Pre-Associate Programme (H2 - Summer/Autumn 2026 Entry)

GCS

THE ROLE Note: this is not an open vacancy. If you are currently in your final year of study or have already graduated, please do not use this listing. Instead, apply directly to our Pre-Associate Programme (H1 or H2 intake, depending on your availability). This listing is for candidates who are interested in GCS but are not yet eligible to apply for our Pre-Associate Programme, typically those in the first or second year of an undergraduate degree, or those who will not be graduating within the next 12 months. By registering your interest here, you will be added to our future talent pipeline. When our Pre-Associate Programme opens and you meet the eligibility criteria, we will contact you directly. There is nothing further required from you once you have submitted your details for the Future Talent Network. THE CANDIDATE Am I eligible to register? You should use this listing if you: * Are currently studying for an undergraduate or postgraduate degree; * Are not graduating within the next 12 months, and; * Are interested in a career in strategy consulting and want GCS to consider you for the Pre-Associate Programme when the time comes. You should not use this listing if you are graduating this year or have already graduated. In that case, please apply directly to our Pre-Associate Programme.  Submitting a registration here in addition to a live Pre-Associate application may result in one or both applications being discarded. Who would be an ideal future candidate? We are looking to hear from people who are building toward the profile we hire into: intellectually curious, analytically strong, and genuinely motivated by the kind of work we do.  At the point you become eligible, we will be looking for: * A track record of academic excellence, including a bachelor's degree from a leading institution * Exceptional analytical ability * A collaborative and positive team mindset * Outstanding drive and intellectual curiosity * A genuine desire to build a long-term career in consulting. THE FIRM Why GCS? GCS is an award-winning strategy consultancy that supports entrepreneurial management teams and their investors at pivotal moments of the growth journey. We work with leading private equity firms and ambitious businesses, helping them build conviction, manage risk, and move further, faster.  Founded by experienced deal advisers, GCS has grown rapidly by combining analytical rigour with clarity of thought, and by delivering insight-led advice that stands up to real-world scrutiny. Our work spans commercial due diligence, customer value creation, strategic growth, and M&A strategy, giving our team broad exposure to high-impact questions across the investment cycle.   We are proud to be recognised as a top consulting firm in private equity, with 35% annual growth since inception, over £3bn in deal value supported, and multiple industry awards, including Commercial Due Diligence Provider of the Year 2024 at the Mergermarket British Private Equity Awards.  But what truly distinguishes GCS is our culture. We are a close-knit, ambitious team that invests deeply in people. You'll work side-by-side with senior colleagues, take early ownership, and receive structured development, mentorship, and continuous feedback.

