Program & Experience Design Manager Venture Café, London - UK

Are you ready to be at the heart of London's innovation scene? Venture Café London 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 London!

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

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.

Venture Café London will launch in Q2 2025 alongside strategic partner ARIA. Venture Café London partners with companies and organizations that are evolving business, education, technology, social justice, science and the arts within London and beyond. Our flagship Thursday Gathering convenes hundreds of creative, resourceful people who are just as invested in improving life on this planet as you are.

YOUR DAY-TO-DAY WORK

The primary vehicle to engage the region’s innovation community is the weekly collaboration event, the Thursday Gathering, which attracts 200-500 people per week at each location. You will be responsible for curating and managing this event that regularly convenes members of the innovation community in an inclusive and open way. This event strives to complement and amplify, not substitute or compete, with other existing innovation community gatherings in London. 

Venture Café includes an informal social gathering to create opportunities for serendipitous encounters as well as structured conversations and educational sessions (live performances, panels, info sessions, demotables, etc.). You will manage and grow a pipeline of community organizations and partners to offer high-quality content based on monthly themes. Your primary role is to be the “chief curator” in order to design thoughtful, high-quality experiences for attendees. Your work may also include working with members of the broader community to organize regular and special events.

A cornerstone of Venture Café London will be to launch the Thursday Gathering and other programs that will help build a more inclusive innovation economy - inclusive of all types of industries and people. You will be responsible for the creation and implementation of programming that reaches into the area’s underserved communities. 

As you work to operate these programs in London you will be expected to:

•Work in tandem with Venture Café Director to build the Venture Café London brand and position it as a neutral, valuable player that complements existing initiatives.

•Advance the mission of Venture Café London which is to enhance and grow London’s innovation community by working to make it more diverse, inclusive, accessible and better connected.

•Share learnings in London with the broader Venture Café Global Network and community.

•Research and develop innovative formats for delivering content and creating connection opportunities within the weekly event forum to maximize engagement. 

•Build an effective communications infrastructure for Venture Café London, including website, social media channels (particularly Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.) and mailing lists.

•Build and manage a volunteer corps that will help the day-to-day operations of the programs, particularly of the Venture Café Thursday Gathering.

•Manage all event logistics.

•Track metrics (i.e. marketing, attendance, quality, value, etc.) and submit a monthly report to the Venture Café Director.

•Identify key individuals and community organizations and partner with them to build a strong weekly program. You are not expected to reinvent the wheel - you’re expected to leverage and raise up what’s already happening in the city’s innovation community.

•Balance work in the team office with being visible and engaged within the local innovation community, including attending events, meeting people, and building meaningful relationships.

•Be an advocate and spokesperson for London’s innovation and entrepreneurship communities. Convene and connect individuals and organizations that should know each other and potentially collaborate.

•Manage and/or facilitate other Venture Café London programs and projects as needed

Collaborate with the ARIA team to ensure weekly events are mutually beneficial.

Venture Café London will look, feel, and operate like a startup. There will be a lot of uncertainty and ambiguity much of the time and no work will be beneath you (on the same day you may print name tags, move furniture, and have dinner with the CEO of a global company). This environment also creates great opportunities to be creative and to envision new projects that will take Venture Café London’s mission, and particularly its impact in London, to the next level. We believe in experiments as a way of learning.

ABOUT YOU

•You have been involved in innovation, the arts and/or entrepreneurship initiatives, preferably in a founding, leadership, or advocacy role and have an understanding of the innovation process.

•You believe that innovation and entrepreneurship are instruments to improve the human condition, not ends themselves, and that innovation and entrepreneurship take many forms beyond making apps and creating VC-funded startups.

•You are familiar with the London community overall, as well as its innovation community, its key players, and believe in its potential for growth. An extensive social network in this community is desirable, as well as the ability to build local partnerships.

•You understand London’s most pressing challenges and embrace them as opportunities for change and problem-solving.

YOU HAVE

•A bachelor’s degree in any field. Advanced degrees add significant value.

•Experience with event envisioning, curation, planning, and implementation.

•Availability to work at the weekly Venture Café Thursday Gathering from 2-10pm.

•Knowledge of London’s innovation community, key influencers, networks and organizations.

•English language proficiency.

•Excellent organizational, project, and task management skills.

•Great hospitality skills – able to keep community members engaged and happy even while resolving problems. Be able to enforce the Venture Café credo/guidelines in a friendly but firm fashion.

•Outstanding written and oral communication skills and an excellent listener. Natural comfort with public speaking, in formal and informal settings, is key.

•Ability to communicate and collaborate across sectors and silos. A diplomatic and consensus-oriented approach to decision-making.

•An appreciation for the role of design and aesthetics in creating better communication tools, spaces, products, and services. Attention to detail, understanding that form is as important as function.

•Familiarity with social media channels and ability to leverage them as part of your work.

•Global outlook with local roots and commitment.

•Clear views and positions without being dogmatic. Not a “yes-person”.

•Strong relationship with technology. Familiarity with Google Apps and WordPress, a big plus. 

•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

•Life insurance

•Business Travel Insurance

•Payment Protection

•Employee Assistance Program

•Hybrid work model – You will work 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, here are just a few:

• You’ll join a team of driven and bright collaborators who are eager to lend their own unique skills to building our inspiring community. 

• Learn and develop skills within the epicenter of the innovation community within a growing global network.

• Travel to Venture Café locations across the globe.

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. Any other human expressions and experiences not mentioned here are equally welcome. If you require an accommodation please let us know. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.