Fast Facts

WGU is seeking a Principal for JUVO Ventures, responsible for leading investment strategies, managing complex deals, and mentoring junior staff, with a focus on expanding access to higher education through innovative funding approaches.

Responsibilities: Lead investment opportunities from origination to execution, oversee due diligence and financial analysis, mentor junior team members, and represent JUVO at external events while managing strategic fund initiatives.

Skills: Exceptional deal sourcing, leadership abilities, advanced financial and negotiation skills, and proficiency in data analysis using R, Python, SQL, along with strong statistical knowledge.

Qualifications: Master's degree in business or finance, 7-10 years of investment experience, venture capital/private equity background, and a Chartered Financial Analyst license.

Location: This position is based in Salt Lake City, UT with potential travel up to 15%.

Compensation: $149800 - $232300 / Annually

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Grade: Professional 315Pay Range: $149,800.00 - $232,300.00

Job Description

The Principal leads investment opportunities from origination through execution and actively shapes JUVO’s investment strategy. The Principal leads investment projects and strategic initiatives, taking full ownership of deal execution and portfolio management with the oversight of the Managing Director. This role drives investment decisions, oversees diligence and financial analysis, and contributes to strategic growth initiatives. Principals are senior leaders with significant independence and influence on decision-making. Principals also mentor junior staff and represent JUVO externally with founders, co-investors, and advisors.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

• Support the managing director with the execution of the fundraising strategy
• Originate and lead complex deals from sourcing through investment committee review, due diligence, and execution.
• Oversee all aspects of due diligence and transaction execution.
• Develops and presents investment recommendations, including IC memos, financial models, and market analysis.
• On occasion, take board or board observer roles, providing strategic guidance to portfolio companies.
• Monitors assigned portfolio companies, tracking performance metrics, milestones, and strategic initiatives.
• Serves as a board observer or liaison where applicable, representing the fund and supporting governance oversight.
• Mentors, Senior, Associate, and research assistant team members on diligence, modeling, and investment analysis.
• Represent JUVO at events and conferences 
• Oversee the gathering and execution of the impact report, as well as oversight of the global financial template.
• Guides strategic fund initiatives, collaborating with MD/SVP and other senior leadership to define priorities and objectives.
• Conducts advanced market research, competitive intelligence, and sector trend analysis to inform investment strategy.
• Oversees impact reporting and other post-investment analytics for assigned portfolio companies.
• Supports cross-functional projects across the fund, including operational efficiency, process improvement, and portfolio optimization.
• Leads or contributes to the development of business plans, funding strategies, and strategic recommendations for complex investments.
• Prepares executive-level presentations for the fund leadership, board, and external stakeholders.
• Builds strong relationships with founders, co-investors, and ecosystem partners to drive deal flow and portfolio value creation.
• Continuously identifies opportunities to innovate and improve fund processes, reporting, and investment frameworks.
• Performs other duties as assigned to ensure fund and portfolio success.
• Up to 15% travel required.

This job description includes a general representation of job requirements rather than a comprehensive inventory of all required responsibilities or work activities. The contents of this document or related job requirements may change at any time with or without notice.

Knowledge, Skill and Abilities:

• Exceptional deal sourcing and execution skills.
• Strong leadership, mentoring, and team management abilities.
• Ability to build and maintain external networks at senior levels.
• Advanced financial, strategic, and negotiation skills.
• High integrity, judgment, and business acumen
• Advanced expertise in handling structured, unstructured, and semi-structured data using R, Python, SQL, and other data tools.
• Proven ability to extract insights from large, complex datasets and public/open data sources, including social networking platforms.
• Deep knowledge of descriptive and inferential statistics; experienced in educational program evaluation, institutional research, and accreditation-related data analysis.
• Skilled in applying machine learning algorithms, including neural networks, decision trees, regression, factor analysis, association rules, and unsupervised learning methods.
• Competence in survey data analysis (frequencies, crosstabs, means) and qualitative research methods and best practices.
• Strong financial analysis and modeling abilities, including scenario modeling and interpreting market dynamics.

Job Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in business or finance from an accredited institution
• 7-10+ years of experience, specialized in finance, investment analysis and research or portfolio management
• Venture capital and/or private equity firm experience
• Proven proficiency in Microsoft Office products, especially Excel and VBA
• Experience in presenting to and interacting with audiences of all levels, especially senior executives 
• Current Chartered Financial Analyst license or equivalent
• 6 years of experience using an Enterprise Valuation Software such as Veritas, tracking at least $50 Million in investment valuation analysis
• Ability to work in the Salt Lake City, UT office up to 5 days per week based on business needs
• Travel up to 15% required

Preferred Qualifications:

• Operational experience in education
• Board observer experience preferred
• Working in portfolio management companies, both in equity and/or debt-focused
• Broad knowledge of project management

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Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at [email protected].

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.