Manager, Climate Entrepreneurship Programs, Harvard Innovation Labs

Harvard University • Boston, MA

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Manager, Climate Entrepreneurship Programs at the Harvard Innovation Labs manages and supports programs that empower emerging climate-focused ventures, including the Climate Circle Accelerator, the “How to Create a Climate Venture” ideation bootcamp, the student i-lab climate cohort, and future climate programming. The role translates annual programming plans into schedules and events, manages cohort operations, evaluates program outcomes, and coordinates logistics across applications, recruitment, events, communications, data, referrals, and venture resources. The position reports to the Senior Advisor, Social Impact + Climate.

The manager works closely with climate advisors and teams across the i-lab, including Member Experience, Marketing and Communications, Operations, Technology and Data Management, and Venture Acceleration. The role also coordinates with Harvard and external stakeholders, supports climate venture connections, and builds the operational infrastructure for pilots of new climate programs. The position is hybrid, combining remote and onsite work at Harvard’s Boston campus, with staff expected onsite at least three days per week. It is approved for a two-year term, with the possibility of renewal or extension, and is scheduled for 40 hours per week.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent experience.
• At least 5 years of experience in operations or program management, ideally in climate, entrepreneurship, or a related field.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Experience managing cohorts, programs, and events.
• Strong stakeholder management experience and demonstrated relationship judgment.
• Ability to work effectively in a complex, decentralized organization and build trust and influence across internal and external teams and institutions without direct authority.
• Ability to read organizational dynamics accurately.
• Experience coordinating other people’s relationship management, including tracking relationship ownership, preparing colleagues for external conversations, and ensuring consistent, non-duplicative follow-through.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency in spreadsheets, data collection and management tools, and task management software.
• Passion for climate change solutions and commitment to supporting innovative entrepreneurs.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working in or with startups, incubator or accelerator programs, or startup funders.
• Background in climate, sustainability, or a related discipline.
• Experience in a university, foundation, government, or other multi-stakeholder institution where work advances through coalition-building.
• Experience using new technology tools, including AI.
• Experience designing or launching a new program, cohort, or funding process from scratch.
• Familiarity with project management tools and platforms.
• Demonstrated sound judgment in stakeholder management.
• Experience navigating a large ecosystem and developing credibility within it.

Responsibilities

• Support annual climate programming vision and planning, translating plans into scheduled sessions and events.
• Manage the annual climate programming calendar and cadence, ensuring milestones and deadlines are met.
• Oversee administrative processes and day-to-day cohort operations for the student i-lab climate cohort, Climate Circle Accelerator, and climate ideation bootcamp, including communications, content, calendars, and events.
• Work with the broader team to define, collect, and evaluate program outcome measures and recommend improvements based on data.
• Organize and execute events, workshops, orientations, pitch days, showcases, and other program activities; manage registrations, speakers, materials, staffing, recordings, follow-up communications, and feedback.
• Work with program, operations, and communications teams to develop best practices and standard operating procedures and use existing systems.
• Manage the Climate Circle Accelerator application process, including application design, interview scheduling, acceptance-decision tracking, and applicant communications.
• Manage Climate Circle Accelerator recruitment, application vetting, participant orientation, the in-person summit, and year-round program events; collaborate with Marketing on targeted outreach.
• Support accelerator events and venture programming, including orientation, summit, workshops, virtual showcases, pitch preparation, and the President’s Innovation Challenge, in collaboration with the Venture Acceleration team.
• Keep climate entrepreneurship venture resource guides and toolkits current.
• Lead recruitment, vetting, administration, online engagement, and follow-up for the “How to Create a Climate Venture” bootcamp.
• Prepare bootcamp participants with materials, calendar invitations, and virtual access; support class delivery, logistics, materials, and activities.
• Facilitate participant group chats and meetups, help participants navigate supplemental tools and resources, schedule guest speakers, and share speaker information and tools on the course platform.
• Facilitate group office hours, support recorded asynchronous content, and help prepare additional formats and follow-on climate entrepreneurship teaching content.
• Coordinate advisors’ sourcing of climate experts and funders and related intake calls, preparing relationship owners and ensuring follow-up.
• Support curation of venture connections and referrals led by the climate advising team.
• Manage the regular cadence of venture referrals and outcome tracking, ensuring introductions, recommendations, and curated opportunity lists are sent on schedule and gathering lessons from outcomes.
• Use i-lab technology and AI tools to keep information current and connected for tracking events, participant progress, referrals, ecosystem connections, and outcomes.
• Collect and manage program and contact data for reporting and evaluation; partner with Technology and Data Management to integrate data into the CRM system.
• Maintain application and program updates and underlying data across program cycles.
• Work with Marketing and Communications to identify founders or venture teams to feature; draft and distribute climate-focused newsletters and coordinate contributions.
• Respond to outreach to the i-lab Climate inbox, involve other decision makers as needed, and create scalable systems for recurring questions.
• Oversee the on-demand content library, including editing, permissions, and sharing recordings and materials with appropriate audiences.
• Support website refreshes for climate programs and climate news and stories.
• Coordinate with internal departments to execute program goals, identify internal deadlines and coordinators for milestones, and represent climate cohort needs in cross-team planning.
• Attend internal i-lab meetings on behalf of the climate team and communicate decisions back to the team.
• Draft and refine memos, presentations, and reports for climate-related collaborations within Harvard and with external stakeholders.
• Build operational infrastructure for pilot climate venture programs with climate advisors, Member Experience, and internal stakeholders, using existing or new tools.
• Run pilots of new climate programming, evaluate them against goals, and develop options for continuation.
• Build trust and collaboration through an onsite presence and direct engagement with colleagues and constituents.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Generous paid time off, including parental leave.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage starting on day one.
• Retirement plans with university contributions.
• Wellbeing and mental health resources.
• Support for families and caregivers.
• Professional development opportunities, including tuition assistance and reimbursement.
• Commuter benefits, discounts, and campus perks.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager