Job Specifications
About MaRS
MaRS Discovery District (@MaRSDD) in Toronto is one of the world’s largest urban innovation hubs.
MaRS supports promising high-growth companies to scale their businesses globally, while tackling key societal challenges in areas such as Health, Cleantech, Finance, Transportation, AI, and others. In addition to helping start-ups launch, grow and scale, the MaRS community is dedicated to cross-disciplinary collaboration, commercialization of discoveries, and driving ideas to impact.
MaRS is the place where you can play a meaningful role in our innovation economy.
We understand qualifications on a posting can be daunting. If you're passionate about the opportunity and believe you can make a meaningful impact, we want to hear from you, even if you don't meet every listed qualification. We’re always looking for great talent to join our team on planet MaRS.
We actively encourage all applicants, including equity-deserving communities, including those who identify as BIPOC, racialized, women, people with disabilities, and people with diverse gender identities, expressions and sexual orientations.
We want you to be comfortable being your most authentic self throughout our search process. Please reach out to careers@marsdd.com if there’s anything we can do to make your experience more accessible and inclusive, including accommodations. Include 'Accessibility Request' in your subject line.
About The Opportunity
MaRS is seeking a part-time Advisor, Biotech/ Lifesciences Capital (Independent Contractor) with first-hand experience building and financing biotech and lifesciences companies. The ideal candidate is someone who has helped bring complex, science-based technologies to market and understands the capital pathways required to scale them.
The Advisor will deliver advisory support to MaRS’s portfolio companies by providing strategic capital guidance, applying real-world technical and financial expertise, and supporting the sourcing, structuring, and closing of financing transactions. The role also contributes to the development of MaRS’s capital-focused programs and partnerships for our biotech sector.
Advisors do not operate as employees of MaRS.
Scope of Work
You will work with the MaRS team to support the Advisory efforts to founders and management teams on:
Capital Optimization - design blended financing strategies for the success of biotech companies; integrate grants and project finance with VC equity to minimize dilution for founders (pre-seed to Series A, bankability including equity, non-dilutive, project finance, private equity, and alternative sources of capital tailored to the biotech/lifesciences sector)
Transaction readiness with founders: conduct mock due-diligence with founders so they can lead with confidence during investor scrutiny. Help to structure and provide advice on negotiating terms sheets for early-stage financings (SAFE/ convertible notes, priced rounds, venture grants, and public innovation programs); Pitch preparation, financial model development, optimizing capitalization tables, setting up data rooms, investor updates, milestone planning, and early board management
Building and leading an executive team
Product development and commercialization roadmap of capital-intensive biotech projects
Negotiating strategic partnerships
Preparing for entry into global markets
Work with the MaRS team to support the delivery of best in-class programs:
Assess client needs and plan service delivery in collaboration with the MaRS team to maintain a high-quality bar for venture programs
Provide input into company assessments and program strategy
Where complementary to existing MaRS services and networks, make connections to your network – to talent, customers, experts, and funding. The priority is making connections to VCs/ angels and other capital providers in your own network in collaboration with the MaRS Health Sciences team.
Share up-to-date intelligence on current Seed and Series A financing trends, deal benchmarks, and sector-specific funding opportunities
Lead or contribute to sessions on capital readiness, investor Q&A, and mock pitch panels for early-stage biotech founders
Document your venture activities in the MaRS CRM and follow program processes to enable effective client and program management
Provide strategic and operational input on program elements to ensure the program maintains high value for ventures
Engagement Structure
You will be assigned through a ‘Monthly Work Plan’ that outlines specific deliverables to be completed that month.
Monthly deliverables will vary and are based on current needs; no minimum or guaranteed number of hours is offered.
Advisors are engaged as independent contractors, not as employees of MaRS.
Advisors are expected to work autonomously.
Areas of Engagement
Beyond what is outlined in the Scope of Work, Advisors may be engaged to contribute in one or more of the following ways, depending on the needs outlined in the monthly wor
About the Company
MaRS is the world's largest urban innovation hub in Toronto that supports startups in the health, cleantech, fintech, and enterprise sectors. When MaRS opened in 2005 this concept of urban innovation was an untested theory. Today, it's reshaping cities around the world. MaRS has been at the forefront of a wave of change that extends from Melbourne to Amsterdam and runs through San Francisco, London, Medellin, Los Angeles, Paris and New York. These global cities are now striving to create what we have in Toronto: a dense inno...
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