process.
  • Create compensation plans and provide administration for employee benefits.
  • Provide company-wide communications & manage social committees.
  • Develop a ‘Code of Conduct’ requiring professional behavior at all times.
  • Ensure employee safety, wellness, welfare, health, and job satisfaction.
  • Manage company charity and sponsorship policies and programs.

Skills and Competencies:

  • University degree or college diploma in Human Resources, Business Management or related field
  • Minimum of 8+ years experience in a HR management position
  • Exceptional interpersonal skills, including: listening, coaching, & training
  • Strong leadership, project management, & time management skills
  • Ability to develop strong relationships and work with senior level executives
  • Excellent written, verbal, and non-verbal communication skills
  • Able to develop new HR policies & programs based on business requirements
  • Solid business acumen, management reporting, and problem-solving skills
  • Demonstrated proficiency with applications such as Word, Excel, & PowerPoint

PROGRAMMER ANALYST

The Opportunity
The Information and Application Specialist will join our IT Team and will be heavily involved in creating and maintaining reports using various applications such as Crystal Reports and EZWriter. This position will work very closely with the other business departments to understand, define and interpret reporting requirements and subsequently translate those into meaningful reports. In addition, this position will develop and implement information applications for day to day business use.

Experience and Qualifications
The successful candidate must possess a broad knowledge of IT technologies, business applications, data management and reporting.  Also required is an operational and business background and quickly develop an understanding of the organization’s business operations.  The information and Application Specialist  will also be required to provide “hands-on” support of the organization’s IT requirements and systems. 

Major Areas of Responsibilities

  • Develop meaningful and timely reports for all levels of management in order for managers to make appropriate business decisions.
  • Will work closely with internal customers to ensure that business opportunities and goals are achieved.
  • Setup and maintain interconnection between business applications to provide for efficient and reliable data transfer.
  • Perform programming for in-house custom applications using tools such as ASP, Excel VBA and other appropriate programming languages.
  • Extract and combine raw data from various systems for use with marketing campaigns.
  • Proactively recommend upgrades and enhancements to business applications taking into consideration future budgeting and licensing requirements.
  • Thoroughly test implemented applications and reports to make sure end user and business needs are met.
  • Display proficiency in the following internal applications: Microsoft Great Plains, Ungerboeck Software International, Salesforce.com for contact management and fund-raising.
  • Maintain a high-level of accuracy and timeliness while managing multiple requests with varying complexities and due dates.
  • Author and maintain accurate and up-to-date documentation detailing current reporting and data transfer instructions.
  • Periodically audit existing reporting to ensure accuracy and relevance.
  • Assist the Director, IT Services in budgeting/expense management and vendor relationship management.
  • Work closely with Systems Administrator issue resolution and provide backup support when necessary.

Experience and Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science or equivalent field.
  • Experience in the design and implementation of business applications packages.
  • Experience in architecture planning and systems/application development.
  • Hands-on experience with relational databases and tools related to reporting, specifically, Crystal Reports.
  • Strong ability to prioritize across various tasks, manage changes in daily workload, and operate under several simultaneous deadlines.
  • Programming skills in ASP.NET, C#, Excel VBA, Access VBA and  SQL.
  • Knowledge of HTML, CSS & JavaScript.
  • Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
  • Other duties as assigned by the Director of IT Services

SALES SUPPORT ASSOCIATE

The Opportunity:
The Sales Account Associate will be a member of a dynamic team responsible for providing administrative and sales support to the Sales Consultants for Invent Now’s Camp Invention® and Club Invention®, nationwide summer and after-school enrichment programs intended to excite children’s inherent creative and inventive talents.  The right candidate will be a team player who takes initiative, ownership, and possesses exceptional written and verbal communication skills. 

