Program and Experience Design Manager - Manchester, UK

Are you ready to be at the heart of Manchester's innovation scene? Venture Café Manchester is on the lookout for a passionate Program and Experience Design Manager to lead our flagship Thursday Gathering and other groundbreaking initiatives. Join us in creating a dynamic and inclusive community where innovators connect, collaborate, and drive change. If you're excited about making a real impact and fostering a vibrant ecosystem, you belong at Venture Café Manchester!

ABOUT VENTURE CAFÉ GLOBAL INSTITUTE (VCGI) & VENTURE CAFÉ MANCHESTER

Venture Café Global Institute (VCGI) began in 2009 within the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) in Massachusetts, aiming to connect people, ideas, and resources globally. Today, it has grown into a worldwide movement, facilitating over 750,000 connections among innovators, creatives, and leaders across cities like Boston, Berlin, and Tokyo. VCGI's mission is to drive global change by building a community of communities focused on solving humankind’s biggest challenges.

Your day-to-day work will involve:

• Curating and managing the weekly collaboration event, the Thursday Gathering, which attracts 200-500 people per week.
• Managing and growing a pipeline of community organizations and partners to offer high-quality content based on monthly themes.
• Designing thoughtful, high-quality experiences for attendees.
• Launching programs that help build a more inclusive innovation economy.
• Working with the Venture Café Director to build the Venture Café Manchester brand.
• Researching and developing innovative formats for delivering content.
• Building an effective communications infrastructure for Venture Café Manchester.
• Managing all event logistics and tracking metrics.
• Balancing work in the team office with being visible and engaged within the local innovation community.

ABOUT YOU

You have been involved in innovation, the arts and/or entrepreneurship initiatives, preferably in a founding, leadership, or advocacy role. You believe that innovation and entrepreneurship are instruments to improve the human condition. You are familiar with the Manchester community and its innovation community, its key players, and believe in its potential for growth.

YOU HAVE:

• A bachelor’s degree in any field; advanced degrees add significant value.
• Experience with event envisioning, curation, planning, and implementation.
• Knowledge of Manchester’s innovation community, key influencers, networks, and organizations.
• Excellent organizational, project, and task management skills.
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills.
• Natural comfort with public speaking.
• Familiarity with social media channels.
• Willingness for domestic and international travel as needed.

OUR OFFER

• Competitive salary, commensurate with experience.
• 25 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays.
• Supplemental medical and dental insurance.
• £200 Monthly Commuter Allowance.
• Hybrid work model – three days per week in the office, with Thursdays required as a core in-office day.

ATTRACTIONS OF THE JOB

In addition to helping to make the world a better place, we work to ensure each talented team member feels nurtured by many benefits. You’ll join a team of driven and bright collaborators who are eager to lend their unique skills to building our inspiring community.

Venture Café is committed to building teams that reflect the fabric of the cities we support. We welcome all candidates regardless of race, color, ancestry, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, Veteran status, or any other legally protected status.