With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and opportunities in more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia is the fifth largest city in the United States and one of the largest employers in Southeastern Pennsylvania. As an employer, the City of Philadelphia operates through the guiding principles of service, integrity, respect, accountability, collaboration, diversity and inclusion. Through these principles, we strive to effectively deliver services, to resolve the challenges facing our city, and to make Philadelphia a place where all our residents have the opportunity to reach their potential. 

The Office of Innovation and Technology (OIT) oversees most major technology projects for the City of Philadelphia, ensures continuity of the City's technology operations, and finds new ways to help the public interact meaningfully with technology. OIT uses technology to help City employees do their work better and helps residents get what they need from municipal government. 

This position will support the Office of Innovation & Technology and connect closely with the City’s SmartCityPHL plan.  The role will offer direction and coordination for one of the City’s SmartCityPHL initiatives - an emerging program called Pitch & Pilot. Pitch & Pilot is a solution identification process intended to solicit, test, and evaluate creative approaches to municipal government challenges. The Fellow will work closely with a City team to develop and execute a program framework, define business problems, coordinate the work of stakeholder departments and budgets, and define with stakeholders criteria for successful outcomes and an evaluation process for pilot projects. 

As the Pitch & Pilot Fellow, you will join a team responsible for enacting the City’s SmartCityPHL roadmap and ensuring that its four guiding principles – locally-inspired, innovative, equitable, and collaborative – inform the work moving forward. The Pitch & Pilot program will draw from each of these four principles during its development and subsequent implementation. You will work closely with the Innovation Management team at the Office of Innovation & Technology, and additionally with a working committee comprised of departmental representatives and an external advisory committee with representation from Philadelphia businesses, institutions and community-based organizations. Your work will enable Philadelphia’s municipal government to further institutionalize an idea lifecycle process that connects impactful business and technology solutions with urban challenges. 

As the Pitch & Pilot Fellow, some of your opportunities will include:
•    Establishing and operating a cross-departmental, collaborative model for connecting businesses and their products/services with City challenges 
•    Developing a process for connecting private sector and university innovation with municipal government
•    Shaping and driving a significant initiative as part of the City’s SmartCityPHL roadmap
•    Working with government to frame problems and challenges so that the private sector can propose solutions
•    Evaluating proposals for suitability and matching them with municipal challenges
•    Partnering with stakeholder departments to ensure successful pilot project implementation and budgeting for scaling up solutions for long-term support
•    Testing and advancing the innovation process inside municipal government

Competencies
•    Self-directed – you can prioritize your work and allocate time and resources effectively when given broad responsibility
•    Collaborative – you interact well with others, can work with the team to make decisions, and believe that multiple perspectives strengthen a program
•    Process-oriented – your attention to detail and process allow you to turn a concept into a working model 
•    Resilient – you have a sense of humor, can adapt quickly to setbacks, and understand that innovation does not always proceed as expected 

•    Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience required; graduate degree a plus
•    Experience/knowledge with institutional procurement, contracting, and budget processes
•    Experience/knowledge with the idea lifecycle process - soliciting, evaluating, refining, and implementing potential problem solutions
•    Experience/knowledge with the start-up/entrepreneur/small business environment
•    Experience/knowledge in effectively matching business processes with products and services
•    Desire to work in a mission driven environment

This position will be for one-year appointment. 

Salary Range: $60,000 - $65,000

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670

 For more information, go to: Human Relations Website: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx