Venture Acceleration Manager 

A day in the life of an imec.istart Venture Acceleration Manager...

You kick off your morning with a coffee and jump into a call booth for your bi‑weekly catch‑up with a newly onboarded startup. Right after, you return a few missed calls: reassuring startups on burning issues, referring them to the right expert or colleague for specific questions and reviewing a legal document later. After a sunny lunch with some team members, you join one of our scale‑up’s board meeting alongside other investors: absorbing insights, asking sharp questions and spotting the signals that matter. Preparing a follow-up funding request with the insights from the board to our investment committee is followed by an internal brainstorm meeting on how to get the latest on a hot topic out there to our community. In the evening, you join a networking event where we also can catch up with some of our international colleagues. Energized by new ideas (and maybe a bit tired), you set your alarm — ready for tomorrow, luckily a focus day reviewing applications for the new cohort!

About imec.istart 

Founded in Belgium in 2011, imec.istart was one of Europe’s first startup accelerators. Over the past decade, we’ve grown into an international accelerator and early-stage investor currently active in The Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Germany. Today, we support 370+ startups and scaleups through a strong network of partners and experts. 
 
At imec.istart, we back bold tech startups and their founder teams from day one — with capital, coaching, profound expertise and connections — to globally scale what matters. Our vision is to be Europe’s most trusted long-term partner for early-stage tech startups — helping them scale globally, innovate fearlessly, and shape a better future. In short: Funding startups first, supporting them always! 
 
Imec’s headquarters are in Leuven. The imec.istart team is mainly based in Antwerp and Ghent, with hubs in Liège and Diepenbeek. 

Read more about imec.istart on https://www.imecistart.com/en.  

What you will do

• Coach and support entrepreneurs: You’ll act as the day‑to‑day coach for our tech startups in the imec.istart acceleration program, as part of the Venture Acceleration Manager team. You’ll challenge, inspire and motivate founders to turn ambition into traction. 
• Bring startup expertise to the table: You leverage your experience across key startup domains — product, tech, marketing, finance and legal — to provide pragmatic, hands‑on guidance to founders building cutting‑edge technologies. 
• Screen and challenge ideas: You help assess and screen startup ideas and projects — for example during pitch days — with a sharp eye for breakthrough tech and scalable business potential. 
• Coordinate investments end‑to‑end: You take the lead on the legal and administrative aspects of investments, working closely with our legal experts and fund management to move deals forward smoothly. 
• Create momentum and awareness: You play an active role in spreading the word about imec.istart and what we do. You’ll inspire people to take the leap into entrepreneurship and help grow the tech founder community around us. 
• Act as an ambassador in the startup ecosystem: You represent the imec.istart brand in local and international ecosystems, working closely with partners such as research institutes, industry players and technology hubs. 
• Spot talent and opportunities early: You engage with potential candidates for the imec.istart program and keep your radar on for promising startups, partnerships and collaborations within the startup ecosystem. 

What we do for you

We offer you the opportunity to join one of the world’s premier research centers in nanotechnology at its headquarters in Leuven, Belgium. With your talent, passion and expertise, you’ll become part of a team that makes the impossible possible. Together, we shape the technology that will determine the society of tomorrow.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and proud of our open, multicultural, and informal working environment with ample possibilities to take initiative and show responsibility. We commit to supporting and guiding you in this process; not only with words but also with tangible actions. Through imec.academy, 'our corporate university', we actively invest in your development to further your technical and personal growth. 

We are aware that your valuable contribution makes imec a top player in its field. Your energy and commitment are therefore appreciated by means of a market appropriate salary with many fringe benefits. 

Who you are

• You have a Master’s degree (or an equivalent level of thinking — we care more about how you reason than the diploma itself). You bring 7–15 years of relevant experience, ideally from an entrepreneurial environment. Founder, early employee, startup or scale-up veteran? You’ll feel right at home. You’re looking for a payroll role — this position is not open to freelance arrangements. 
• You communicate clearly and confidently in English. Knowing some Dutch is a big plus, as it helps you navigate our local ecosystem and collaborate closely with the team — even though we’re internationally oriented at heart. 
• You’re genuinely curious about technology, innovation and business, and you stay on top of what’s moving the needle in these worlds. 
• You’re a natural networker and storyteller: you enjoy connecting people, building trust quickly and bringing others along in your story. 
• You’re a proactive problem solver who gets energy from helping entrepreneurs move forward — fast, pragmatically and with impact. You live and breathe the entrepreneurial mindset: flexible, creative, hands-on and always looking for better ways to do things. You can switch easily between hands-on execution and strategic thinking — zooming in when needed, zooming out when it matters. 
• You thrive in a multidisciplinary team and believe the best results come from collaboration. You’re looking for a dynamic, varied role in a fast-moving environment. Multitasking, ambiguity and working with new teams and innovation gives you energy rather than stress. 
• You have at least a basic understanding of investment and legal mechanics (or the curiosity to dive into them) and you’re not afraid of the more complex parts of legal deal-making. 
• Bonus points if you bring first‑hand founder experience (battle scars welcome!) and/or legal expertise in M&A, investments or fund transactions — skills we’re especially excited about to add to the team. 

IMEC and its affiliates will not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from a candidate. IMEC will consider unsolicited referrals and/or resumes submitted by vendors such as search firms, staffing agencies, professional recruiters, fee-based referral services and recruiting agencies (hereafter “Agency”) to have been referred by the Agency free of charge. IMEC will not pay a fee to any Agency that does not have a prior written agreement with IMEC, validated by its HR department, in place regarding a specific job opening and allowing to submit resumes.