Runna

We're putting together a talented team to build the #1 training platform for Runners We help everyday runners become outstanding by building an incredible app providing world-class training, coaching and community for everyone, whether you're improving your 5k time or training for your first marathon. We’re growing extremely fast! In November 2023 we closed a $6.5M funding round led by JamJar with participation from Eka Ventures, Venrex and Creator Ventures. In 2024, we were selected by Apple as one of three global finalists for the iPhone app of the year, reflecting the innovation and impact of what we’ve built & in 2025 we were acquired by Strava! Our ambition is huge: to become the go-to global leading training platform for millions of runners everywhere. We’re growing with purpose and looking for people who want to build something meaningful with lasting impact. With the recent acquisition by Strava accelerating our journey, now is a really magical time to join. 🚀 WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING We’re seeking an experienced, hands-on Senior Partnerships Associate to help maintain and scale Runna’s US race partnership programme/ one of our key growth areas. Based in New York City (3 days per week in-office), you’ll be responsible for managing and growing, and driving the end-to-end success of our race partnerships. This includes identifying and onboarding new races, optimising existing programmes, making data-led decisions, reporting on performance, and supporting ad-hoc brand activations around major race weekends AS A SENIOR PARTNERSHIPS ASSOCIATE, YOUR ROLE WILL INCLUDE: 1. Optimising and developing Runna’s existing race partnerships (US focus) 1. Lead the management of Runna’s existing race partners, particularly in the US, ensuring strong relationships and best-in-class execution across the full race journey (pre-race, race weekend, and post-race). 2. Continuously test, analyse, and optimise race partnerships using data and insights, reporting on performance, identifying trends, and making clear, data-led decisions to improve engagement, conversion, and runner experience. 3. Collaborate with race and brand partners to refine content, communications, and value propositions, ensuring they remain relevant, compelling, and effective. 4. Work cross-functionally with internal teams (Product, Marketing, Content) to align race partnerships with launches, seasonal moments, and broader brand initiatives. 5. Keep partners informed on product updates and new features, clearly articulating how these improve outcomes for both partners and their runners. 2. Growing Runna’s race partnership programme 1. Proactively identify, evaluate, and secure new race partnerships across our US market, with a strong focus on selecting the right races that align with Runna’s growth and brand strategy. You’ll fully own race selection - identifying standout opportunities, prioritising them, and bringing them live as official Runna training partnerships. 2. Manage the end-to-end lifecycle of race partnerships: from discovery and negotiation, through onboarding, launch, day-to-day management, optimisation, and renewal. 3. Act as the primary owner of race performance, ensuring races are optimised on an ongoing basis, refining positioning, messaging, and execution to drive runner engagement and commercial impact. 4. Work closely with local, in-market contacts to support localisation and deepen understanding of regional race calendars, runner behaviour, and competitive landscapes. 3. Managing, scaling, and supporting the wider partnerships function 1. Set clear priorities, processes, and ways of working to ensure the race partnership function operates efficiently and delivers consistently high-quality outcomes. 2. Support the wider Brand Partnerships team on an ad-hoc basis, particularly around major race weekends — helping bring partnerships to life through on-the-ground activations, content, and experiences. 3. Support additional areas within the Partnerships team (e.g. B2B initiatives), contributing to new channel testing, experimentation, and scaling high-potential opportunities. 4. As part of a small, fast-moving team, occasionally jump in to support other areas of the business where needed, including working with ambassadors, events, or contributing to product initiatives where partnerships play a role. WHAT YOU’LL BRING TO THE TEAM: * 2–3 years’ experience in partnerships, sponsorship, or race/events management, ideally in running or endurance sports. * Experience in Account Management / Project Management or other equivalent * Data-driven, using insights to optimise partnerships and make informed decisions. * End-to-end partnership ownership: identifying, onboarding, and optimising races. * Day to day management of current partners to ensure they are driving maximum returns, they are a happy Runna partner and they are delivering on all contractural assets. * NYC based proactive, and highly organised, able to manage multiple priorities and partners. * Comfortable with CRM and project management tools (e.g., Hubspot, Asana or equivalent). * Collaborative and adaptable, supporting ad-hoc brand or race activations as needed. BONUS POINTS IF YOU HAVE: * Experience within the running / endurance space Compensation Overview & Benefits: We’re offering a salary of $95,000 - $105,000 per year, depending on experience, plus participation in Strava's long-term incentive (stock) programs. Overview of our benefits are below: We’re also committed to continually evolving our benefits to support you as we grow. Here is a brief overview what we currently offer in the USA 🇺🇸 1. 🏢 Flexible working – we typically spend 3 days a week together in the office. 2. 🏝️ 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays (which you can take whenever suits you) 3. 📱Free Runna & Strava subscriptions for you and 3 of your friends (get ready to be your friends fave person or save them for holiday presents!) 4. 🧘 Headspace membership 5. 💸 Money every year to spend on gear, events and the gym! 6. 🏥 Health insurance (including Dental and Vision) and workplace 401K scheme. 7. 💖Modern Health is a mental wellness platform and app that combines technology with professional support to improve mental well-being and reduce stress 8. 🥕Carrot fertility support - this benefits provider can provide inclusive fertility, hormonal health, and family-forming benefits to our global employee population and takes the burden off what we know can be a stressful process. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do to better accommodate you throughout the interview process - this can be from scheduling interviews around childcare commitments to accessibility requirements. We want you to show your best self in the process, so please speak to your Talent Partner!

JUNI (UNITE gGmbH)

