Skills

Communication Go CRM Social Media Facilitation Organization Recruitment business development

Job Specifications

Role overview and purpose:

Reporting to the Chief Program Officer, the NEXT Canada Venture Manager (contract) is a public facing role and key contributor to the success of NEXT Canada’s programs. It is a 6 month contract commencing in April.

This role spans three critically important functions

Venture Support + Founder Success
Operations Support/Program Delivery
Recruitment

Specific responsibilities include:

Program Design and Delivery

Maintains a strong understanding of best in class standards
Provides suggestions for program improvements to CPO and shares information with team in Montreal
Provides cost analysis for any program enhancements
Helps with pitch practice sessions
Actively facilitates in person and virtual sessions within NEXT programs
Actively involved in program review and evaluation

Venture Support

Meets with NEXT Toronto 10-15 ventures at a regular cadence
evaluates and documents their progress
provides strategic, administrative and moral support
manages any performance issues
provides network referrals
suggests most outstanding ventures for Venture Reveal and Venture Day
Works directly with ventures to refine their pitch presentations
Ensures all venture information is compiled
Shares info for website
Support with evaluation metrics and reporting
Track milestone success for promotion via social media channels
Stays in contact with alumni ventures
maintains strong NEXT AI alumni outreach
encourages alumni to use NEXT resources
Provide referrals for alumni to potential investors or partners

Operations Support:

Provides support in the planning and execution of NEXT Canada events
Attends all events and provides hands on support
Assists with planning and set up
Support communication strategies (social media, public relations, etc.)
Carry out business development at internal and external program events to develop a network.
Maintains Airtable venture tracking database

Recruitment

Oversees the development and execution of a recruitment strategy that results in a solid pipeline of high quality NEXT candidates
Utilizes network to build a solid diverse pipeline of potential NEXT candidates
Collaborates with MTL team to capitalize on strengths of both teams
Attends recruiting events as a representative of all NEXT Canada programs
Evaluates applicants in the organization of recruitment events.
Strategizes on use of budget to best utilize paid campaigns or sponsorships
Conducts ecosystem mapping/scrapes for potential applicants
Reviews applications

Updates recruitment media kits
Other duties as may be assigned

Qualifications

2+ years of founder and/or startup operator experience is preferred
Demonstrated understanding of startup fundamentals, including product-market fit, go-to-market strategy, early traction, and fundraising readiness.
Experience working directly with founders/venture teams in a support, advisory, accelerator, incubator, or program-delivery capacity.
Excellent communication and facilitation skills (written and verbal), including comfort leading sessions, giving actionable feedback, and representing the organization publicly.
High execution and operations discipline, with ability to manage multiple priorities, maintain structured records/CRM systems, and deliver against timelines.

About the Company

NEXT Canada is a national non-profit dedicated to accelerating Canada’s most ambitious entrepreneurs and innovators. Founded in 2010 as The Next 36 by visionary business leaders and academics, NEXT Canada now delivers world-class, founder-focused programming through three streams: Next 36, Next Founders, and NextAI—with NextAI delivered in both Toronto and Montréal. Our mission is to develop exceptional talent, build globally competitive ventures, and drive technology adoption across industries—strengthening the foundations ... Know more