Head of HSG ETH Student Project House

Project background

At the Student Project House (SPH) we inspire and empower students to cultivate a maker and innovator mindset. We believe that by developing their own projects, students learn important competencies for their future. This is why we’ve created an ecosystem to inspire students (Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral students) to get started and explore the real need behind their idea. And to seek diverse views, to work as a team, to think big, to fail, to pivot, and to keep overcoming obstacles they encounter along the way.

Our interdisciplinary team of thirty people designs and manages facilities like co-working, ideation spaces as well as a makerspace and lab that gives students access to the tools and equipment they need to prototype. We support project teams with personal coaching, workshops, and a pro-bono expert network from industry. 

Our first location was established at ETH Zurich. As we scale and expand beyond our original base, we are launching a second location in St.Gallen in collaboration with the University of St.Gallen (HSG) and START Foundation. We are creating a sister organisation in the spirit of SPH in Zurich, with a large focus on building a community of ETH and HSG students who learn from each other through peer-to-peer learning. We are now seeking a Head of HSG ETH SPH to lead this new chapter. 

You’ll work in one of the most inspiring spaces in St.Gallen, surrounded by whiteboards, ideation equipment, colourful furniture, and creative students. We’re located at the START Campus, 5 minutes away from both St.Gallen station and HSG.

We work in the same open space as our project teams and meet with everyone at eye level. The individuals we work with are from a diverse range of backgrounds and study disciplines, which is why we communicate in English. As the projects we support are extracurricular, most of our offers take place in the late afternoon, in the evening, and occasionally at weekends. The projects are very diverse regarding topic, stage, intensity, and goal - some being entrepreneurial and others non-profit.

We take an agile approach to conceptualizing and delivering our offer and allocate our capacity flexibly to the most important tasks. Hereby, teamwork is one of our key values.

Job description

Together, we empower student-led projects in innovation and for personal growth. As Head of HSG ETH SPH, you are responsible for the following:

• Leadership & Team: You will hire and build a great team of motivated people who bring our second location to success, starting with 2-3 FTEs. Your first hires will be Innovation Catalysts who support the development of the location and coach the projects. You foster a strong, value-driven culture aligned with ETH SPH in Zurich. 
• Strategy & Offers: Together with your team and the Board, you will define and execute strategy for the St.Gallen location. You will develop and manage a portfolio of student-centred services for HSG and ETH students, ensuring high quality delivery and efficient processes. You will build on existing ETH SPH structures and learnings rather than start from scratch.
• Stakeholder Management: You will manage relationships with key stakeholders, including politicians, donors, university leadership, professors, and the Board. Working across ETH, HSG, and the START Foundation, you will secure long-term support beyond the initial two-year pilot phase by making the stakeholders excited about supporting this opportunity.
• Coaching & Facilitation: In the beginning you will coach early-stage projects and facilitate workshops and events. Based on the philosophy and approach we have developed at ETH SPH, you’ll help students to reflect, ask insightful questions, and support them to pin down their next steps, without taking on a leadership role. 
• Location & Scaling: You will establish a highly vibrant location full of students using it on a daily basis. You drive awareness and adoption of the offering, with the goal of supporting 200 projects by the end of 2028. 

Profile

We need your energy, passion and drive to lead the opening and build up of our first satellite location:

• You have a Master’s or PhD degree, ideally from HSG or ETH Zurich. 
• You have experience in starting and implementing your own project or start-up. You’ve failed, learned from it, and tried again. 
• You have 3+ years of leadership experience in the field of innovation, coaching, own startup, or similar. 
• You bring in methodological skills that are valuable to guide early-stage projects in the field of innovation.
• You have good management skills and can make sure that our service offers and processes are streamlined, clear, and can be further scaled to meet the needs of many hundred students per year in the future.
• You enjoy working with people and you’re passionate about supporting them to grow their maker and innovator mindset.
• You are great at stakeholder management and politics as this will be an important part of your role.
• You are happy to work from the St.Gallen coworking space and are flexible to work some evenings and occasionally at weekends. In addition, you are willing to travel to Zurich regularly and spend entire workdays at the ETH SPH (especially during the onboarding phase) to fully immerse yourself in the culture and processes. 

A note: research indicates that women and individuals from marginalized groups tend to apply only when they meet all the criteria. If you believe you’re qualified, but don’t necessarily check every box, please submit an application

We offer

You will be employed by ETH Zurich and report to the Head of ETH SPH and Board of HSG ETH SPH. We offer a 1-year contract with the possibility and intention to prolong the contract (fixed-term contracts are standard at ETH). The funding and pilot are set to last 2 years and it is intended to proceed thereafter if the pilot is successful and if the funding is secured.

This is a unique opportunity to build and shape a new location from the ground up, with high autonomy and direct impact on the future of education at HSG and ETH Zurich. 

We believe in personal growth. For that we do regular team feedback sessions and value everyone's opinion.