Consultant, Unum Ventures
About the position
The Consultant, Unum Ventures will manage a portfolio of early-stage startups participating in The Foundry, serving as a trusted advisor as founders strengthen their businesses and prepare for successful enterprise partnerships. This role will help startups identify and address growth and readiness gaps, establish and track key milestones, navigate Unum’s requirements and resources, and build relationships with relevant internal stakeholders. The Consultant will combine startup advisory, relationship management, and program execution to help portfolio companies make meaningful progress while supporting Unum Ventures’ strategic priorities.
Responsibilities
- Responsible for managing a portfolio of early-stage startups, serving as a trusted advisor to founders and helping them define priorities, establish milestones, and make measurable progress toward enterprise readiness.
- Develop a deep understanding of each startup's business model, product, customer needs, and growth challenges.
- Provide guidance and coaching to help founders strengthen their offering, refine their strategy, and prepare to engage successfully with enterprise customers.
- Connect startups with subject matter experts, mentors, advisors, and internal stakeholders who can help address key business, product, operational, or enterprise readiness challenges.
- Serve as subject matter expert for strategic intelligence in supporting Ventures’ teams, conducting market, industry, and competitive research to help founders and Ventures teams identify opportunities, risks, and emerging trends.
- Facilitate regular portfolio reviews and stakeholder engagement sessions to align startup objectives, program milestones, and strategic opportunities with Unum priorities.
- Partner with internal teams across the business to help startups understand strategy, demand, enterprise requirements and navigate potential pathways to partnership, pilot, or commercial engagement.
- Manage startup progress through a structured portfolio management framework, tracking milestones, identifying risks and growth opportunities, measuring enterprise readiness, and ensuring startups receive the support needed to advance through the Ventures ecosystem.
- Support startup sourcing, evaluation, and onboarding activities, providing insights on founder strengths, business readiness, strategic fit, and potential opportunities for engagement across Unum Ventures.
- May perform other duties as assigned.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree required.
- 3-5 years of experience in startups, consulting, venture programs, accelerator/incubator environments, innovation, product strategy, business development, or related fields.
- Develop and maintain excellent working relationships with internal stakeholders to oversee partnership operational connections.
- Entrepreneurial mindset; a self-starter with a problem-solving orientation
- Excellent written and oral communication skills – both in presentation style with large groups and informally with smaller groups
- Ability to think and act both strategically and tactically.
- Driven, self-motivated, a consultative nature and a great problem solver.
- Proven ability to negotiate, influence, and persuade with internal and external partners.
- Comfortable working with stakeholders across the organization with varied levels of seniority
- Strong relationship management/conflict management skills
- Excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills.
- Must possess a positive, professional company image to external customers.
Benefits
- Award-winning culture
- Inclusion and diversity as a priority
- Performance Based Incentive Plans
- Competitive benefits package that includes: Health, Vision, Dental, Short & Long-Term Disability
- Generous PTO (including paid time to volunteer!)
- Up to 9.5% 401(k) employer contribution
- Mental health support
- Career advancement opportunities
- Student loan repayment options
- Tuition reimbursement
- Flexible work environments
