NextGen Program Coordinator

Next Gen at CERAWeek Program Coordinator Overview

CERAWeek by *** – the Global annual energy conference in Houston, Texas () – brings together global leaders to advance new ideas, insight and solutions to the biggest challenges facing the future of energy, the environment, and climate. CERAWeek is widely considered to be the most prestigious annual gathering of CEOs and Ministers from global energy and utilities, as well as automotive, manufacturing, policy and financial communities, along with a growing presence of tech.

It has been described by the Financial Times as the ‘the Davos of energy,’ and by Politico as the “industry’s Super Bowl.” CNBC called it “the world’s preeminent energy conference.” CERAWeek was rated one of the top five overall “corporate leader” conferences in the world.

The Innovation Agora is a special program held at CERAWeek that focuses on the great new wave of innovation and disruptive technology and its impact on the energy future. Participants and speakers are a group of remarkable leaders and innovators from technology and energy companies, start-ups, universities, investors, and governments. The Agora features a range of sessions and experiences designed to stimulate new thinking and to explore disruptive technologies, models of innovation, and investment strategies.

Sessions are dynamic and highly interactive, including dialogue and conversations with technologists, executives, and thought leaders, as well as presentations by entrepreneurs and innovators.

Next Gen at CERAWeek is a strategic initiative designed to enhance collaboration between academia and industry and to attract top talent to the energy sector. It offers a platform for corporations to showcase academic partnerships and engage with promising students toward its workforce development, while faculty from universities can present critical research that requires funding. In addition to its networking opportunities, Next Gen fosters private and public dialogue to advance purpose-driven research, connect students with employers, and convene senior officials to address the dual challenge of energy and climate.

As the ideal candidate, you have a background in event programming, production, and sponsorship coordination. Preferably, you are familiar with how universities function across departments, have familiarity with their technology incubators and ventures, and understand various funding vehicles. You are passionate about enabling a future workforce and finding solutions to energy and climate challenges.

The role will require collaborative work in a cross‑functional, matrix organization with professionals from the CERAWeek and Innovation Agora teams, as well as a broad network of senior executives, industry leaders, academic experts, and administrators.

You need to be comfortable working in an agile, fast‑paced, and deadline‑driven environment.

• Preferred bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, and communications, or related field
• Able to be in Houston, TX during CERAWeek and several days prior
• Preferred expertise in energy, technology, innovation, or academia
• Thrive in a highly demanding, creative environment
• Demonstrate strong client‑facing communication skills (written, oral and presentation)
• Robust project management and organization skills, able to multitask and adapt to meet deadlines
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.); familiar with cloud‑based event applications (, Airtable, Rain Focus)

• Creating a Next Gen program, informed by research and collaboration with key stakeholders and advisors, to promote industry‑academia partnerships and advancing talent and technology
• Developing Next Gen sessions in collaboration with CERAWeek team, inviting, confirming and managing speakers across Pods, Lyceums and other Next Gen formats
• Maintaining a database of speakers and presenters that showcase academic innovation and industrial‑academia partnership
• Coordinating partner nominations and aligning faculty research with funding opportunities
• Ensuring a seamless experience for Next Gen presenters and speakers with clear admin and onboarding for Next Gen participants
• Assisting with the flawless execution of Next Gen, and sufficient onsite staffing
• Collaborating with marketing and media teams to promote Next Gen participants and content