Venture Associate

We are looking for commercially-driven agile-minded individuals to join us on our mission to create a zero carbon zero bill zero friction future for our customers. Our internal venture studio is where we turn groundbreaking ideas into reality shaping a sustainable energy future.

We are seeking a Venture Associate who wants to learn how to build businesses from the ground up translating ideas into real world solutions to help real world people by designing practical solutions and acting as the connection between multi-functional workstreams to accelerate progress and mitigate risks.

This role is focused on supporting the development of new ventures. Working closely with our Entrepreneurs in Residence (EiRs) youll contribute to validating ideas building solutions and scaling new ventures while collaborating with cross-functional teams to turn innovative ideas into practical outcomes for our customers.

Heres a taste of what youll be doing:

• Customer Discovery & Validation: Support market and customer research conduct customer interviews and synthesise feedback to identify real pain points and validate early-stage business hypotheses.

• Venture Execution: Design and run rapid growth experiments test landing pages and analyse performance data to help the venture pivot or persevere. You will focus on how we can optimise efficiency today to create scalable frameworks for tomorrow.

• Venture Operations & Hygiene: Take ownership of the startups operational pulse. This includes keeping project management tools (like Jira Asana or Confluence) tidy and ensuring tasks risks and milestones are accurately logged and tracked. The ever-changing nature of the Growth Studio means we need someone who is highly adaptive and can take both a practical and a creative approach to managing multiple evolving workstreams.

• Financial & Budget Tracking: Assist in monitoring the ventures financial runway managing budgets and keeping spend organised so the venture operates lean and efficiently. You will be taking over some of the messy behind-the-scenes operational logistics to ensure high support and low friction so the team can maintain momentum.

• Commercial Strategy: Support the EiR in building financial models defining go-to-market strategies and mapping out the Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

• Investment Readiness: Assist the EIR in gathering data shaping the business case and organising documentation ahead of crucial investment committee pitches.

• Operational Agility: Act as the commercial co-pilot to the EiR navigating the corporate landscape to unblock the team and keep the venture moving at startup speed. We operate in a fast-moving market where fluidity is our strength and we want to preserve that dynamic environment. Your goal is to have a finger on the pulse of that environment and to absorb some of the background logistics and tracking so the team maintains clarity on priorities and does not lose velocity.

Are we the perfect match:

• Commercial Foundation: Experience supporting commercial strategy consulting innovation or business transformation projects or equivalent transferable experience.

• Exceptional Communication: You have strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to explain complex concepts in a clear and accessible way to team members stakeholders and customers

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills: You can dissect a business model interpret market data and turn complex information into actionable insights.

• Experience with lean startup methodologies: You understand that plans change quickly in a venture. You are comfortable with ambiguity testing assumptions and failing fast to learn quicker.

• A self-starter: You have a bias for action and a relentless focus on keeping the team moving forward and an ability to learn quickly on the go.

It would be great if you had:

• Experience in the energy sector or navigating the processes of a large corporate environment.

• Supported an EIR founder or project team in an incubator accelerator or early-stage startup.

• A track record of launching a side hustle entrepreneurial project or taking a new product to market.

• Proficiency in presentation and communication tools (e.g. PowerPoint and Outlook) alongside PMO and collaboration tools (e.g. Jira Confluence Asana or SAP).

We encourage you to apply if you have a passion for building disruptive solutions and shaping the future of innovation!

Heres what else you need to know

• Role may close earlier due to high applications.

• Please note that a cover letter is required as part of your application. Applications submitted without one will not be progressed.

• Fixed term contract length - 12 months

• Competitive salary

• Location London Solihull or Nottinghamwith travel to our other sites when required.

• Excellent parental leave allowance.

• Award-Winning Workplace- Were proud to be named aSunday Times Best Place to Work 2025and theBest Place to Work for 1634-year-olds

• Outstanding Benefits- Enjoy 26 days of annual leave plus bank holidays a generous pension life cover bonus opportunities and access to 20 flexible benefits with tax/NI savings

• Flexible & Family-Friendly- Our industry-leading hybrid and family-friendly policies earned us double recognition at thePersonnel Today Awards 2024. Were open to discussing how flexibility can work for you

• Inclusive & Diverse- Were the only energy company in theInclusive Top 50 UK Employers. Were also proud winners ofBest Employer for WomenandHuman Company of the Yearrecognisingour inclusive people-first culture

• Support at Every Stage of Life- WereFertility FriendlyandMenopause Friendlyaccredited with inclusive support for everyone

• Accessible & Supportive-Do you consider yourself as having a disability As a Disability Confident Employer we guarantee interviews for disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the roleand will make any adjustments needed during the process

• Invested in Your Growth- From inclusive talent networks to top-tier developmentprogrammes well support your growth every step of the way

• For all successful candidates.Due to the nature of this role your employment will be subject to a basic DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) check being carried out by ourselves via a 3rd party service provider

• Any questions on the role -please reach out to

• At Next our customers are our number 1 priority! AllNexties- including our executive team - regularly directly support customers so we stay close to their needs and make better decisions that deliver the best experience.