Manager – Program Operations

WO India; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

The Manager - Program Operations at Wadhwani Foundation drives the end-to-end operations of Accelerate, the organization’s flagship growth program for SMBs and growth-stage companies. This role serves as the operational backbone, ensuring every venture progresses through the Accelerate journey with high standards of quality, governance and execution.

Working closely with the Head - Accelerate, you will lead operational excellence across processes, platforms, partners and program delivery, manage

Qualifications

• 10–15 years of experience in program management, operations, consulting, startup ecosystems or accelerator programs.
• Strong project management and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience managing multiple workstreams with high attention to detail.
• Comfortable working with technology platforms, dashboards and data.
• Passion for building scalable operating systems that enable high-quality program delivery.

Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end venture journey from application through onboarding, diagnostics, growth planning, sprint execution and graduation.
• Ensure adherence to program milestones, governance and quality standards.
• Track portfolio health, identify bottlenecks, manage dropouts and drive timely interventions.
• Define and monitor SLAs across the venture journey; own program dashboards and data quality.
• Coordinate contracts, MSAs, SLAs and commercial documentation with internal teams.
• Work with Portfolio Success, Impact, Product, Regional and Ecosystem teams to ensure seamless execution.
• Support budgets, operational planning and geography launches.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder management

Multi-workstream management

Dashboards & data literacy

Operational excellence

Tools

Dashboard platforms

Job description

The Manager - Program Operations is responsible for the end-to-end operations of Accelerate, Wadhwani Foundation's flagship growth program for Small & Medium Businesses and Growth Stage Companies.

This role serves as the operational backbone of the program, ensuring every venture progresses smoothly through the Accelerate journey while maintaining high standards of quality, governance and execution. Working closely with the Head - Accelerate, the role drives operational excellence across processes, platforms, partners and program delivery.

Key Responsibilities

Program Operations & Journey Management

• Manage the end-to-end venture journey from application and selection through onboarding, diagnostics, growth planning, sprint execution and graduation.
• Ensure adherence to program milestones, governance and quality standards.
• Track portfolio health, identify bottlenecks, manage dropouts and drive timely interventions.

Process Excellence & Reporting

• Define and monitor SLAs across the venture journey.
• Own program dashboards, operational reporting and data quality.
• Continuously improve processes to enhance efficiency, consistency and founder experience.

Platform & Partner Operations

• Manage the Accelerate platform to ensure seamless program execution.
• Lead onboarding and operational management of Venture Partners, Sprint Operators, Experts, Panelists and other ecosystem partners.
• Coordinate contracts, MSAs, SLAs and commercial documentation with internal teams.

Program Coordination

• Work closely with Portfolio Success, Impact, Product, Regional and Ecosystem teams to ensure seamless execution across the program.
• Support the Program Head in managing program budgets, operational planning and new geography launches.

Success Measures

• Venture progression within defined SLAs
• Quality and timeliness of program execution
• Reduction in aging and dropout cases
• Dashboard accuracy and reporting quality
• Partner onboarding and SLA compliance
• Process improvements and operational efficiency
• Budget adherence

Ideal Candidate

• 10-15 years of experience in program management, operations, consulting, startup ecosystems or accelerator programs.
• Strong project management and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience managing multiple workstreams with high attention to detail.
• Comfortable working with technology platforms, dashboards and data.
• Passion for building scalable operating systems that enable high-quality program delivery.