Program Associate for Climate Entrepreneurship

About the Role

The Program Associate for Climate Entrepreneurship at Client Innovation Labs plays a vital role in supporting various initiatives designed to empower emerging ventures focused on combating climate change. This position demands excellent organizational capabilities, expertise in program management, and a dedicated passion for sustainability advancement.

Client Innovation Labs nurtures an innovation ecosystem at Client University, connecting entrepreneurial leaders and innovators across its three labs: Student i-lab, Alumni Launch Lab, and Pagliuca Client Life Lab for biotech and life sciences startups associated with students, alumni, faculty, and postdoctoral scholars.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee the annual schedule and timeline for climate entrepreneurship programs, ensuring all deadlines and important milestones are adhered to.
• Lead or collaborate on recruitment processes, application evaluation, participant onboarding, and seamless execution of program events.
• Manage the review process for applications to the Climate Circle Accelerator and the "How to Create a Climate Venture" course, coordinating with internal and external partners to maintain fair and efficient selection methods.
• Plan and deliver events such as workshops, orientations, pitch days, showcases, and related program activities, ensuring top-quality participant experiences.
• Handle logistics including event registrations, guest speaker coordination, preparation of materials, session recordings, and subsequent communications.
• Partner with program, operations, and communication teams to establish best practices and standard operating procedures while utilizing existing systems effectively.
• Assist with the non-credit course "How to Create a Climate Venture," ensuring participant preparedness, supporting class logistics, managing materials, facilitating activities, and coordinating guest speakers and group office hours.
• Maintain accurate program data and records for reporting and evaluation in collaboration with the Technology and Data Management team, integrating information with the CRM system and tracking participant progress.
• Update and manage venture resource guides and toolkits with current climate entrepreneurship insights.
• Collaborate with marketing and communications to create press opportunities for ventures, manage annual cadences aligned with climate events, and produce climate-focused newsletters highlighting venture successes.
• Work cross-functionally with marketing, operations, IT, and other teams to meet program objectives, coordinate milestones, and prepare memos and presentations for internal and external partnerships.
• Engage with the Climate HIL team and broader networks to identify gaps, recruit and onboard climate experts, and support ecosystem partners including funders, accelerators, legal experts, and others by implementing tracking and engagement systems.
• Monitor relevant climate stakeholders such as accelerators, policy groups, and entrepreneurship partners to foster consistent collaboration, and assist Climate Innovation Fellows to enhance team efforts.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant area or comparable experience.
• Over five years' professional experience in program or operations management, preferably related to climate initiatives or entrepreneurship.
• Exceptional ability to organize and juggle multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Proven experience managing cohorts, programs, and events efficiently.
• Strong skills in stakeholder engagement and relationship management.
• Excellent communication proficiency, both written and verbal.
• Advanced use of spreadsheets, data collection techniques, task management software, and related management tools.
• A dedicated passion for climate change solutions and supporting innovative entrepreneurial ventures.