About MaRS

MaRS Discovery District (@MaRSDD) in Toronto is one of the worlds largest urban innovation hubs.

MaRS supports promising high-growth companies to scale their businesses globally, while tackling key societal challenges in areas such as Health, Cleantech, Finance, Transportation, AI, and others. In addition to helping start-ups launch, grow and scale, the MaRS community is dedicated to cross-disciplinary collaboration, commercialization of discoveries, and driving ideas to impact.

MaRS is the place where you can play ameaningful role in our innovation economy.

We understand qualifications on a job posting can be daunting. If you're passionate about the role and believe you can make a meaningful impact, we want to hear from you, even if you don't meet every listed qualification. Were always looking for great talent to join our team on planet MaRS.

We actively encourage all candidates, including equity-deserving communities, including those who identify as BIPOC, racialized, women, people with disabilities, and people with diverse gender identities, expressions and sexual orientations.

We want you to be comfortable being your most authentic self throughout our recruitment process. Please reach out to [email protected] if theres anything we can do to make your experience more accessible and inclusive, including accommodations. Include 'Accessibility Request' in your subject line.

About Ventures & Ecosystems

This role resides within the V&E group at MaRS. V&E works with over 1400 innovation-driven science and technology startups. V&E helps entrepreneurs commercialize innovations with high business growth potential in Canada and globally by facilitating access to the customer, talent, funding, marketing and stakeholder connections required to successfully scale their business.

About the Position

As a member of the Climate team, the Associate, Climate Programs will provide logistical and administrative support to the delivery activities of our Mission from MaRS programming. Reporting to the Manager, Climate Programs, this role will be responsible for the day to day coordination and execution of the Food & Ag Tech coalition and venture cohort programs.

This is a 1-year contract.

Key Responsibilities

Coalition Delivery (30%)

• Support the Manager, Climate Programs with the coordination and execution of coalition meetings, including agenda development, presentation preparation, attendee management, and logistics.
• Take detailed meeting notes, synthesize key points post-meeting (minutes), and manage follow-ups with coalition members as needed.
• Prepare recruitment and onboarding materials for new coalition members.
• Assist in surveying coalition members and collecting participation metrics for reporting purposes.
• Respond to inquiries from coalition members, providing timely and accurate information.
  

Venture Cohort Delivery (50%)

• Conduct research related to each cohort theme, including scanning the venture portfolio for relevant participants.
• Develop materials for outreach, recruitment, onboarding, and offboarding of cohort ventures.
• Coordinate the cohort review and selection process, including the creation of scoring rubrics and support for recruiting review committee members.
• Assist in designing cohort programming (e.g., workshops, guest speakers, events) and coordinate scheduling with participants.
• Draft and distribute external program communications; collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to gather and curate relevant content for the cohort.
• Provide administrative and logistical support for the delivery of cohort activities.
• Support internal and external reporting on cohort delivery and impact.
• Liaise with other MaRS teams (e.g., CI, Communications, Real Estate, Venture Engagement) to ensure smooth program delivery.
• Create, activate, and manage the cohorts Circle community platform.
• Conduct venture needs assessments and establish a regular check-in schedule with cohort participants.
• Lead coordination of demo days, investor showcases, and other venture-facing events.
• Contribute to thought leadership efforts by supporting storytelling initiatives with the marcom team and participating in relevant industry events and conferences.
• Maintain and update the Mission web page with current program and cohort information.
  

Program Administration (both coalition and cohorts) (20%)

• Support relationship management with ventures, coalition members, and partners to ensure the delivery of high-quality and high-value services.
• Maintain program standards and organization, capture opportunities for continuous improvement, and utilize appropriate project management and communication tools.
• Collaborate across the team to manage timelines and deliverables using a program management framework.
• Track and monitor key program metrics (e.g., delivery and impact) using data tools such as Salesforce; ensure timely and accurate reporting.
• Share insights and learnings from across the Climate team; actively contribute to brainstorming and idea generation sessions.
• Provide ad hoc support to team members and contribute to the delivery of other Mission-related projects as they arise.
  

Qualifications

• Undergraduate/Bachelors degree or relevant experience
• Graduate-level university degree with areas of focus that include agriculture, business, finance, science, technology and/or environment an asset
• 1+ years in a business and/or technology related field with some experience supporting organizations in the food and agriculture sector.
  
• Project management experience and related skillsets
• Strong analytical and organizational skills
• Strong critical and strategic thinker, planner and organizer
• Brings a strong understanding of the food and agriculture sector in Canada through an innovation lens.
• Experience in working with multiple stakeholders, clients, colleagues in a fast-paced business environment.
• Superior organizational skills: ability to self-start.
• Ability to problem solve and identify engagement pathways that satisfy organization and partner objectives
• Personal accountability and commitment to achieving and exceeding goals and objective
  

Applications will close at 5pm EDT on April 22, 2025.

Applicants must be legally eligible to work in Canada and reside in Ontario.

Salary Range: $50,000 - $65,000, extended healthcare benefits, lifestyle spending account, and paid time-off.

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