Program Manager

About Fresh

Fresh Ventures is a startup studio that builds ventures using systems thinking and ecosystem approach to address some of the most important challenges in our agrifood system. Our venture studio, where we build ventures from scratch, is preceded by a program of 30 individuals who over four months form teams and work towards early prototypes that address these challenges.

We are looking for someone who is mission-aligned and has a deep passion for agriculture and the food system, to work with us to run the Fresh Program. We are looking for a hands-on person with experience in program management who is keen to be at the helm of a program that generates mission-driven teams with early solutions in-hand. An ideal candidate is someone who is experienced with managing venture development programs or programs for change makers, is highly organised, and is able to combine the production side with the social & stakeholders side of the endeavour.

Responsibilities

1. Prepare and run Fresh’s 1-month online program and 13-weeks on-site program
2. Lead the end-to-end execution of the program (location, materials, workspaces, food, drinks, planning etc.)
3. Involve and manage a network of coaches & experts
4. Be the point of contact and main facilitator for the participants
5. Facilitate and support venture teams in the different phases of venture building
6. Organise weekly meetings and daily check-ins with the program team
7. Manage program interns who support you and program objectives
8. Work with the rest of the team to continuously develop and improve the program

Skills & qualifications

1. Experience in producing and managing high capacity, high intensity, complex programs
2. Execution oriented with ability to do hands-on operational project management whilst organising strategically
3. Extraverted people-person; comfortable with group facilitation and sensitive to stakeholder needs
4. Self-propelling and able to thrive within a fairly unstructured networked environment Comfortable with quick changes, tight deadlines and ambiguity
5. Strong personality, capable of standing your own ground within a context of strong willed founders and investors
6. Highly organised and structured - able to execute multiple processes simultaneously and with a close eye for detail
7. Excellent communication skills both written, interpersonal, and with larger groups
8. Nice to have:
   1. Experience with facilitating change makers, business model development and processes needed to build early stage companies
   2. Demonstrated history of supporting startups
   3. Network with the Dutch and European/ Global agrifood sector & transition movement

Languages: English (native level), Dutch (nice to have)

Passionate about

• Quality programming and the value bringing people together has towards an effective transition
• Making sure things happen on time and as planned – being pragmatic and tactical in solving week-to-week challenges
• Facilitating group development and learning - seeing a cohort succeed together as a group
• Supporting the success of entrepreneurial people that want to take the leap into starting a new, deep-impact venture
• Disrupting the agri-food system - going for systemic transformation as opposed to mere optimization
• Channeling more talent and other resources towards solving systemic challenges by tackling barriers to impact entrepreneurship

Practicalities

• Presence in the office is expected: 2-3 days pre- and post-program and 4-5 days during the program (mid-October to end of February)
• Ideally you live within commuting distance from Rotterdam to make the on-site part of the program manageable
• Starting date: July, 2024. Ideally a fade in period from July moving to a full time role from September
• Free-lance or contract can both be discussed

We offer

• Becoming part of a pioneering network of founders, systems change makers and the pioneers in the regenerative food system
• Steep learning curves on systemic venture building, regenerative food systems, personal transformation, team formation, impact driven financing & ownership models
• A truly unique opportunity to fuel promising solutions to really hard problems by helping people to find creative ways to address their root causes
• Be part of the vibrant office and the ecosystem of BlueCity in Rotterdam

Application Deadline

The final deadline for applications is midnight CET on June 28th, 2024. If you can, please get your applications in early, as we will review them on a rolling basis. Applicants must have the right to work in the European Union or an existing visa.