Comms & Community Lead at Beanstalk AgTech

Description

NB: Location is across Australia

Applications close: 14 January 2024

About Beanstalk:

Beanstalk exists to unleash the potential for agriculture to be a leading force for good. We believe our food system needs reinvention to feed a growing global population on a healthy planet, and we are working hand-in-hand with innovators, agribusinesses, and public sector leaders to make it happen. If this excites you, we would love for you to apply!

We are a specialised team of strategy, venture building and innovation experts dedicated to the agriculture and food sector in the Indo-Pacific. Our role is to catalyse the adoption of new technologies and build capabilities that help to unlock our ability to produce nutritious food in a responsible, ethical and sustainable manner.

Beanstalk achieves this through two arms of its organisation: Beanstalk Advisory, its Indo-Pacific consulting business that partners with agribusiness, governments, and donors to tackle their most pressing challenges in the agriculture value chain; and Beanstalk Ventures, its venture building arm focused on venture creation and building, investing and scaling impact-focused solutions shaping our future food system.

About the Beanstalk Drought Venture Studio:

Australia is one of the driest continents on earth, yet we have a vibrant agricultural sector that constantly adapts to climate change challenges - necessity has made us amazing innovators. This resourcefulness makes Australia the natural home for our Drought Venture Studio.

This world first partnership between the Commonwealth - through its Future Drought Fund - and Beanstalk AgTech will identify problems from the ground up and develop and fund solutions through practical commercialisation. Beanstalk will work with the eight Drought Innovation Hubs across Australia and industry to enable the creation of new startups and technological innovation in response to drought.

The program’s mission is to support nearly 100 commercial solutions, and to back 8 high growth ventures over the next 2 years, positioning Australia as a global leader on drought and climate solutions to agricultural resilience.

About the role:

We are hiring a Comms & Community Lead for Beanstalk Ventures on a fixed term contract. Your role will be to establish a clear strategy for communications and building bespoke communities that ultimately underpin the Drought Venture Studio’s ability to support the growth and impact of innovators delivering drought-resilient solutions.

You will be working closely with the Studio Operations Lead, Studio Director and Head of Ventures to develop a cohesive series of activations such as (but not limited to); thought leadership, community events, formalised investor communities, campaigns, digital marketing plan and event activations etc.

In this role you will be the glue that binds the ambitions of the Drought Venture Studio into a self actualising tribe of innovators, producers, investors, experts and influencers. This role will work with the team across Australia to help spread the story to attract the best talent from Australia and abroad.

In this role you will:

Develop and deliver the communication strategy for the Drought Venture Studio
Work with the Head of Ventures, strategically positioning the program’s communication activities to maximise program reach and engagement
Manage the contracted PR firm and graphics designer to clearly articulate and amplify our message and mission
Position the Venture Studio as a world leading program through thought leadership and co-authoring pieces that contribute to supporting the program’s narrative
Engage with Venture Builders to find stories to share through the course of the Venture Studio
Enabling and supporting all 8 Venture Builders in each capital city to build a trusted community and relationship with the leading agrifood companies in their region
Build and maintain a supportive community around the Drought Venture Studio and its startups, including taking a lead on network outreach with the Head of Ventures
Specifically, you will develop and maintain a strategic engagement framework for key stakeholders of the program. This includes:

Founder pipeline
Investor community – local and international with an active interest in climate, drought, and AgTech
Corporate community and industry bodies – for sponsorship and partnering opportunities
Technical exports – to support in the validation and mentoring of ventures
Establish an alumni network for program participants to ensure that they continue to receive support and guidance through mentors and the broader program network

Still with us here? You are probably one of us. Research out there suggests that women and underrepresented people are less likely to apply for a role despite being perfectly qualified. We would love for you to introduce yourself – as a business with global ambitions and working deeply amongst remote communities, diversity in people, experiences and perspectives brings us closer to our mission of building a regional food system that serves the communities we work across. We're looking for people of all genders, races, ethnicities, orientations, abilities, and disabilities to join us.

Beanstalk highly encourages Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people to apply, and are seeking applicants who have demonstrated knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander culture and social ways of life.

Requirements

About You:

5+ years experience in a comms and community lead role
Strong ability to generate communications and community engagement
Deep understanding of engaging with the venture and startup ecosystem
Ability to establish a clear strategy to build a tribe around the Program and its participants
Excellent written and verbal abilities
Public speaking skills a plus
Ability to clearly understand and articulate the unique value proposition of the program to different stakeholders, and tailor content to these stakeholders

Location:

Australia-based
Ad hoc travel across the program for workshops, events and showcases