ÜBER JUNI JUNI baut das führende Startup-Ökosystem für wissenschaftsbasierte Ausgründungen in Berlin und Brandenburg. Wir vernetzen Hochschulen, Startups, Unternehmen, Investoren und Politik und entwickeln Programme, Partnerships und Innovationsräume, die Forschung in erfolgreiche Unternehmen übersetzen. Mit dem Wachstum unserer Organisation und unseres Offerings für Talente und Startups suchen wir eine:n Program Manager Venture Enablement (m/w/d), der/die das inhaltliche Unterstützungsangebot für universitäre Ausgründungen auf das nächste Level hebt. Die Rolle verbindet die konzeptionelle Entwicklung übergreifender Programme mit der kontinuierlichen operativen Umsetzung und der inhaltlichen Begleitung von Gründerteams insbesondere in Fragen der Finanzierungsfähigkeit und Marktzugang. DEINE AUFGABEN Du verantwortest die Konzeption, Weiterentwicklung und Umsetzung unseres inhaltlichen Angebots für Startups aus den Gründungszentren der JUNI Wissenschaftspartnern. Dabei arbeitest du eng mit den Programmmanagern Talent und Acceleration zusammen. Deine Rolle kombiniert strategische Angebotsentwicklung mit starker operativer Umsetzung. Da die reine institutionelle Beziehungspflege (Key Accounting) zu den Gründungszentren bei unserer Wissenschaftskoordinatorin liegt, kannst du dich voll auf die Inhalte, die Formate und den Mehrwert für die Startups konzentrieren. * Bedarfsanalyse & Programmgestaltung: Enger Austausch mit den Gründungszentren der Hochschulen und Forschungseinrichtungen zur Bedarfsanalyse sowie die Konzeption, kontinuierliche Weiterentwicklung und operative Durchführung skalierbarer Support-Formate mit Unterstützung von Partnern aus dem internen und externen JUNI Netzwerk (VC Office Hours, Legal Consulting, Corporate Insight Sessions und Startup Challenges). * Investment Readiness: Qualitative Bewertung des kommerziellen Potenzials von Deep-Tech-Technologien aus der kritischen Perspektive eines Frühphasen-Investors für ideales Matching. * Pitch- & Fundraising-Vorbereitung: Nach Bedarf, strukturelles Fit-Machen der Gründerinnen und Gründer für die Anforderungen des Venture-Capital-Marktes, inklusive der Optimierung von Pitch-Unterlagen und der gezielten Vorbereitung auf die erste Finanzierungsrunde. * Marktanalyse und Customer Readiness: Koordinierung von marktnahen Formaten, um Startups Zugang zu frühem Feedback bezüglich Umsetzbarkeit zu ermöglichen. Bei Bedarf, Konkretisierung der zu adressierenden Fragestellung.  * Schnittstellen & formatübergreifende Expertise: Nahtlose Weitervermittlung vielversprechender Startups in unsere nachgelagerten Acceleration-Pipelines sowie der gezielte, formatübergreifende Einsatz deines know-hows in den JUNI Talent- und Acceleration-Programmen. * Help Desk für Startups aus dem Netzwerk: Ansprechperson für Startups aus dem Netzwerk, um sie entweder in bestehende Formate einzubeziehen oder Orientierung bei Einzelfällen zu geben (mit JUNI Team). Sofern zielführend, können neue Formate oder Partnerkanäle konkretisiert oder digitale Self-Help-Kanäle etabliert werden. DEIN PROFIL * Mehrjährige relevante Berufserfahrung (ca. 2–3 Jahre), idealerweise als VC Analyst / Associate, Venture Builder oder Program Manager in einem transaktionsorientierten Inkubator/Accelerator * Tiefes Verständnis für die Frühphasen-Finanzierung von Startups und die Erwartungshaltung von Pre-Seed- und Seed-Investoren (Wandeldarlehen, Cap-Tables etc.) * Starke Fähigkeiten in der Konzeption und Durchführung von skalierbaren und praxisnahen Startup-Programmen, Einzel- und Gruppenformaten und interaktiven Workshops * Hohe Macher-Mentalität mit ausgeprägter operativer Umsetzungsstärke und starkem Organisationstalent  * Fähigkeit, komplexe wirtschaftliche Sachverhalte schnell zu durchdringen und zielgruppengerecht für akademische Gründer:innen zu übersetzen * Hohe Eigenständigkeit, Zuverlässigkeit und Freude an der Arbeit in einem dynamischen Team * Fließende Deutsch- und Englischkenntnisse in Wort und Schrift WIR BIETEN * Eine Schlüsselrolle bei der inhaltlichen Gestaltung eines der ambitioniertesten Startup-Ökosysteme Europas * Volle Ownership und Gestaltungsspielraum bei der Entwicklung und dem Ausrollen von Kern-Programmen * Ein fokussiertes Arbeitsumfeld, in dem du dich ganz auf die Value Creation für Startups konzentrieren kannst * Ein dynamisches Umfeld zwischen Startup, Wissenschaft, Investoren und Wirtschaft * Moderne Arbeitsumgebung in zentraler Lage in Berlin * Eine Vergütung, die Erfahrung und Verantwortung widerspiegelt