The Thames River Innovation Place, one of four innovation places the entrepreneur-supporting organization CTNext selected for grant funding, is looking for a director.

Applications for the independent contractor position, which has a listed salary range of $75,000 to $85,000, are open until July 31. The expected hire date is early September.

"We're looking for a director who is really adept at knowing when to lead and knowing when to support," said Hannah Gant of Spark Makerspace. She and Susan Froshauer, president of CURE Innovation Commons, are the co-leads on the Thames River Innovation Place, or TRIP.

The director will be involved with TRIP's proposals for a program to assist employers with recruitment and retention, an undersea supply chain consortium, a large-scale commissary kitchen and more.

Responsibilities of the new hire will be to develop organizational and financial plans with the leads of these projects, cultivate partner organizations, and stay knowledgeable of cultural and economic trends in the area.

The director will be working under the 13-member board of advisors, which Gant said will include:

[naviga:ul]

[naviga:li]Two people from major employers, such as Electric Boat and Pfizer[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Three entrepreneurs[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]One representative each from Spark Makerspace, CURE Innovation Commons, Connecticut College, the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut and the Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]One representative each from the City of New London, City of Groton and Town of Groton[/naviga:li]

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According to Gant, there also will be two nonvoting seats, one for CTNext and one for UConn Extension, which is helping design TRIP's evaluation and assessment process.

Gant made clear that she is not looking to develop a new organization, considering TRIP will be working with existing partners that are "mature and have their own work that they do and role that they play."

Rather, she said, the advisory board will work to identify gaps and synergies.

There will be a meeting this Thursday to elect officers on the board of advisors and formalize the search committee, considering some applications for the director position already have come in.

Gant and Froshauer are looking for someone with experience in strategic planning, management, fundraising, marketing, social media and press communication. TRIP also seeks a candidate with five years of experience in "shepherding ideas from the visionary stage through to production."

Gant explained, "Starting something is very different from running something, and it takes a special person who can do both."

Hiring a director and setting up an advisory board line up with the state's desire to know the governance structure of the Innovation Place. TRIP will be getting up to $900,000 for the first year.

It's a matching grant, so TRIP leaders also are working on fundraising. TRIP will be getting a "roughly equivalent" amount of money in years two and three, Gant said, but it will depend on how well the project does with metrics and milestones.

Anyone interested in applying for the director position should submit a cover letter, resume and three professional references to director@thamesriverinnovation.org.

e.moser@theday.com