NOTE: Hiring for this role is currently on hold while we reconsider our hiring process internally.

About the role

As a Blackbird Associate, you will help us invest in Australia's most ambitious founders, right at the very beginning.

We are looking for someone with a passion for uncovering the technologies and founders that will define our future. Someone with unbounded curiosity and a mindset of enlightened hospitality for the founders that they serve, who is excited to become a custodian of the Blackbird Mission, Values and Operating Principles.

Some examples of what you’ll do:

• Generating dealflow - You will become an active contributor within the local startup ecosystem, a face that founders expect to see in the audience at meet-ups, pitch competitions and conferences. You will launch and run community events, chasing down any opportunity to meet a new founder and leaving no stone unturned in pursuit of the next generational Australian or Kiwi startup.

• Earning the trust of founders - You will earn the trust of founders within our community through the diligence and empathy that you show toward them. You will become known as someone who treats founders with the highest level of integrity and care — a trusted partner that founders are comfortable to share their best and worst news with.

• Supporting investment decisions - You will work closely with Partners and Principals to help Blackbird make better investment decisions, analysing the operational metrics for new companies that we meet to capture evidence of true greatness at the earliest stages.

• Wrestling with the unknown - You will embrace your curiosity and explore new areas of focus for investment at Blackbird, presenting your unique vision for the future. You will test the boundaries of our comfort and knowledge, leading the investment team toward new Rivers of Inquiry.

The skills we’re looking for:

Your background is less important than your key skills, which might include:

• Humility: Blackbird is a startup — no task is too small for us and no ambition is too big. We all take out the garbage. You will be scrappy, move quickly and never hesitate to roll up your sleeves.

• Expressed ambition: Nobody is too "new" or "junior" at Blackbird to live up to their ambition — we care about the quality of thought, not where it comes from. We value diversity of thought, and believe that we are stronger because we each think differently.

• Clarity of thought: You can articulate what you think makes companies valuable. You have strong opinions on what are the greatest businesses, technologies and markets of tomorrow. You have an innate ability to communicate complex topics in a clear, simple, and concise way — either through sharp prose or powerful visuals. Your opinions are persuasive.

• Hospitality mindset: We believe in the philosophy of "enlightened hospitality" and it lies at the heart of everything that we do at Blackbird. We serve our founders, not the other way around. We are about people, not companies. You will be generous with your time to create delightful experiences for founders, never losing sight of the people behind the numbers.

• You do not need to have worked at a venture capital firm or startup — and you do not need to have any investing experience at all! We love it when people have bootstrapped themselves into a skill as much as gaining the skill from working at an established organisation.

• You do need to have a passion for working with the founders of technology startups, and a deep commitment to building the skills and attributes required to be a generational investor at Blackbird.

Working at Blackbird

We believe that building a diverse and inclusive team is critical to Blackbird’s success. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or marital, veteran, or disability status. We use Applied to ensure every applicant gets an equal chance of success.

We offer flexible working, generous parental leave of 20 weeks for all parents, wellbeing benefits including a monthly healthy living allowance, a Learning & Development budget, unplugged weekends as well as a share of Blackbird’s success, with all Blackbird employees receiving carry in funds raised and ownership in management companies formed while they are at the firm.

Blackbird is a Pledge 1% member —  we pledge 1% of our time, equity and profits to help not-for-profit causes in our community. Through Pledge 1%, we established the Blackbird Foundation to supercharge the creative capabilities of young people.

About Blackbird

Blackbird is an Australasian venture capital firm whose mission is to invest in wild hearts, with the wildest ideas, right at the beginning. We back generational ambition with generational ownership by raising funds and investing in the best startup companies all the way through their journey from idea to beyond IPO.

Our portfolio is worth over $7B and includes more than 100 companies across Australia and New Zealand, from Canva and CultureAmp to rising stars like Halter, Partly, Sumday, Gilmour Space, Eucalyptus, Fleet and Dovetail.

We’ve written a lot about what we love at Blackbird, so check out our blog if you want some more information about us. In particular, you should watch Blackbird partner Sam Wong pitch Blackbird VC to founders, read about our mission and values, Blackbird’s Operating Principles (BOPs) and what we look for in founders.