Responsibilities:

  • Communicate with Camp Directors to track the approval, editing, ordering, and distribution of flyers
  • Working with Sales Manager, create and distribute scheduled newsletters
  • Respond to multiple email and telephone inquiries accurately and efficiently
  • Coordinate the placement of ads, both trade and consumer, including publication and cost research. 
  • Work with graphic design team with ad placement and ensure payment requirements met.
  • Manage tracking activities in computer system by entering new and returning customer information, tracking and initiating milestones for each step, including: materials shipment orders, staff agreement requirements, and letters of agreements.  
  • Create and distribute region specific sales reports and related data; including sales numbers versus goals, sales leads status and follow up reminders
  • Work closely and collaboratively with field support team, accounting team and internal warehouse staff to ensure a seamless internal support system exists for our customers.
  • Schedule, coordinate and co-facilitate camp director training sessions with Sales Manager
  • Support prospecting and sales support needs as directed by Sales Managers.
  • Coordinate the set up and possibly attend trade shows as directed by the Sales Managers

Qualifications:

  • Bachelors degree and 2+ years administrative and or customer service experience
  • Customer service mentality with a “can do” attitude
  • Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
  • Excellent organizational skills with an attention to detail
  • Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook)
  • Ability to multi-task and respond to high priority requests

CUSTOMER RELATIONS SPECIALIST

Position Summary:
The Customer Relations Specialist will register participants and respond to inquiries received by phone/web/email and chat, for our Camp Invention program, a nationwide children’s summer enrichment program.

Position Responsibilities:
• Develop a comprehensive understanding of the Camp Invention program; accurately respond to customer inquiries by providing program information, locations, and pricing.
• Assist customers in navigating the Camp Invention website to register participants online.
• Problem analysis and resolution.
• Customer follow-up and attention to detail.
• Accurately and efficiently enter and process registrations.
• Research and resolve customer-related issues in a timely and professional manner
• Sense of urgency.
• Soft sales skills. Deliver a prepared sales script to persuade potential customers to register their child while on the phone or in chat sessions.
• Record details of inquiries, comments, complaints, and actions steps taken to bring about resolution.
• Process requests for refunds and receipts.
• Direct requests and unresolved issues to the designated resource.
• Identify and escalate priority issues.
• Periodic filing of customer service paperwork.
• Maintain an organized and clean work station.
• Communicate and coordinate with internal departments as assigned.
• Perform other related duties and responsibilities as assigned as they will rollover to connective departments

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Knowledge of customer service principles and practices.
• Computer literate with strong typing and data entry skills – both speed and accuracy.
• Superior communication and interpersonal skills, with an end goal of providing exceptional customer service.
• Knowledge of call center telephony and technology.
• Proven track record of producing accurate, high quality work.
• Ability to multi-task and respond to changing priorities and seasonal surges in workload. Ability to work under pressure.
• Team player mentality; ability to remain focused when working in close proximity to other staff members.
• Credit card processing and/or billing experience required.

Credentials and Experience:
• High School diploma, general education degree or equivalent

Special Requirements:
The Customer Service Professional must possess schedule flexibility with the ability to work approximately 20-30 hours a week; potential for additional hours during peak times. The position is part-time and seasonal. This position is based in N. Canton, Ohio facility.

GRANTS SPECIALIST

The Opportunity:
The Grants Specialist will coordinate all aspects of relationship building and grant applications to secure foundation, government, and corporate funding for Invent Now’s national children’s education programming, inventor recognition programs, and general support. Working in collaboration with the Director of Development, the Grants Specialist will research, cultivate, and secure new partners to increase funding.

Responsibilities:
• Secure foundation, government, and corporate funding for Invent Now children’s education programming, inventor recognition programs, and general operational support in strategic areas of the country
• Research and identify new potential donors
• Cultivate relationships with funders and ensure regular communication through phone, emails, in-person outreach and meetings
• Write and prepare grant proposals, updates, and final reports to funders
• Work with internal departments to assess funding needs, write grant narratives, and research program data
• Work with the Director of Development to construct and implement a plan for fundraising
• Maintain comprehensive, accurate and up-to-date grant and funder files
• Travel as necessary to represent Invent Now at meetings and conferences
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree in related field and 3+ years grant writing and non-profit fundraising experience
• Superior writing skills
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and respond to changing priorities, while adhering to deadlines
• Demonstrated success in meeting fundraising goals
• Proven prospect research capabilities
• Adept communicator who can effectively represent and communicate the offerings of Invent Now to a broad audience

Careers | Internships | Volunteering | Benefits